Walking in the Flinders Ranges (2012)

Sunday 26 August  

My phone alarm woke us at 5:30am … the first of many early morning awakenings. After showering, dressing and organising our bags we headed out to the local McDonalds for breakfast. It was Sunday and most breakfast places definitely were not open until at least 7 o'clock which was too late for us.

The streets were busy with taxis and people who had been out all night … some the wrost for wear!

Our pickup was between 7 and 7:30 and we were duly met by our guide, Wes, who bounded into the foyer of the Stamford with a welcoming grin and then collected by the bus being driven by our other guide, Andrea. After a couple more stops to collect other groupies (there were 7 in our party) we headed out of Adelaide.

The first part of the drive passed through large greenhouse holdings, cropping areas (wheat and canola), olive groves and vineyards. The countryside was a brilliant green. There were numerous wind turbines lining the ridges.

We stopped about 100km out of Adelaide for a loo break and coffee and then on to Quorn, passing the Spencer and ? Gulfs. At Pichi Richi we were fortunate to see the steam train which was doing its Sunday run up from Pt Augusta.

While Wes and Andrea prepared lunch we strolled around the centre of Quorn. The town boast many old style buildings and has often been used as the backdrop for films such as Gallipoli.

The train line running through Quorn is part of the original Ghan line which was decommissioned around 1980. We were still in Quorn when the Pichi Richi steam train arrived.

Lunch was salad, breads, dips and cold meats followed by tea and coffee.

Back on the bus we headed out to Devils Peak.

The top of Devils Peak stands starkly out of the surrounding landscape and the notice board indicated that it was a challenging climb. We both made it to the summit. There were times when needed to scramble (using hands as well as feet) and the final ascent required us to edge up a crevice in the rocks. It was worth the effort. The views were outstanding and the geological formations stunning.

An example of the geological formations on Devils Peak

View from the summir of Devils Peak

 
I had carried the pack up leaving Trevor with just the camera. He actually did very well and was not the slowest in our party.

Sitting on the summit of Devils Peak. Left to right: Penny, Lorraine, Andrea, Judi, Barbara, Terrie, Wes and Paul

Trevor on the summit of Devils Peak

The descent from the summit started with getting down through the crevice which was the most challenging part of the return.

After descending Devils Peak we drove back through Quorn and on to Warren Gorge where we were able to see Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies. What gorgeous creatures they are. Trevor got some great photos and I'll add them once I am able to download them.

Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby with joey in pouch

We stayed at the Austral Hotel in Quorn.

After showering and changing we went to the bar and joined some of our party. We then moved to the dining room where Wes and Andrea laid on entree: grapes, cheese and crackers. They provided a briefing of the plans for Day 2 … leaving at 7:30 after breakfast and lunch making.

Final Preparations

It is Tuesday already and we are doing the final preparations for the trip to the Flinders Ranges. All our gear needs to be checked and some has already been discarded as it no longer fits (too big). Suitable replacement items have to be sourced and checked. Who was it whop said that life wasn't meant to be easy. Until Malcolm Fraser uttered those words we were all carefree. Now ... bother the man!

As we are leaving on the day of Anto's birthday we will be having a birthday breakfast and then Michael will drop us out to the airport. We have a night in Adelaide before being collected between 7 and 7:30am on Sunday morning. While we will do some walking on Sunday most of the day will be taken up with the drive out to the Flinders Ranges.

Lake circuits and running

Last updated: Tuesday 21 August

Back in March I had signed up for a 12 week fitness challenge. I continued my walking (which didn't count) alongside the challenge things. One of the options provided in the challenge was a Sunday walk/run around Lake Tuggeranong.

Week 2: I missed the first week and fronted up on the second Sunday (April 1st) and walked the circuit. My time was 54:50. Considering my walking speed it put the circuit at just short of the 6km mark.

Week 3: There was no official walk as it was Easter Sunday. I did walk down to the Lake and then around it before heading home. I did it at a leisurely pace and did not record a time.

Week 4: I went to the gym and did a leg sapping "challenge" followed by a speed, strength and endurance test and then the lake circuit. I included some running intervals on this circuit and finished it in 47:24 a whopping 7 minutes 26 seconds faster than I recorded 2 weeks earlier.

