Sarah Holt (Coyote)

Your Story or Advice for Others

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.

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

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Trip Details

How you completed the Bibbulmun Track:

• All at once

• Who did you complete the Track with? Solo (primarily)
• Was undertaking your hike the PRIMARY/MAIN purpose of your TRAVEL from where you currently live? No
• What first prompted you to walk the Bibbulmun Track? Other
  

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Your Experience

Favourite Section
Walpole to Denmark: I loved the tingle forest.

Highlight of your trip
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.

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