Trekking the Larapinta - Day 1: Alice Springs to Wallaby Gap

Stu Pocknee

12 Oct 2022

Section 1: Telegraph Station to Simpsons Gap

[Hike distance: 19.5km / 12.1mi]

2022-07-24

From our hotel at the southern end of Alice the four of us hiked north until we found an open cafe (7:30am). Knowing it was the last good breakfast for 2 weeks we savored the granola, eggs, and bacon. Finishing our coffees at ~8am we trekked north beside the dry Todd River and reached the trail start just before 9:00am.

Breakfast in Alice.

Our intrepid group at the 0km marker. Telegraph Station, Alice Springs.

Walking out into the desert from a reasonable sized town is confronting. Like parachuting out of a perfectly good aircraft, it is disconcertingly illogical. There is also something exciting about it. You're expecting the unusual - both good and bad.

A few steps in I attempted some quasi-humor. I noted that we had just joined a very select group of people - those who had actually attempted the Larapinta. We all knew that starting the trail and finishing it are not the same, but it had been quite a journey to get here, and I wanted to savor the undeniable feeling of accomplishment you get just by walking over the start line.

A sugar-free notice from LTTS, the group organizing our drop boxes and pickup bus.

The walk out of Alice is easy enough. Blogs and youtube videos warn that the first section or two in the east are both easy and boring. Phil had carefully planned our first day to be a short one - Telegraph Station to Wallaby Gap (half a section, 14km). The idea was that we ease into the trail. It also allowed us to comfortably tack on the 5km walk from the hotel.

I personally was pleasantly surprised by both the walk and the views. Maybe the countryside is not as picturesque as later sections, but for me the dry, grassy rocky country to the North and West of Alice was foreign enough to be immediately interesting. The terrain undulates, and while not super challenging, I wouldn't describe it as 'easy' walking. Temperatures had not yet begun to climb so it was comfortable enough. Things changed later in the day. Forecasts of 20°C (70°F) days may have been correct, but on the northern slopes of the east-west ridges it felt like 30°C (85°F) and sweat flowed freely.

Intermittent good breezes were a welcome relief. Over the coming fortnight we came to dub any cooling breeze (and they were thankfully not uncommon) as the 'Larapinta Doctor'.¹

Fraser trekking north west out of Alice.

We stopped at the Stuart Highway underpass at 10:30am and set about brewing a cup of tea. Packs down, chairs out. It was the first of many many (30min to 3hour) breaks we would take over the next two weeks. In planning discussions we had strategized about the need to avoid over-exertion by interspersing rest periods in our daily hikes. It was a scheme that served us well.

Morning tea under the Stuart Highway

The trek out of Alice.

On the trail.

We stopped for a 30 min lunch break just before 1:30pm. It was probably the least interesting lunch spot of the whole trek. Right on the trail and chosen for the little bit of shade that a few sparse and stunted native trees/bushes cast. Decent view to the west though. Guided day hiker groups turned out to be reasonably numerous on the trail, and we saw the first of these in the distance as they topped Euro Ridge.

Phil was often to be found perusing the Larapinta Trail Guidebook. I was just happy to take a load off and munch on some scrog.

By 2:30pm we were walking along Euro Ridge and sampling the first of many trail sections which feature dramatic drop-aways on one or both sides of the trail. The views back over Alice and the Heavitree Gap are excellent although the town seems disconcertingly close, making you wonder where all the kilometers trodden actually went.

Farewell Alice Springs.

Looking south from one of the ridge lines.

Euro Ridge.

We arrived at the Wallaby Gap camp site at 3:30pm to be greeted by a toilet, a rest shelter, some raised platforms, a water tank, and multiple camp sites.

The camp was already well populated. We were to learn that many hikers will try to start early and then reach their daily destination by lunch or in the early afternoon. There is some sense to this as walking in the afternoon sun is brutal and to be avoided if possible. Setting up camp, and then resting with a book or a deck of cards is an attractive option. Unfortunately for us our schedule of 13 days meant that we would be pushing on until late afternoon on most days.

Being our first night on the trail we weren't quite as slick setting up and getting dinner ready as were were to become, but there were no major dramas. Pffff, who am I kidding. Elise organized and sorted everything. Much as she did most nights. Every hiking group needs an Elise.

Fraser resting on a rock in Wallaby Gap.

Fraser and I caused a bit of bemusement with one camper/comedian when we laid out our bedding. "You boys forget your tents?" I don't often get called a 'boy'. Dieting must have paid off 😉. It was true that our spartan rigs were a bit of an anomaly. Not sorry, a tarp and ground sheet are a cheap and light combination. They certainly did the job over the next two weeks.

Before turning in we sat out for an hour or so and star gazed. With the lights of Alice Springs still not that distant conditions were not perfect, but it was better than any of us had seen in a long time. Satellites slid their way through the Milky Way, and the occasional meteor interrupted the calculations we were all mentally performing as we tried to comprehend the ridiculous vastness of the cosmos.

Second leg of Day 1.

A grateful homage to the famed "Fremantle Doctor".↩

Dirt - Sparks - Code

Self indulgent rambling. Minimal redeeming attributes.

Trekking the Larapinta - Day 1: Alice Springs to Wallaby Gap