Week 5: I started the day with a walk home from Cooleman Court after breakfasting there. I went to the gym and did a Body Balance class, something I had not done in over 10 years and was somewhat of a challenge as bits of the body didn't always want to do what most of the rest of the class had their bodies doing. Then I did the lake circuit maintaining 90 seconds fast walking, 30 seconds "running" interval and completed the circuit in 43:27, just short of a 4 minutes improvement over the previous week.

Week 6: I did a workout at the gym before heading for the assembly point. This was another test week repeating the tests done in week 4 and managed to show an improvement for all of the areas tested. Then it was around the lake in a time of 43:12 - a further 15 seconds improvement.

Week 7: I almost didn't do the lake circuit as I had been down to Victoria for Phillip and Miranda's wedding however we did get back in time for me to do it. I managed to muck up my timing equipment so didn't get an accurate time however it appeared that I had come in under the 43 minute mark. More improvement.

Week 8: The week had been busy with the Swimming ACT presentation night on the Saturday evening. It was an exhausting week. Not only that, it was followed by a meet with lots of pool walking. I managed to do the lake circuit, after all the foregoing, in 41:03 ... an improvement of almost 2 minutes.

Week 9: Michael and I did a hike this morning. I then walked down to Tuggeranong and did the lake circuit in 40:14 a further improvement of 40 seconds. I was still doing walk-run intervals the there was more running than walking by this stage.

Week 10: I went to the gym to do the weekly challenge before doing the lake circuit. I had been really pleased with the improvement I had shown in my strength and endurance. Today I started the lake circuit with constant running and only dropped back to a walk-run interval after passing the Athlon Drive underpass. I did the circuit in a time of 39:46 a further improvement of 28 seconds.

Week 11: Back in week 7 I had injured by leg when I fell while dancing at the wedding. The injury had been very slow to heal and the leg still felt tired and had tender spots. I just needed to take care that I didn't over do it. I went to the gym to do a gentle workout before the run and Lana persuaded me to do a 30 minute CX Works class. It was not a good class to do before my final speed, strength and endurance test and a run around the lake! I ended up walking the lake circuit in a time of 53:59. There are limits!

Week 12: The final circuit undertaken as part of the challenge and I was delighted to complete it in a time of 39:07 a PB by 39 seconds.

Over the course of the challenge I had improved my time by 15 minutes 43 seconds. I really felt that I could continue to improve. It had been such a long time since I had done any running and I was surprised at how I managed to improve over the course of those 10 weeks through to June 10.

There was a bit of a break and then the gym organised to have Sunday lake circuits to be followed by coffee. A nice thoughts to have a bit of a social gathering afterwards. The first week saw a handful of people turn up with two of us opting to run rather than walk the circuit. Kara quickly got away from me and I thought that that was it. I was hoping to run all the way and I did. I managed to pass Kara and finished with a time just over the 39 minute mark. Running all the way meant that I was actually slower than when I was doing intervals. Probably this should not have been a surprise as the walk time was recovery and allowed me to run faster in the run bits.

The next week I ran non stop, too and had a time of 39:33. This was actually quite good as I had managed to injure left ankle and right knee in a fall and both were not working 100% but actually stood up to the circuit done at a slower pace than I was previously doing.

On the next 3 weeks Sundays I was tied up and missed the circuits. I did do some treadmill runs to check out the ankle and knee and was happy with their progress.

On Sunday August 12 I reported for the lake circuit and no one else turned up. Having psyched myself up to do the run I figured that I would do it anyway. I was delighted to finish my solo circuit in 38:54 - a small improvement but an improvement nevertheless.

By now the right knee was pretty much OK and the left ankle was mostly fine with just the odd twinge and generally not from anything I would do when running. So, on the following Tuesday evening I set out from home and ran down to meet the circuit path just through the Athlon Drive underpass and back without stopping. The distance is pretty close to 6kms or a little over. My time was 38:07. Fantastic!!!

