gillg

57, in love with the world. Fell in love with Nepal. Then Iran. Now? ....
Where to next?

2016 Bibbulmun Track End to End 1050km in my home state. UPDATE 13/4/19- IT"S FINISHED!!!!!!!!!

2017- Well, that'd be the USA again then Mongolia.
Update- Mongolia is to be shelved for yet another year. Instead there is a wedding to attend in Edinburgh- but first, The West Highland Way to be walked.

2018 - Tajikistan is calling

Update- Tajikistan indeed did call, as did Kyrgyzstan. It was amazing - a 23 day 2500 km Fann Mountains/Pamir Highway Odyssey then amazing trekking in the Tien Shan. Blog hasn't even started!

2019 - Pakistan is in the pipeline

Update- Pakistan was incredible- K2/Gondogoro La Trek and the Hunza/Upper Hunza. Also took in Xinjiang Province through the Khunjerab Pass. The blog???? OMG, I have no idea when I can write it up (see above re Tajikistan).

2020- Georgia and Armenia- solo trekking plus looking at all those amazing old churches and trying the Georgian cuisine

Update- COVID happened, Georgia and Armenia on hold (along with every other overseas destination as per Australian Govt rules, did another 1050 km End to End on the Bibbulmun Track over 49 days but starting south and finishing north this time. Also got to go to Christmas Island as it is technically Western Australia).

2021- COVID continues to decimate. Can travel within Australia so it was an End To End of The Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory in July. Managed to travel to Tasmania in August/Sept and hiked the Three Capes and all of the trails on Bruny Island.

2022-
Q: When will WA open?
A: When we hit a 90% double vaccination target. Tipped for end of January/Feb...

"They do say that there is a thing called mountain exhilaration, that when in high places a strange elation seizes one; akin to ecstasy or madness."
-Han Suyin

Larapinta Trail Trek End To End... If you just want a summary

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory July 6th 2021

Summit Shot Mt Sonder

gillg

Another Solo End to End Trek (Larapinta East to West) started 21st June and completed on 6th July 2021. Entirely influenced by COVID-19 travel restrictions in Western Australia, I chose this as my longish distance trail for the year. Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory were classified as ultra low risk states and the Larapinta was the most intriguing. I was hesitant, the heat is not my friend and even in winter you can get hot days in the NT but I was up for it. Booked frequent flyer flights from Perth to Alice Springs with the intent of spending a couple of nights in Alice pre-departure then another week with a hire car post trek to drive to the Uluru region, Kings Canyon, Devils Marbles, etc. This report differs to my usual day by ... read more

Larapinta Trail End To End - Serpentine Gorge to Mt Sonder (The End)

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory July 5th 2021

Shade

gillg

Larapinta Trail 21 (>225km) Part 3- Serpentine Gorge to Mt Sonder (The End) Last trek post, I promise! It busied up a bit at the Section 7/8 stage, these sections being the most popular with day hikers/section hikers and larger tour groups with their own campsites. Prior to this I'd walk for many hours without seeing anyone. It was also at this stage you'd see the same faces on the trail and at camp each night. A diverse lot, all sorts, all ages; from a family of 4 with probably an 8 and 10 year old (machines) through to a 78 year old Scotsman with 2 new hips and previous back surgery and veteran of the Appalachian Trail and many others (the most tenacious person that I've ever met I think). By then I had met ... read more

Larapinta Trail End To End - Brinkley Bluff to Serpentine Gorge

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory June 29th 2021

Good Morning From Brinkley Bluff

gillg

Larapinta Trail 21 (>225km) Part 2- Brinkley Bluff to Serpentine Gorge WARNING- Millions of pictures continues... So now I'm at Day 6. Glorious sunrise, frozen fingers. Steep traverse down from the summit this morning- rugged and rocky but not so bad really. Long morning of multiple terrains including an extended gorge navigation climbing up and over lots of boulders in Spencer Gorge. Saw my first snake! In the afternoon got to climb again to Windy Saddle and along Razorback Ridge with steep drop-offs as well as very steep drop-offs. Non-predicted Situation #3- getting slightly off track on the ridge- map said avoid steep unstable shale and loose rocks- that of course is where I ended up! Having rescued myself to rejoin the trail the day got massively easier. Got into another dry camp in a river ... read more

Larapinta Trail End To End - Alice Springs to Brinkley Bluff

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Alice Springs June 25th 2021

Larapinta Trail

gillg

Larapinta Trail 21 (>225km) Part 1- Pre-departure to Alice Springs to Brinkley Bluff The Larapinta Trek exceeded any expectations, not sure what I actually expected beyond it being wide and vast and a “moderate-difficult” graded trail, but it was that and so much more. I finished on the 6th July, it has kept me feeling very high for the last week or so of travelling around the Red Centre. Now that I am back home here is how it all went down.... As usual I was very well prepared on the logistics, not so much on the training. Excellent spreadsheet. Flew into Alice Springs for 2 nights pre-trek to get my resupply boxes and a few fresh food items as well as having a look around. Stayed at a functional, budget, but well located, motel. The ... read more

