Ross Webster (Mr Happy)
Completed: 24 May, 2021
Mr Happy
- Start date: 20 April, 2021
- Age When Completed: 50
- Direction Walked: Southbound
Track Towns and Supplies
- Did you have any issues finding food/supplies? Yes
- We dropped off re-supply boxes in all of the towns and the visitors centers were awesome. Next time I do it I will re-supply from the towns along the way. They have enough and it will give me variety and support the towns more.
Your Story or Advice for Others
General CommentsSo all up I loved it. I loved the challenge and the simple routine and the environment and walking to the top of the hills. Unfortunately Kylie not so much but the timeframe I planned for with lots of 30-40km days was the biggest problem there. Thank you to the founders, the foundation, the government agencies and all the volunteers for creating and maintaining this incredible resource. WA is so lucky to have such an incredible facility.
Your Best Equipment
Altra Lone Peak 5 trail runners - we call these our track slippers. A huge toe box and so soft. Thanks to Wildfire.com.au for sending an emergency pair to Kylie in 4 days. Some people may find they don’t provided much ankle support and you can feel every rock and honky nut through them but I had no blisters at all and they were a god send for poor Kylie’s feet. Enlightened Equipment Enigma Quilt - 524g soft, comfy & warm. These provided easy access, movement and warmth... the only problem was that they were hard to leave on a cold morning. Zpack duplex tent - 540g well made and easy to setup - only issue is that it is not self supporting so you can’t use it for privacy and mozzie protection inside the shelters. We had to wild camp on the diversion and used it on 4 other occasions. Sea to Summit - clothes line! This is a super handy little addition that I didn’t plan on bringing but ended up loving and using a lot. Bot700 cooking pot - unreasonably expensive even on special but super practical. Great size (700m), light (137g) and solid. Fits a 100g Jetboil gas canister, our tiny BRS burner, a lighter, silicone cup and drying cloth. Screw top was super secure and water tight if you want to cold soak.
Advice for Others
Timing - we were so lucky with weather and critters. No ticks or March flies and only a few mozzies and flies. Only 5 snakes and they were slow and shy. We spent probably 5 hours all up hiking in the rain (we were super lucky as it liked to rain when we were in the shelters) and our hottest day was 29 degrees. We know we missed the wildflowers of spring and the higher rivers but we also missed the spring snakes and flooded plains so all up we were extremely happy with April/May conditions.
Trip Details
How you completed the Bibbulmun Track:- All at once
- Who did you complete the Track with? Other - Kylie Webster aka Pinkwitch - 47yo
- Was undertaking your hike the PRIMARY/MAIN purpose of your TRAVEL from where you currently live? No
Your Experience
Mt Clare through to Giants. Favourite campsites were Monadnocks, Tom Rd and Dog Pool. The hardest bits were dune walking (but the views were beautiful) and the roller coaster. The easiest walking was on the Pingerup Plains.
Highlight of your trip
Seeing a whale, getting nearly blown off the track on our last day, the people we met.