We had a relatively good nights sleep last night albeit a very chilly one. I am very fortunate that I have Tim radiating body heat and that he is willing to share it across our slim air mattresses or else I would be cold.
We had hoped that the sun would hit our tent before we had to get up but unfortunately that didn’t happen. So we were again packing up a wet tent with our hands like ice blocks. I can honestly say that currently that is by far the worst part of this hike, packing up a cold wet tent in the cold. We ate our cold breakfast and then headed out. Needless to say I was feeling a little sorry for myself. Luckily the sun was not too far away and we soon warmed up and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
Body check 9 days in and we are doing okay. My blisters have pretty much healed though I think I have another forming on my other foot and Tim’s are not bothering him at all. My right shoulder is starting to hurt from carrying my pack but all considering I think we are fairing pretty well and in good spirits.
Our clothes are all dirty and in varying levels of stinkyness. Worst being our socks probably closely followed by our underwear which I am sad to say I am now re-wearing as we haven’t had water to wash anything since Ormiston Gorge. We also haven’t had a proper wash since Ormiston so our bodies are also a little stinky. Tim says we are now at the stage where we are self cleaning. Our smell would suggest otherwise. Though it is surprising how clean you can feel by using a wet wipe if that is all you have on hand for several days.
I have pretty much mastered the she wee which my friends George and Bec kindly purchased for me before embarking on our camper van trip. It’s been a god send as it saves the knees after a long day of hiking and I also don’t have to take off my pack every time I need to pee. I say pretty much mastered as there is still the occasional mishap which is not great considering my comments in the previous paragraph.
Despite all these things we are still having a blast and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!
Once we warmed up in the sun and hiked through another pass, this one a lot easier than the one the other day, we soon found ourselves in a lovely open plain with ranges surrounding us on all sides. We found a lovely spot and sat down for a cuppa. During our tea time we were passed by a constant stream of people (probably 12) going the other way. We even had two girls ask if our campsite was busy last night and their faces fell when we said yes as they mentioned they had a busy campsite as well and were hoping to avoid that tonight. The last few days has definitely seen an increase in people on the trail.
We had been told that Ellery Creek North was a lovely campsite previously so we were hoping that we could get some privacy to enjoy it. Even though we left relatively late and were taking our time we soon found ourselves nearing the campsite with plenty of daylight hours to enjoy it. Our hearts leaped when we saw the campsite as were approaching from above and there was an abundance of clear sandy riverbed. Our favorite to camp on and it usually meant we could be away from people.
Before we hit the campsite the path took us past the gap in the range which divides Ellery Creek North and Ellery Creek South. So we dumped our bags and thought we would have a look. The south side can be accessed by car but the north side cannot. To get between the two you either walk the 20kms or so around the range or swim the 150 metres in freezing cold water. It was quite surreal walking to the end and seeing people on the other side of the gap. Funnily enough we knew a little bit about this gap already as we had originally booked one of our food drops for Ellery Creek South as we thought we could just walk from our campsite to pick it up. Luckily for us we were having a conversation with the front desk lady at the caravan park we had booked into when we first arrived in Alice and she mentioned something about swimming across one day on one of her runs as she didn’t want to run all the way back. We innocently asked her why she didn’t just walk across and she laughed and said it would take you all day. We quickly realised our mistake and luckily could change the food drop to a different location. Crisis averted.
When we eventually arrived at the campsite it was deserted but for our trail buddy of the last few days Locky. He said it was really busy last night so thinking it would be the same we filled up our water and went to cross the creek to get to the other side where we had spotted a nice flat spot. Only issue was the creek had water in it. After a little discussion we decided we still wanted the spot so off came the shoes and over we went. The water was freezing and it came up to my crotch.
Luckily the sun was still blazing so once on the other side and at our camp the pants went up to dry. The other bonus of the creek was that I went back and had a quick wash and even got a few pairs of underwear washed as well.
We then spent a lovely afternoon sitting back and watching the sunset in peace and quiet in a idilic setting. It was the balm that we both needed after a not so great a camp yesterday. Sod’s Law as well as there was not another walker who came through so Locky had one side of the creek and we had the other.
It was going to be another cold one so we were both tucked up in our sleeping bags just as the sun fell below the horizon. All in all another fantastic day though very much hoping these sub zero temps break soon. S
