Michelle van Dort (MVD)
- Start date: 15 May 2022
- Age When Completed: 29
- Direction Walked: South to North
- Others in Group:
Solo!
General Comments
Amazing track, thanks to all the vollies and staff that keep it so well maintained!
Food/Supplies Comments
I did a combination of food drops at visitor centres and shopping in track towns.
Favourite Section
From Sullivan Rock to Kalamunda! Loved all the granite ridge walking.
Also Denmark - Walpole for the amazingly breath-taking coastal scenery!
Highlights
Frankland River hut was beautiful. Watched the Rakali swim, read my book on a rock in the middle of the river and did yoga on the deck.
Also loved meeting so many interesting and kind people out on the track. The support and encouragement from other hikers out there is like none other.
Wildlife
Whales, wallabies and lots of snakes on the coastal sections.
I saw an owlet night-jar early one morning while head-torch hiking. I also got bowled over by an emu that same morning! I think it got fixated on the light of my head torch.
Your Best Equipment
Altra lone peak trail runners - I swapped to these towards the end and my feet loved them. Felt so light and nimble wearing these.
Osprey Eja 38L - I started with a 65L which was a great pack but too bulky. It was a squeeze with the 38L but I wholly recommend going as small and light as possible as it made my walk so much more enjoyable.
Naturehike Cloud UP 2 - perfect little tent considering the price!
Sea to Summit Flame III sleeping bag - expensive but it kept me warm even at North Bannister in sub zero temps. Worth it!
Your Worst Equipment
Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated sleeping mat. It wasn’t horrible, but it was too small for me and quite noisy. Sorry to anyone I shared a hut with!
Advice for Others
Don’t book accommodation in advance - it’s much more enjoyable being able to be flexible with how many kms you do each day.
Pack as light and small as possible - be brutal with what you take. Extra clothes only means you end up carrying multiple sets of dirty/wet clothes. My walk was so much more enjoyable when I downsized my pack and kept it under 12kg at it’s max.