Day 15: White Horse Hills to Mt Wells
We acknowledge the Nyoongar People as the traditional custodians of the land and waters along the Bibbulmun Track
At the top of the first hill for the day.
Today’s hike involves a modest climb at the start of the day, followed by a descent and flat ground, with another long steep climb at the end of the day. I figure we’ll be fine but I need a confidence boost. The terrain is good but we end up walking through burnt forest the entire day - somewhat confronting for someone who loves plants, but of course the Australian bush is adapted to fire. And there are always interesting things to see for the eagle-eyed!
The overview map for today.
Dwellingup and a hot shower are just a few days away!
The day’s details. The 4km climb at the end of the day looks steep but doable at a leisurely pace.
But first… food! We are progressively becoming more and more food focussed… as are our hiking companions!
Poha for breakfast again. We alternate between three brekkies: porridge (with full cream milk powder), noodles with dehydrated vegetables, and this one, which is delicious. The early results were a little gluggy but Geoff has refined the technique and now the rice flakes are fluffy and perfect. The noodles are a favourite but low in protein. After this hike, we decide to add dried tofu or snipped bean curd sheets to them. It’s also very obvious just how good porridge is for a hiking breakfast: you stay full all the way to lunch. It’s certainly the most nourishing breakfast in our repertoire.
We set off through recently control burned country. Look how quickly the xanthorrhoeas respond! Many other Australian native plants rely on fire and the chemicals present in the ash bed to germinate.
The best burns are patchy, leaving small areas unburned as a refuge and food source for native wildlife. You can see the patchiness perfectly in this shot.
False Boronia (Phyllanthes calycinus) growing in a sheltered granite crevice. Just how much of the block has been burned? If a lot has been, it will make for a quick hike!
Views to the bauxite tailings lake to the southeast. We are in the middle of mining country as well as logging country.
Kingias. There may not be too many tiny herbs or plants today!
And here are those Kingias in flower! Astonishing!
And near the top of that first hill a huge warren of fire-responsive Hare Orchid (Leptoceras menziesii) in bud and flower.
Many of these Drosera stolonifera in flower, like confetti scattered across the burnt ground.
Zamia in football-sized fruit. The nuts and flesh around the nuts inside the pods are an important food source for many animals, and are edible for humans if prepared in a specific way to remove toxins. Flour was made from the starchy trunks.
Geoff thinks it’s pretty funny that even here I can still find interesting things to photograph!
Pterostylis sp.
Caladenia flava, Cowslip Orchid. We have seen a lot of these; even today some are popping up in the ash.
A stubby iris, Patersonia babianoides
There really isn’t much else to photograph because we have been walking through burnt forest the entire day. There are few views, either, and the climb up Mt Wells is a long slog, not least because it is warm. Whilst it proves to be manageable it’s still good to arrive and settle in with plenty of time to relax.
The hut is the only non purpose-built one on the trail. It is on the very top of the hill, and would be fun in wild weather… or would it?
It should be cosy with the sun shining through the window to warm the timber sleeping platform. In the patch of sun I read a book from the hiking log book box but for some reason the hut feels off.
The second room comprises a kitchen. The hut would be welcome in bucketing rain but there’s something strangely uninviting about this building. Neither of us want to sleep in it.
So we set up our tent amongst the banksias. The ground here is extremely hard and you’ll likely need a few rocks if you have a non-freestanding tent. We use MSR full size groundhog stakes, and carry a few spare nail pegs, and these have been good for the kind of terrain we’ve encountered. Thin cheap shepherd crook stakes would have long bent out of shape.
The old fire tower next to the hut is worth climbing even though the views today aren’t spectacular.
Two of our lovely young hut companions are double-hutting today so we have Mt Wells to ourselves. Although we arrived quite early there is no point in continuing because it will turn the entire day into a slog. Hopefully tomorrow we will soon reach the end of the burnt forest.
