Coyote
- Start date: 4 April 2019
- Age When Completed: 41
- Direction Walked: South to North
General Comments
I found the quality of trail maintenance, and the general spirit of volunteerism, along the Bibbulmun Track quite impressive. I think the reason for that is the Bibb attracts a large portion of local/regional hikers - as opposed to, say, New Zealand’s Te Araroa (which attracts a much greater proportion of international hikers). And local/regional hikers tend to “give back” to the trail, since they stick around after the experience. It probably helps that the Bibb is pretty far-flung; if you’re not from the area, it takes a bit of a commitment to get there.
Food/Supplies Comments
I did all of my resupplying on the track, with no prior planning or mailing of food boxes. It helps that I’m not a picky eater.
Favourite Section
Walpole to Denmark: I loved the tingle forest.
Highlights
A solo evening on Mount Wells, sitting up in the fire lookout and watching the plume of smoke from a prescribed burn.
-Another hiker, Larry Carter, allowing me to do a “pack shakedown” for him as soon as we met.
-At Balingup, I caught a ride to Augusta and hiked the Cape to Cape Track northbound, then hitchhiked from Cape Naturaliste back to Balingup to resume the Bibb. (This was in the spirit of seeing as much of WA as possible, on foot, during my limited time there.)
-On the last night, after many days solo, catching up to fellow end-to-enders David & Kasia… and finishing in Kalamunda with them the next day.
Personal Reactions
I thought the track was overall very easy, both physically and logistically. My off-season hike proved to be a mostly solo venture where I could push some fairly long days - often reaching a meditative, almost trancelike state in a beautiful corner of the planet.
Wildlife
Lots of emus, ‘roos, and wallabies; one solo quenda; one dead fox (1080 works!); tiger & dugite snakes (though they must have all went into hibernation my last few weeks on track); kookaburras, currawongs, magpies, 28s, & cockatoos; a huntsman spider that jumped onto the book I was reading at West Cape Howe cabin
Your Best Equipment
Sun-reflective hiking umbrella. This comes in handy rain or shine. But watch out for wind!
Your Worst Equipment
My Neo-Air inflatable mattress, while comfortable, wasn’t great for the shelters. In the night I twist around and around like a rotisserie chicken, and the Neo Air makes a lot of noise, so I was self-conscious if there was anyone else in the shelter.
Advice for Others
Have a post-trail plan to deal with yourself, because an end-to-end hike is going to ruin you, in the best possible way, for life (even if you do it only once).
A few things you can do, post-trail:
-Pursue regular exercise, preferably outdoors
-Find some creative way to present your experience to others (presentations, photo albums, writing, etc.)
-Give back: do track maintenance
-Plan reunions with other end-to-enders
-Dream of and plan your next long walk