Trekking the Larapinta - Epilogue

Stu Pocknee

25 Oct 2022

larapinta , trekking

All done. The flight path from Alice back to Brisbane.

Everyone wants to know what walking the Larapinta is like. I think that two questions are being asked.

What was the environment?
How did you personally feel?

It's very tempting to do the stock standard "It was awesome!" and then add a description of the scenery/heat and leave it at that. And that's probably ok for most people. If you're 'most people' then the previous entries in this blog will tell you everything you need to know. You need not read further.

If you want to know what it was like for me then the answer is necessarily more complex. To answer that I think a 3rd question is required.

What did it mean to you?

On arriving home my reality was that I didn't know what to think.

I was glad to be finished.
I was glad to be home.
I was proud to have completed it.
I enjoyed much of it.
I hated parts of it. No offence Larapinta, but you are hard work.

When asked, my basic response was "It was brutal. I'm glad I'm home, and in one piece. I'm still processing how I feel about it". Odd answer, I know. The cursory stock standard positive answers seemed disrespectful of the trail, and dismissive of the true impact of this adventure on me.

Talking to the glampers I had tried to describe what it was like to be on the trail. "It's hot, it's cold, it's easy, it's difficult, it's incredibly beautiful, it's harshly ug...."

One of the women rolled her eyes and chimed in "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."¹ Laughter all round. Embarrassed, I quickly segued to something else and moved on.

The Larapinta was not just another interesting holiday experience to be ticked off the list. It was something more. I couldn't articulate it for the glampers, nor can I do it now.

It was a journey that began a year before arriving in Alice Springs, and that continues today.

My personality is not one that is drawn to extremes. I am not prone to sudden life changing conversions that require me to periodically upend my existence. I neither seek, nor need, the approval of anyone in particular. There is no urge to convert heathens to my cause, nor educate the masses. No time is spent trying to publicly unlock existential enigmas.

If pressed, I probably could come up with terminology for people who do exhibit these personality traits. "Self involved wankers" perhaps.

The world I care about does not revolve around me. Certainly the wider universe has no interest in me. I'm a regular bloke who lives in the suburbs, looks after his family, walks his dog, and does normal regular bloke things. I am, by and large, happily content with this way of doing business. That's it.

Despite all that, I cannot deny that this experience has been, and continues to be, transformative for me. The challenge of this trail began a process that provided the impetus for me to re-evaluate and re-compose certain aspects of my life. It may well be the case that the desire was always there, and the Larapinta was merely the instrument needed to free certain latent catharsis inducing urges.

Obviously, I am in better physical condition than I have been in decades. There is a rediscovered self confidence and interest in doing new and difficult things.

Though it hurts me to delve into such cringeworthy topics I will say that the Larapinta adventure to date appears to be helping me to live my best life. It was a unique experience I shared with a select group of people who are important to me. Future me may well look back it and say "Yep, that moment in time mattered for me. It was a defining period in my life".

If you want to know what it meant to me to complete the Larapinta perhaps this is helpful.

If you want to know what it means for you to complete the Larapinta I can't help you.

To discover the answer to that you'll need to walk it yourself.

A Tale of Two Cities. - Charles Dickens..↩

Dirt - Sparks - Code

Self indulgent rambling. Minimal redeeming attributes.

Trekking the Larapinta - Epilogue