Day 40: Beavis to Beedelup
We acknowledge the Nyoongar People as the traditional custodians of the land and waters along the Bibbulmun Track
Beautiful Beedelup Falls
Overview map. Use the Bibbulmun Track Foundation Map 5: Pemberton
22km with just over 700 metres elevation gain
Another day ranked in Geoff’s top ten for difficulty, back to back with yesterday: no wonder our legs are getting tired! More steep ups and downs, but the fantastic trees are continuing to increase in height and we are again in Beedleup National Park for the whole time.
More pretty bridges to cross and perfect hiking weather make for a great start.
There is very little road walking: nearly all is single track.
More deadfall. Negotiating fallen trees when there are just few like this is no biggie, but when a lot are down then it greatly increases the time you need to cover a certain distance, and it can become physically exhausting.
Tall trees!
Drosera sp
It’s hard to convey the scale of these trees. Here’s Geoff at the base of one of the karris. The volume of timber in these must be astounding.
More Pterostylis.
The “karri marri tree” is a natural graft. The swelling below the fork, its narrowness, and the debris in it suggest that they will split apart at some stage but, for now, they are still wedded!
Creeks, creeks and more creeks!
I have collapsed at the start of the big, steep climb at the 14.5 km mark. Please, let it be over!
So we stop for a long lunch and, after a rest, there are more interesting and new plants to find and put a spring in my step. Here, Crowea angustifolia
And a white form of the normally blue-mauve Orthrosanthus.
Seriously, how could anyone get bored with this?
Nearly at the Falls. We expect to pop in quickly.
Karri Forest Lodge across the lake. Some of our friends are staying there and slackpacking into town. Apparently the food is delicious!
We think this tree is huge, but there is so much more in coming weeks, trees that dwarf this one.
These signs give you some idea of just how big karri trees get: 212 cubic metres (277 cubic yards) of wood, or 234 tonnes (258 tons), in just one tree. When you consider these kinds of numbers, you instantly understand why forests are so valuable in locking up carbon, why tree planting can help, and why clearing them is so damaging.
And these trees survive bushfires by developing protective bark up to 45mm (1.8”) thick, so hundreds of years worth of carbon is sequestered in each one.
The falls are a complete delight.
After an hour pootling around Beedelup Falls, it’s time to head to camp. The fun photography is again bouncing me along!
The tent sites are, as is nearly always the case, excellent.
And another lovely hut with two people who are becoming dear friends. Unless you specifically don’t want to, you will find kindred spirits on a thruhike, not least because you have at least one very important life experience in common.