On Thursday afternoon I set out to run to Tuggeranong. I did the first part, to the path through the Athlon Drive underpass in 18:02, 18 seconds faster than I did the same section on Tuesday. From the underpass to the end of my lake circuit took me 18:51 - 40 seconds faster than I had done the same section on Sunday afternoon. All up, from the school crossing in Barritt Street to the road near the Arts Centre took me 36:53.

I'll add updates to this post as I continue my running.

Will I be ready to do the 10km run in the Canberra Times Fun Run on Sunday September 9? I hope so. If I can run 6km three times in 5 days surely I will be able to manage 10km in a little over 3 weeks. This is not fast but finish!

Tuesday 21 August: Today I set out to do a 10km run. Speed was not the objective. Distance was. I set off at a very leisurely trot and got to my first timing point (near the Adventure Playground) in 13:14 quite a bit slower than my effort on Sunday and reached the lake path in 19:25 [Sunday was 16:43 ... yes, a whopping 1:19 off my previous time ... I gave myself permission to stop and walk home after that effort!] I completed my lake circuit in 40:33 which was terrific considering that I was doing a slow run and had covered 3km before commencing the circuit. The run back from the lake circuit to the Adventure Playground timing post took me a mere 5:56 ... I really wanted to finish the run and was also spurred on by setting my sights on a chap who had passed me way back near the Tuggeranong Library and commented that he had been following me for quite a time and had finally passed me. It might have taken me some 4kms but I did pass him after going through the Athlon Drive underpass. That really gave me a boost ... and a target. Once passed him I couldn't slow down and risk him passing me again! The games we play. Still, I was thrilled to have done the run in 1:05:54. I think the distance should have been reasonably close to 10kms. Now I know that I can do the 10km run it is just a matter of keeping doing runs over the next couple of weeks leading up to the Fun Run

Night Walks

Once I got into the habit of walking between home and Tuggeranong (generally to go to the gym) it only seemed natural to continue walking even when the days were getting shorter. Some of the staff at the gym were horrified that I was doing the walk "in the dark" yet I felt perfectly comfortable doing it. I did buy a headlamp and, at the suggestion of one of the gym staff, carried my whistle but that was all. The headlamp could cause problems like the night I almost dazzled, perhaps I actually did, a chap on a bike who actually rang his bell to warn me of his approach. I was so surprised that someone would actually ring their bell that I turned around and gave him the full benefit of my light in his face. Oops!

When Trevor started to do his walking he aimed at walking after each of his meals. This eventually meant that he was walking after dark. I lent him my headlamp to try it out. The first outing was not very successful as he didn't realise that you could set the angle to suit the wearer. After this was explained and demonstrated the headlamp has been taken over by Trevor. Whose headlamp? I think I need to go and get one for me, now!

When I walk at night I generally follow a well lit route with a fair amount of traffic. Supplementary lighting isn't really required for most of my night walks. Occasionally, like this evening, I will go out just on dusk for a lengthy walk and then tend to vary the route. While I do have a small torch it is not nearly as effective as the headlamp. The torch is fine when the route is familiar but absolutely useless if trying to determine anything much about an unfamiliar one.

There are surprisingly few people out on foot after dark. I guess that the temperature drop probably has a bit to do with it. People tend to stay indoors when it is cold unless forced to venture out. Funnily enough, it only takes a windproof jacket, a beanie and gloves to be able to walk comfortably on most nights and frosty mornings.

One of the great things about night walks is that the views are wonderful if you get to a high point. The lights down the valley are very pretty. When the sky is clear, as it so often is on a Canberra winter night, the night sky is spectacular.

Mt Majura and Mt Taylor

On Thursday Trevor did a triple ascent of Mt Taylor. He is really building his climbing ability. He went up and down three different tracks which provides a variety of terrain and conditions.

On Friday evening I spoke to Michael and we agreed to do a walk on Saturday (today), the first we had done together for quite a few weeks. Michael called past a little after 10 and we decided to tackle Mt Majura which is 890m above sea level at its peak. This is higher than both Mt Ainslie and Black Mountain and the gain is certainly more than that of Mt Ainslie.

We stopped in Dickson so that Michael could be fed before tackling the hike.

