Larapinta Trail: Section 9 Hermits Camp to Ormiston Gorge
Day 15 of 19 Monday
Sunrises make the fury of the night all worthwhile
Seems like this trail has a way of messing with your sleep patterns and grinding you down slowly. Last night it was the winds turn to ramp it up. When we arrived late yesterday afternoon at Hermits camp I could tell it was a site prone to exposure from the wind. It’s right out in the open and there were a few tell tales as well, like stunted trees and the odd one blown over. But we had just done 17km and beggars couldn’t be choosers, so we set up camp to roll the dice. Unfortunately, we lucked out. Whilst last night’s sunset was gorgeous and good soul food the aftermath of it left a lot less to be desired. About 8pm the wind started to pick up and by 8:30pm I was scrambling out of my tent trying to reinforce it further. The wind was roaring up the valley like it was possessed, it would pop over the lip of the mountain top and buffet the tent in waves. The gusts were so strong that the force of them buffeting the tent so much it moved the rocks I was using as anchor points, causing the tent to go slack and cave in on itself far too many times to remember. Moreover, the noise of it hitting the tent wall was deafening. This went on all night until it finally dropped off about 4am in the morning. When I dragged my sorry arse out of bed, I looked over at Irish’s plastic bag tent to see it had collapsed under the assault from the gods of sleep. Waking Irish, she said she’d given up trying to keep it erect and by about 11pm when it collapsed, she just rolled over and slept the sleep of the dead like she always did. I imagined Big J would have been in the hurt locker, but he too was sleeping like a baby. It seemed my tent had acted like a buffer for him and as a result of his low-profile cowboy camping he managed to escape most of the ferocity of the wind. Not to worry, the sunrise made up for it all. It was truly soul food and sipping on a scalding cup of coffee and staring out into space made life just that much easier and simpler. I wondered what the worker bees were doing briefly and then it was time to plan the day over breakfast
morning Glory looking east at Hermits camp
Setting out on this fine morning, it was again, I thanked the mighty Big J for his wisdom and stubbornness, I really hadn’t wanted to climb up this mountain yesterday but today I was sure glad I was walking down it as the morning rays gently warmed us. The descent down was full of switch backs that made the gradient less steep and, in a way, enhanced the time on the mountain as the vista was magnificent and you could see for miles. Irish was on fire today and she pushed out ahead of the pack on a mission to get to the bottom. Watching her on a break as she meandered down the mountain it really put into concept how small and insignificant, we were in this vast ever-expanding landscape. At the bottom of the hill, you end up on a saddle, it’s a good place to sit down and look back up the trail where you have come from. If you didn’t get that feeling of being small and insignificant before then you will now as Mt Giles towers over you. From here we had another 9km to go so whilst it was good to take a load off and enjoy mornos we knew we were burning day light so cracked on. The remaining trail to Ormiston Gorge was pleasant and at times we walked through wooded areas which offered shade and reprieve from the sun that was beating down on us
how’s that for a breakfast coffee view
I guess we were all focussed on Ormiston Gorge, some cool drinks and a feed that wasn’t made up of granola bars, smarties and dehydrated goodness because the pace was fast for our usual meanderthal pace and typical of the trail if you want to get somewhere it’s never going to be easy. To finish off the day we had a sandy creek walk for a kilometre and you guessed it a creek bed walk over loose rocks about the size of footballs. It wasn’t a nice easy welcome to Ormiston Gorge, but you get there eventually. Here’s a tip for you if you have had enough of trudging through the soft sand and the creek bed, just jump up out of the creek bed on the left side and there is a road that goes straight into Ormiston Gorge it will make your life easier. Don’t let the traditionalists like Big J drag your arse through the sand and make it harder than it already is. You deserve a break
Hermits camp panorama
Ormiston Gorge is a bustling place, its heaving with Grey Nomads and tourists. The kiosk does a great little burger and the drinks are cold. I smashed a muffin too, yeah, I know I’m a fat bastard. A couple of points worth noting, the kiosk also has several power points strategically dotted around the eating area so you can charge your devices whilst you feed your faces and the back of the kiosk is the resupply point for your drop boxes. Mind you be advised the kiosk is a good couple of hundred metres away from the campgrounds so rather than haul your heavy resupply boxes there it is a case of bringing Mohamed to the mountain and sorting it all there. Ooh and the Ormiston Gorge has splendid hot showers, there is just not enough of them to go around so the cue can be frustrating - but we got there in the end. As evening set, we all went down to the water’s edge for a looksee, as the tourists had all gone home and the grey nomads were safely tucked up in their vans. So, what did we do, we cracked a cheeky bottle of red, shared it around and drank from the bottle like true Alice Springs locals just sitting under a tree and watching the birds dive and dart over the water while scooping it up and drinking to their hearts content. Another day on the Trail done and dusted. Life is good, I can get used to this
Ormiston Gorge water hole
