It’s nice walking off from the place you’ve camped. After a not great night’s sleep, we were up pretty early. The start of the walk was 1km up a steep 4WD track to a helipad where I joined the AAWT.
The whole morning’s walk was along a rough 4WD track that followed a ridgeline up and down. The walk was not too tough in terms of steepness. There were some pretty parts, but a lot was not great. The track was often enclosed by dense vegetation and as soon as I went into one of those sections, thousands of tiny insects were flying around getting stuck on my skin, up my nose, in my ears. There was a lot of old brown water on this track. Clearly the deer liked it – lots of hoof prints marching straight in and signs of deer spa baths in the mud. I found a pool of tadpoles with legs – so close to becoming frogs!
I was hungry all morning and I made it through til 11:50 but couldn’t wait a minute longer for lunch! My lunch spot was pretty.
I’d heard a vehicle in the distance while having lunch and shortly after setting off we met. It was a pregnant couple with a dog in a big 4WD. The guy told me my steepest section was to come – he was not wrong! OMG. Super steep and rocky and rutted and baking in the hot sun. The track was pretty much made of rock with a bit of dirt, so at least I wasn’t slipping backwards on this one. As always, one foot in front of the other and you always get where you’re going. From the bottom of the hill I could see their car through the trees and hear the engine straining. The path I’d walked down was really knocking their car around and it was a slow process climbing up – the pregnant lady actually got out of the car and walked up!
It felt fantastic when I met the road and was able to stride out and not think about where I was putting my feet. It was fast, easy going and before I knew it I was at Rumpff Saddle, the place I was originally going to stop today. Yesterday I realised if I changed things around I could avoid camping by myself for one last night. So I added extra kms to today’s schedule accordingly. After that big uphill in the heat I was teasing myself with the thought that maybe I could stop there today. I could just message Jub and call it a day. Who cared if that meant another night out alone? Actually, me. I knew I’d care in two mornings time when I had to put on my 18kg backpack instead of the luxuriously light daypack I carry when I don’t need to camp out alone. I knew I’d care that night rocking up to camp alone instead of seeing Jubble’s smiling face at the end of the day. So, I continued.
At Rumpff Saddle I met a lovely group of beautiful black Angus cows who watched my every step. Every one watching everything until I was gone. Joining Middle Ridge Road at Rumpff Saddle and Jamieson Licola Road was a very rough, very steep track (Barkly River Jeep Track although I’m sure it’s a long time since a jeep went up that track successfully) – up I went. It was tough work. Very steep, very rocky, very hot. As always, there are lovely things to notice as you’re slogging up a hill. Beautiful little flowers growing in very harsh conditions, the brilliant blue of the sky.
At the top I stepped on to Jamieson Licola Road, beautifully graded and level and easy to walk on. Such a relief for a short walk. Except when vehicles drove past and kicked up all the dust! After a lovely stretch of flat walking, the trail headed off along an old vehicle track. It was another lovely change although I was on high snake alert, so sure there was one lurking in every bush along the trail. At the end I came back on to Jamieson Licola Road, completely unaware that I’d taken a wrong turn. Jub messaged me asking if I was off course. No, all good and I continued along my path. The road was flat and wide and even and passing through beautiful forest. Oh so tall needle straight trees reaching up to the sky out of a bed of bright green tree ferns. Then all of a sudden, the Jubbie-mobile arrived. I thought what a pleasant surprise. Turns out, he’d been waiting for me at the spot I was supposed to come out and saw me pop out of the bush at a different point on the map. He came to find out what I was doing. I hadn’t even been aware of a choice to make between different paths. We had a drink together in the Jubbie-mobile then he headed off to wait for me at my end point while I continued walking along. Turns out, I’d added 1.5kms to my day!
The road was really nice to walk along. The forest was beautiful. The time and kms passed quickly. I passed the track I should have come out on. After an hour I arrived at the Jubbie-mobile with Jubble relaxing in a chair with a beer. That’s the life. He’d even been swimming in a river today while he waited for our clothes to dry (ask me again who’s got the best husband!).
We went to Licola Caravan Park for the night. It’s really well maintained and quite nice grounds, particularly if you like camping in close proximity to your 20 neighbours! The trees at the caravan park are clearly perfect for cockatoos to roost in. Hundreds came screaming in, flying over the river, whirling around and having what seemed like a great time getting ready for bed. So noisy.
I was bitten a couple of nights ago by what must have been hornet sized mosquitoes (assuming hornets are big). The bites are huge. One on my calf is right near the top of my sock and by the end of the day was swollen and uncomfortable. So glad to get socks and boots off.
Chef Jublé made delicious black beans, veggies and rice and we relaxed next to the river with a glass of wine. Now that’s the life.
Kerry's Hikes 