Trial Hike: Walk the Yorke
Simeon FinchWe're about a month out and it's getting pretty real. I'm excited and nervous for the experiences and challenges to come!
We wanted to get at least one multi day hike to test our systems and decided to do a part of Walk the Yorke over the 18th, 19th and 20th. I spent some time in Dhilba Guuranda-Inness National Park with my family earlier this year and thought it was such a beautiful spot, I loved the idea of hiking through to take it in more thoroughly. I also thought the proximity to ocean should bring the temperature down which would give me a decent test of my clothing and sleeping gear.
Our planned route had us doing about 22kms day one from Marion Bay and following the coast before cutting inland and finishing at the Casuarina Campground. Day 2 would be similar distance starting with a backtrack along the beach, followed by a mix of sealed and dirt road and a section of trail to finish at the Gym Beach Campground. Day 3 would be a straightforward cut across the peninsula back to Marion Bay, giving us a roughly 60kms round trip.
Prep
This was my first chance at a full pack, all my pack training prior I've been carrying around a large bag of rice. I quickly realised my Exos 58 was going to be at max capacity with 6 days of food and all this, so getting the organisers right was critical. I'm really happy with the Ultra Sil dry bags, they're super light and good sizes. Seeing how it went together I made the call right away to swap the hydration pack - it's just too annoying to get in and out of a full bag to refill.
I bought a new squishy 2L water bottle, wanting a full 4L capacity as the FarOut maps and SA Parks info didn't indicate whether the campsites had water tanks.
Day 1 - Marion Bay to Casuarina Campground
We left a bit later than planned - Dave had some last minute gear prep and I was pretty dusty from seeing one of my previous team off the night before. We got on the trail about 1pm and knew we'd need to push a hard pace to hit the campsite before dark.
It was a beautiful sunny day and other than some worries about our next water refill it was a lovely hike. The landscape was much more diverse than I expected, ranging from coastal scrub with wide fire roads to a long and eerie tunnel of dry bush that felt otherworldly. We had a quick bite for lunch having already had a pie in Minlaton and pushed on to make the most of remaining daylight.
The trail section past Deep Lake was my favourite of the day. In the late day light the white stone and moss glowed, and in parts there was no trail, just an occasional yellow marker to confirm we were headed in the right direction. I love what they've done with this section, and I'm also glad we got through it before dark, it could've been challenging to navigate. We hit the road for the final stretch after last light and pulled into camp pretty exhausted. It was good practice setting up in the dark and heavy fatigue, we passed a few words, ate and crashed. In hindsight I think we should've forced a longer lunch for a bit more energy to see the day through.
Day 2 - Casuarina Campground to Gym Beach Campground
I woke early and walked down to Pondalowie Bay, hoping to do a sketch of the sunrise. It was pretty cold and the wind was intense, quickly shattering my romantic ideal. I stayed for the sunrise and earned some pockets full of wind blown sand for my effort.
We breakfasted and packed up, ready to hit the road by about 9am. We had mild rain and increasing wind, and considered skipping the beach section, but decided to give it a shot. By the time we hit Pondalowie Bay Campground the wind was at a gale, it was raining heavily and my socks were wet and sandy! We pushed on the beach for a short time but the weather bested us, we cut back inland for more shelter. No photos, but you can imagine grey, gale force winds and heavy rain and 2 soggy and cold walkers.
It was a hard going morning. I was quite cold and we were both tired, but we pushed on. The porch at Shepherds Hut was a welcome sight and we pulled in for a decent lunch break, taking the lesson learnt from day 1. I put on more clothes and we ate well.
Fortunately while we rested, the rain wore itself out, and when we got back on the trail it was down to a light drizzle, which turned in to sunshine by the time we hit the Gym Beach trail at the end of the unsealed road near Browns Beach. This is a beautiful section, green and vibrant and we even saw an emu right ahead of us.
The afternoon lifted our spirits, and we were in a great mood reaching Gym's Beach Campground. The site had no tank which meant we had to ration water, but we had an amazing campsite tucked in some dense scrub and out of the howling wind. In spite of our tiredness, we walked down to the beach to watch a stunning sunset and enjoy the whiskey which Dave had laboured with. We met a kindred spirit on the beach, Glenn, who was eager to hear about our plans for the Heysen Trail.
Day 3
I woke early again, made a camp latte (they're pretty good!) and headed down to the beach for the sunrise. It didn't rival the sunset but boded well for our last day.
We were a bit slower to get on the trail between fatigue and knowing we didn't need to rush back. I was anticipating a stark difference walking the edge between the national park and farmland, but it was nice walking. The first section had us on a long and straight packed road, and the remainder we followed a sealed road through a corridor of scrub with grazing sheep.
We made good time back to the car, but not enough to beat the sky offering Dave one last good shake of rain!
Lessons Learnt
This is going to be legit hard and there's no shortcutting that. There have been times I would run those distances comfortably, but carrying 16kgs, eating a diet designed to minimise weight and sleeping outdoors really does accumulate fatigue.
I need to try and anticipate if it's going to be a colder day and dress warmer from the start, or make a stop and change it up if conditions change unexpectedly. I run pretty hot walking and don't want to sweat unnecessarily, but between the rain and wind on day 2 I got colder than I should have.
Dave's idea to reuse the dehydrated dinner packaging for porridge was excellent. It's all positive, bonus flavour and calories plus one less thing to cleanup.
Gear changes:
- Add a second buff - warmth as I can wear one as a beanie, one as a scarf. One as a washcloth and one as a towel.
- Swap my shorts for a second pair of convertible pants. Wet pants at campsite no fun!
- Replace merino fingerless gloves with something more durable - the wear and tear was visible from just one day walking with poles.
- Need a larger mesh organiser bag - double as a hanger under tent vestibule to dry wet stuff overnight.
- Add some Wilderness Wipes. Pot bath was good but something disposable for multi day on limited water supply will improve hygiene.
Nutrition is working well. Some cured sausage would provide more variety alongside the cheese.
