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Published: October 26th 2017
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Day 16
Murray to Dookanelly Shelter 19.5 km
A super chilly night, woke up at 4:30 to the sound of machinery?? Eventually got up and out by 07:37 still with 1.75L of water- enough to get me through the day and not have to dip into the river for a top up. A really misty, grey morning with brand new BT waugals to guide me. I really loved the contrasts of colour this morning- grey, grey saturated skies, silvery beaded cobwebs and vibrant green regenerated seedlings and shoots sprouting out of rich red muddy earth and scorched black trees. A visual feast. Some people dislike the burnt earth, I'm not one of them. Some of the more striking scenery for me is that which has been decimated by fire. Apart from the contrasting colours, the bushfires expose the previously hidden features of the earth- this morning the rocky outcrops and hundreds of burrows present themselves. There is also evidence of track clearing efforts in the rake marks through this section. I can still hear machinery somewhere but can't quite localise it, that noise eventually makes way to the sounds of the river again. The burn has made the river
more visible too. The trail from here becomes heavily cleared with large tree trunks and deep bobcat tracks. Somewhat slippery!
Reach House Rd by 12:15 and more slippery hills. Despite the new BT markers throughout this section it still requires some concentration to keep on track.
News of my diversion for tomorrow appears - the map on display on the track means it is to be a 30km day- that will be a challenge, my longest distance with a pack. I am pondering this as I take in yet another long ascending hill into Dookanelly. Get in before 2 pm and the campsite is deserted. The last person to stay was Hugo, the marathon man I passed back near Dwellingup on Wednesday. I'm thinking with the diversions in place walkers may have started at the Yarrigal/Driver diversion and walked through this hut. I really thought I would catch up with the elusive Jane her- it's not to be. Strange how you start to think about the people ahead of you and the mental picture you make from reading their entries in the red and green books at camp.
I spend the rest of the afternoon having a
wash , getting wood, building a fire ready for the night and pondering tomorrow. I also go for a walk to the top of the hill- hilarious after a 19.5km day, but walking without the pack is quite a novel experience! So light!! Two cool things happen- 1. I manage to find a geocache in the bush and 2. when heading back down the hill a frog chorus starts up. No idea why at 5:12pm they have done that.
My campfire tonight is a good one- my larger log smashing technique has come on nicely (thanks to the other Hugo's (Chadoora Hugo as opposed to marathon Hugo)) instructions on wood smashing. At the campfire eating chilli and rice I am deep in thought- conflicted as to whether to ignore the diversion tomorrow and go to the old bridge and try to cross the river or to slog it out. I don't have a good idea as to where the river crossing spot is (people have told me it's 50m from the old bridge). Common sense says go around, especially as I am alone and I don't know how full or deep the river will be. I decide to review
the situation in the morning.
Impressions of Dookanelly Shelter - Lots of bird life, lots of invisible frogs Body assessment- very good thanks. Total people seen for the day - NOBODY!
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