There were a surprising number of cars crammed into the small car park at the entrance to the reserve. This was actually a real car park as opposed to the informal ones that are generally the norm. There appeared to be a group of people meeting at the entrance to the reserve. What their plans were we didn't care as we just set off up the slope.

While the vegetation was not thick it was certainly heavy enough to obscure much of the view. There were only occasional breaks allowing views across bits of the surrounding area. Damn trees! The views from the top of the mountain were also obscured by trees. We can say that we have climbed Mt Majura but I don't think that I will bother to do so again.

While Michael and I were away Trevor walked down to Cooleman Court and back. He didn't see any kangaroos today. I must admit that there are days when I don't see any kangaroos on Mt Arawang and its surrounds, too.

On the other hand, the Mt Taylor Reserve and the adjacent horse paddock is teeming with roos. Every time I have walked through the reserve in the past month there have been roos and often a multitude. Today was not exception when I did a circuit of the mountain in the late afternoon.

Kangaroo spotting

One of the benefits of walking is the opportunity to spot kangaroos. Yes, I know there was a kangaroo cull earlier this year but this has done little to reduce the number of roos I see from the various routes that I regularly walk.

Doing a circuit of Mt Taylor is definitely a roo spotting exercise. Late in the day, particularly at dusk, this can be a little tricky as the roos and rocks can look very similar. I have noticed that the rocks don't generally move so moving rocks are normally kangaroos. I can't recall doing a circuit of thye mountain without coming across at least one roo and sometimes it is getting up towards the hundred mark. Even so, the amount of vegetation on the slopes and adjacent pastures is phenomonal at present and spring has not yet arrived. It looks like we will be in for a high fire risk summer. Perhaps the authorities should not have done the roo cull after all!

Yesterday, Wednesday, Trevor and I did the circuit around Mt Taylor. While I generally walk from home and back yesterday we drove. I think I have only managed to get Trevor to walk to the base from home once. Anyway, it was a lovely sunny day with a stiff breeze. The walk was quite pleasant and I let Trevor set the pace. It was the first time that he had done the full circuit and it took us just over the hour.

The views from the circuit are really good. Depending where you start you have views to the south across the Tuggeranong Valley with the lake, town centre and backdrop of the ranges; to the east you overlook the Woden Valley and south Canberra; then to the west you have wonderful views to the ranges. The western views are wonderful around sundown ... really worthwhile walking along the Old Kambah fire trail as the sun is setting over the ranges.

I keep being surprised by kangaroos grazing close to the walking tracks. Usually there is one roo on lookout duty. As long as you are on the track and keep walking they will normally just watch you walk by while the rest of the mob just continues grazing.

It is fun watching joeys, particularly bigger ones, getting in to their mother's pounches. There are times when the effort is obviously too much as legs and tails are not always retracted.

In three weeks time Trevor and I will be half way though our Flinders Ranges adventure. I just hope that Trevor has done enough preparation so taht he is able to participate in most, if not all, of the activities. I think that he should be OK for most of what is on offer, even the ascent of St Mary Peak. I guess time will tell.

Progress

Trevor did a double ascent of Mt Taylor yesterday. He actually went down and then up "my" track. It is a great training track as the surface is uneven and the terrain quite varied. It proved to be a good training track for the Grouse Grind ... although that (the Grind) was really something else! I had expected it to be a much more formed track than what it turned out to be. Just as well I did so much of my training on my very unformed and rough track. It will be interesting to compare my track with what we hike over in the Flinders Ranges.

Generally Trevor is finding the climbs easier each time he tackles them. He is generally able to go further before he stops for a breather. The pain he had in his shoulder seems to have gone and he has only had the occasional pain in his elbow and arm. Things are getting better.

I still need to do a final check on the clothes I will take for walking. At present I have too many pairs of hiking pants. I need to decide which ones are most comfortable when I'm wearing thermal underwear with them. The weather at this time of year in the Flinders Ranges can get quite chilly although generally not as cold as Canberra. As we have done early morning walks in sub zero temperatures we are not expecting to find the coolness too much of a problem and I doubt whether I will actually need to wear thermals ... although my hiking pants are lighter than what I normally wear when it is cold so I need to have some just in case.