Ellery Creek North Day 11: Rest Day Rationale
A relaxing day spent swimming, exploring the creek, watching waterbirds and soaking up the ancient environment
Brewing a hot cuppa after a swim in icy water. While sitting here in splendid solitude (no other people on this side, but literally busloads on the far bank at Ellery Creek South), we watched an eagle dive to snatch fish from the water — a banner memory. What a stunning location!
Why a Rest Day?
We normally include Rest Days with the previous day in blogs, but thought it useful to explain our rationale for recommending rest days further. If you hiked the Pound Circuit walk on your ‘Rest’ Day in Ormiston Gorge, we think that many other leisurely hikers would enjoy a stop here too.
When we hiked the 1,000km Bibbulmun Track, some of the best advice we received was to spend at least two nights, even three, in each track town. On the Larapinta, these ‘track towns’ with resupply could be considered to be Ormiston Gorge, Serpentine Gorge/Ellery Creek South and Standley Chasm, perhaps even Simpsons Gap, and two nights is likely to be plenty. In fact, the Larapinta is an excellent introduction to longer distance hiking, as it has the same kind of resupply and logistical requirements as a thru-hike. After you’ve successfully hiked this trail, the Bibbulmun is well within reach!
On the Larapinta, rest days provide an opportunity to recharge electronics during times when the sun is high and no one else is using the charging ports. We later found that charging one device at a time worked much better. Although there are four ports, using them simultaneously would slow charging to such an extent as to be effectively pointless.
Also plenty of time to study the map, check upcoming weather and plan ahead. Cold weather later in the week — 11C/52F maximum! — but Saturday (the day after tomorrow) is to be hot and windy, so we aim to make Friday a longer day, and Saturday a shorter one. This is the kind of flexibility a conservative schedule provides.
When you hike long tracks like the Bibbulmun, you develop what’s known as ‘Trail Legs’, where your body becomes accustomed to hiking every day. Well, at least in theory! As I discovered, a lack of protein and calories limits this, especially for older women. It quickly became apparent that one full rest day every 7-9 days — that is, a day not spent walking all around town organising resupply, charging devices, checking long range forecasts, doing laundry, fixing glitches, finding places to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and finding internet to catch up with family and friends — was essential. Returning to the trail while still tired was a recipe for misery. So this meant three nights in each track town, with one full day for chores and one full day to rest. Geoff could have managed with two or even one night per track town but, after more than four decades, he well knows ‘happy wife, happy life!’ (Just kidding — the maxim ‘happy spouse, happy house,’ more accurately reflects our approach!).
You’ll have time to explore the rock pools.
We watched fish. The stripey ones are Barred Grunters (Amniataba percoides) and the ones without stripes are Spangled Perch (Leiopotherapon unicolor).
A swim and a paddle in Ellery Creek Big Hole.
Yes, of course it is possible to continue without a rest… but if you are buggered by lunchtime with half the distance still to go, days just aren’t fun for anyone not motivated by challenge. If you love pushing yourself then go you — there is no right or wrong motivation, only the right or wrong one for you! — but, after winning a couple of rounds with Big C, I’ve had enough challenge! Fun for me is a nice walk through beautiful environments with plenty of time to enjoy every tiny flower and critter. Challenge is relative: even this approach was demanding for me on this trail with its heat and rocky terrain, and I was pretty bushed by mid-afternoon on longer days. How does heat affect your stamina?
A sleep-in and a relaxed breakfast, plus extra cuppas!
Yesterday’s heat and lack of shade was enervating and we had hiked for ten days straight. When we arrived at Ellery Creek North with its large shady trees, sandy banks, teeming birdlife and beautiful waterhole, we looked at each other and wordlessly confirmed that this was indeed the place to use one of our spare food days.
A wash with a sponge (no soap, of course) with time to dry off on sun-warmed rocks. Delightful!
If you’re following our itinerary, you too have flexibility because you have contingency days at the end of your walk including at least one extra day of food in each resupply. Don’t for a moment think that you need to follow our itinerary exactly: it’s a framework weighted towards slower hikers rather than average to fast ones, so it’s a conservative approach that makes it easier to tweak. However, it might be too relaxed for you: you may arrive at Ellery Creek North and be raring to continue! Conversely, if you are like many folk of average fitness, a rest day might appeal. We had planned a rest day here, and as it turned out it was a perfect place to recover.
The creek curves around in a sweeping arc and you’ll see a lot of waterfowl here, as well as more swimming holes.
We also know that some of the most demanding days — Hugh Gorge, Razorback, Brinkley Bluff — are ahead. Tackling the toughest days after hiking 13-16 days straight without a rest would almost certainly not work for me. What about you? Yes, many people run the Larapinta in seven days, or easily hike it in fourteen, but you are not ‘many people’ and should always tailor to your specific ability and preferences.
Again, it is the idea of freeing yourself from a fixed itinerary that is liberating and a huge step-change in approach. You know the date you started and the approximate date plus or minus two or even three days that you’ll arrive in Alice Springs, but everything in between is flexible. Standley Chasm will honour your bookings a few days either side because they understand this too and, as long as you’ve booked extra days where you think you will stay, Parks won’t hassle you if you’ve clearly tried to do the right thing and end up spending longer at a different campsite instead.
Time to notice details.
And time to enjoy the company of others in the evening, or as they pass by your camp during the day. Because, for most people, hiking is about more than just getting from A to B!
We respectfully acknowledge the Arrernte People as the traditional custodians of the land on which we walk and pay our respects to Elders past and present and to the Aboriginal people present today.