Gill Goes ... Trekking The Bibbulmun Track End To End Again... Day 8... Peaceful Bay to Giants via Rame Head

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Peaceful Bay July 31st 2020

Stunning Dawn Departure

gillg

Day 8... Peaceful Bay to Giants via Rame Head 30.1km Today should have had the asterisk *HARD- I suspect I might have put it on yesterday's line on the spreadsheet instead of today's! Why was it hard? Leaving the chalet wasn't hard, I was looking forward to sleeping out again and I left it cleaner than I found it (I was also cleaner in my very fragrant newly washed clothes), the only trace left behind being my now dry free towel and a note to say thanks and that one of the power points kept tripping the fuse box. It wasn't the dawn start- the light down at the beach was stunning and even ducking the short showers wasn't an issue. The wet vegetation and narrow tracks were easy- gaiters prove themselves again. It wasn't the ... read more

Gill Goes ... Trekking The Bibbulmun Track End To End Again... Day 7... Boat Harbour to Peaceful Bay

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Peaceful Bay July 30th 2020

gillg

Day 7 Boat Harbour to Peaceful Bay 24 km My spreadsheet planner has an asterisk against today- I've marked it "HARD". Eek. Reason being coastal section with possibility of impassable beach plus the Irwin Inlet crossing with the canoe (there's always a chance that there might not be a canoe or there will only be one meaning multiple crossings towing canoes from one bank to the other). At any rate, great sunrise and I'm walking by 0700 and the vegetation is a bit overgrown and soaked. Glad for the gaiters. At the top of the hill I get a message to say that there is a chalet (no toilet or shower) I can rent for $65/night $20 more if I want linen!!!, "please confirm"- I do so, a bit grudgingly, no linen thanks!). That out of ... read more

Gill Goes ... Trekking The Bibbulmun Track End To End Again... Day 6.. William Bay to Boat Harbour

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Boat Harbour July 29th 2020

gillg

Day 6 William Bay to Boat Harbour 20.4km On the track at 07:20, kind of overcast, cool morning. At Mazoletti Beach 20 minutes later, the trail is open but the beach has to be accessed via a drop off onto the beach, the stairs have disintegrated and there is a handy rope to get yourself down. The weight of the pack makes for a rapid descent! Beautiful light across the sand and to the beach and I'm in luck because the sand is only half soft and sinky and half firm as opposed to fully soft and sinky. My other stroke of luck is that there are two ground parrots on the beach- fascinating little bird. There are also a small group of hooded plover. Given the amount of 4WD tracks I always despair that their ... read more

Gill Goes ... Trekking The Bibbulmun Track End To End Again... Day 5.. Denmark to William Bay

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Denmark July 28th 2020

A Blue Sky Departure From Denmark

gillg

MY APOLOGIES- I have stalled on writing this up- I did finish! 49 days this time. Just as speccie as the first time- hope to finish writing up at some point! Day 5 Denmark to William Bay 20km Breakfast prep in the Caravan parks' camp kitchen is unhurried, luckily, as it takes about 15 minutes to work out how to get the induction stove turned on for my egg boiling fiesta. Very nice to have a toaster and kettle too although I don't miss these things at all when I'm on the trail. Farewell Geoff under a bright blue sky at 9am, the trail head is directly opposite the caravan park, zero chance of getting lost. The first 6.5 kms for the day is spent exiting Denmark through a series of bush tracks, footpaths, wooden bridges ... read more

Gill Goes ... Trekking The Bibbulmun Track End To End Again... Day 4... West Cape Howe to Denmark via Nullaki

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Denmark July 27th 2020

Efficient Packup and Departure- for winter anyway

gillg

Day 4 West Cape Howe to Denmark via Nullaki 27.1km Treated to a very pretty sky leaving WCH. I'm on a mission today as Geoff is going to meet me somewhere near Pelican Point to provide a ride into Denmark. Having a scheduled meeting always adds a little bit of stress to a days hiking, especially with our track record of getting lost, having no signal, not actually talking about the same place to meet despite both thinking it is the same place, etc, etc, etc. I also hate making time commitments as I tend not to plan how long 17km will take me to walk, to remedy this I generally give a time adding about 2 hours more than I calculate my speed to be- removes the angst... a bit. The trail from WCH to ... read more

Gill Goes ... Trekking The Bibbulmun Track End To End Again... Day 3... Torbay to West Cape Howe

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia July 26th 2020

Dingo Beach

gillg

Day 3 Torbay to West Cape Howe 16.5 km Superb day of hiking. Left at 08:30 under beautiful overcast skies and had stellar coastal views pretty much the whole day. It was a day of mini highlights. First little highlight was sitting on a bench seat watching the view and being visited by a bandicoot! Not sure if it was the Torbay hut bandicoot or another one completely, like the Torbay bandicoot, this one was also very friendly (as in used to scavenging hiker muesli bar crumbs). Next little (big) highlight was the whale pod casually swimming close to the shore. AND... not just in one spot but in 3 different spots during the day, including off the coast visible from the bench seat at the WCH hut. Very exciting. Sat up on that seat for ... read more

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