Sunday, November 06, 2016 - 20 km Visibility was only 10-15 metres when I woke up this morning, but the fog was dissipating by the time I left the hut around 8:00 AM. I had two route options: the higher official route, or the alternate route (about 1 km from the main trail) on which …
Category: Heysen Trail
The Heysen 60: Nature
Saturday, November 05, 2016 - 12.44 km I woke up early today, but the next campsite (Rossiters Hut) is only 12 km from Tanunda, so I lingered in the caravan park to update this journal and charge my phone. The lounge area had a claw crane. I've never played a crane game before and believe …
The Heysen 59: Sexy Date Clothes
Friday, November 04, 2016 I took a rest day in Tanunda today. I didn't need one, but the next leg will be six days and the trail will be getting hillier too. The Heysen never gains too much elevation, but when it goes up and down, it usually goes straight up and down. My understanding …
The Heysen 58: Scary Barking Dog
Thursday, November 03, 2016 - 12.34 km The walk from Greenock to Tanunda is short, flat and over roads through a populated area. While I was walking past a house, a pitbull came bounding out through the gate, no leash, barking furiously. I'm afraid of dogs (I was bitten by one when I was young, …
The Heysen 57: Showy Flowers
Wednesday, November 02, 2016 - 17.53 km A loud, obnoxious sound like a vacuum cleaner undergoing a violent death woke me up early this morning, and I was sluggish when I got on the trail. Just out of Kapunda, the HT passed the old Kapunda copper mine, which visitors can walk around. I was tempted …
The Heysen 56: Laundry Soap
Tuesday, November 01, 2016 https://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49470374346/in/dateposted-public/ Zero in Kapunda. I lazed around in the morning, then went to the laundromat (there's a laundromat!) only to discover that it had no detergent dispensers. Searching for small quantities of detergent at the grocery store, I bought a 4-pack of 'laundry soap', assuming that soap = detergent. No, it's …
The Heysen 55: Hello Hallo
Monday, October 31, 2016 - 15 km https://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49469878948/in/dateposted-public/ I packed up and began walking early this morning, passing into cattle territory. I was wary of the cows since in the Marschalls Hut logbook some hikers mentioned being chased uphill, but when I came near a group of cows on a road, they ran away. Then …
The Heysen 54: Kool-Aid?
Sunday, October 30, 2016 - 20 km The distance from Marschalls Hut to Kapunda is 35 km. Though my foot has done well over the past few days, I decided to split the section into a ~20 km day and a ~15 km day by camping somewhere around Lights Hummocks (the distance is convenient and …
The Heysen 53: Beware the Possums
Saturday, October 29, 2016 - 27.76 km Another long day today, but a nice one. Everything seems nice after the Melrose to Hallett leg. https://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49470585707/in/dateposted-public/ The only less pleasant section was a long plod along Tarnma Road to Marrabel, which the Heysen passes directly through. https://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49469873343/in/dateposted-public/ Statue in Marrabel The pub has good food according …
The Heysen 52: Not a Soulcrushing Horror
Friday, October 28, 2016 - 29.46 km I made a big error this morning. Shortly after leaving Huppatz Hut, the Heysen signage directed me to walk up the hillside beside a field, so I walked to the end of the path between the field and a fence. In retrospect, I think that I must have …
The Heysen 51: Killing Yucky Insects
Thursday, October 27, 2016 - 19.79 km I was skeptical about the Heysen's route today since it employs a roundabout road walk from World's End rather than cutting through Hopkins Creek Conservation Park, but the trail passed through a conservation area not marked on the map. On my way there, I met a driver heading …
The Heysen 50: Worlds End
Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - 24.62 km After a rest in Burra that I'm going to skip over (I was lazy, ate ice cream, blah blah), I'm back on the trail and attempting to reach Kapunda by Halloween. Halloween isn't a major holiday in Australia, but Kapunda is known as the 'most haunted town in …
The Heysen 49: The Bad Night
Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 14.79 km Last night was the worst I've ever spent on a trail, and not because of the cow droppings. I slept for three hours, then lay awake for three and a half hours in the cold, then put on my rain jacket and managed to sleep for another three …
The Heysen 48: Korea in Australia
Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 16.53 Tent warming achieved! Getting up wasn't painful this morning! I had slept late again and just as I was packing up the last of my gear, a group of day hikers arrived. We exchanged greetings but didn't talk further, which was fine with me. I've been experiencing a trend …
The Heysen 47: Trees and Shrubs and Hills
Friday, October 21, 2016 - 15 km Brief thunderstorm overnight. My tent dried afterwards in the wind, so when it began sprinkling again early this morning, I quickly took down my tent and moved all of my gear to the shelter. A downpour began and continued for 1.5 hours while I waited lamely for it …
The Heysen 46: Tourilie Gorge
Thursday, October 20, 2016 - 16.42 km Another scenic day as the HT passed into Caroona Creek Conservation Park. With its hard spinifex, the scenery reminded me of what I had seen hundreds of kilometres further north. Tourilie Gorge was beautiful and dramatic, but easier walking than the gorges near Quorn since an obvious trail …
The Heysen 45: Throne of God
Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - 17.55 km After a night of sub-zero temperatures outside and warmer temperatures inside, thank you potbelly stove, I picked up my resupply package this morning. The Hallett post office was originally located in the town store, but sadly the store closed several months ago and the PO is now located …
The Heysen 44: The White Truck
Tuesday, October 18, 2016 - 21.92 km https://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49465488293/in/dateposted-public/ Today began with another road walk. I kept seeing white trucks and only white trucks. After awhile I started thinking that they were all the same white truck going back and forth, and that even when it came from the same direction twice in a row, it …
The Heysen 43: We Had To
Monday, October 17, 2016 - 27.18 km I've mentioned before that many of the Heysen campsites seem to be thrown up according to convenience rather than attractiveness of location. Whistling Trig Tank, the campsite between Spalding and Hallett, has this description on the Friends' website: 'This is a windy, exposed site, as evidenced by the …
The Heysen 42: Zero in Spalding
Sunday, October 16, 2016 https://www.flickr.com/photos/186593395@N08/49469955146/in/dateposted-public/ Spalding from afar Today was a zero day in Spalding. I purchased supplies and snacks at the general store. The homemade 'veggie square' was delicious - I don't know what was in it, but it tasted like a frittata. I was originally planning to send a resupply package from Crystal …
BANE OF THE TRAIL 