Gill Goes.... Trekking the Bibbulmun Track ... Schafer Shelter

---

Day 35

Warren Shelter to Schafer Shelter

22.1 km



Two chickens walking on the footpath

One goes to cross the road

The other one says "Don't do it, you will never hear the end of it!"




Dot points of my day


• Slept in! 07:10!
• Left at 08:40
• Moved the 20m branch off the path on the way to the loo- glad it didn't come down on the shelter
• Walked for 2 hours before a break- legendary apple, nut muesli bar and a coffee
• Hiking today had the Warren River for company- popping in and out of view as well as a few of the little wooden bridges
• Speccy bridge of the day- River Road Bridge, the old 150 m long timber carting bridge- a mix of old and new sleepers (this link provides more historical info on the bridge https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/get-involved/ways-to-give/bridge-the-gap/)
• Lots of fallen trees obstacles
• Goat!
• Another trip and fall (distracted by the goat?)
• Massive amount of fungi- biggest variety yet- 3 shades of corals, oysters, browns and those rubharb and custard ones
• Lots of birdlife
• Lunch!
• Cow hoofprints
• Watermark Kilns (I really want to stay here someday)
• Glimpses of large dam
• Glimpses of a roped off section (indicating position of the shelter)
• Arrive Schafer just before 3pm
• Toilet paper in the loo, lots of toilet paper (ah, the simple things)
• Firewood collecting - challenging, actual logs are in short supply and the axe is broken
• Challenging fire lighting- had to resort to a firelighter!!
• Really, really dark tonight, cloud and sprinkling rain
• Frogs and a crackling fire are the dominant noises
• Geese!
• Marron in the dam
• Scuttling creature
• Solo night (36%!)(MISSING)



Impressions of Schafer- superb! Beautiful campsite overlooking the dam with extra tables are chairs down near the water. Named after Geoff Schafer, the visionary behind the original BT. Superb!!!! Certainly a spot for a sunset. So peaceful. Superb!!!!!!

https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/the-track/history/

Body assessment- Excellent despite annoying habit of falling over that seems to be developing- there is a lot of stick litter on the trail as well as a lot of slippery surfaces in this section-BEWARE!

Total people seen for the day - Zero







ADDIT- The River Road Bridge was recently restored, see below

https://twitter.com/WAParksWildlife/status/999840547580727296

---

Photos

Storm Damage
The tree limb that came down last night- glad I wasn't going to the loo at the time

River Road Bridge
155m span built in 1930's for log hauling railway, clearly grab rails built more recently

Bike Racing on The Bibb?
That'd be a no-no.

Bike Racing on The Bibb?
Lots of these signs today- something I haven't seen before

Blackberry Loop Trail Marker
There are 2 options for the Blackberry Trail- a 4km and a 7km to give you an 11km if you want to do a longer hike. It intersects with the BT 8.4 km from Warren Shelter

Walk On The Moon
Moons Crossing was used by the early settlers to cross the Warren River. Nowadays only 4 wheel drives can cross the rundown concrete path, especially in winter when water flows over the causeway.

Wheatley Coast Road
It's always a little jarring to reach bitumen roads after trails

Powerline Road
Blast from the northern section past