A Dangerous Business

Date: 2nd September 2023

Start: Gadd’s Walkers Camp

End: West Branch Walkers Camp

Distance Walked: 15.8 km

Current Song Stuck in Head: Monsters Inc. I’m not joking, I’ve had random scenes from Monsters Inc. repeating in my head all day.

Blisters: 3

Today was… bad. Not in the physically demanding way that yesterday was, more in the “I really don’t like being alone” kind of way. Honestly I found myself being surprised by that. In my usual life I’m pretty introverted. I like my own space and spending time with myself. You’d think, therefore, that walking for 5 days with minimal company would be right up my alley. I thought so too, until I reached camp today and realised just how isolated I am.

The walk itself was rather dull. Leaving Gadd’s, the track turns onto a 4WD/fire management trail for the first 4.5 km. It was flat for a bit, but we were soon climbing again and because it was a 4WD track, it was very steep.

So, back into yesterday’s rhythm of walk 20 m, stop to catch breath, rinse and repeat. Thankfully, it was far shorter than trying to scale up Battleship Spur, but it still completely drained me. From there, the track diverges from the 4WD trail, heading west through yet more bushland.

On the plus side, the track was very flat so my pace was very good, averaging 4 km/h. On the otherhand… there was nothing to see, and I spent most of the walk keeping an eye out for snakes or wincing at my shoulders. For some reason, I can never get enough support on them and I can’t work out if it’s the pack or me that’s the issue.

4 hours into a hike that was supposed to take me 5-6 hours, I crossed over the Maranoa “River” and arrived at West Branch. Quite aptly named considering it’s the furthest west I will go on this tramp.

Taking my shoes off may have been a mistake, as the blister I found yesterday had reproduced itself on my other foot and had a kid on my right big toe (no pics this time). There’s a suspension bridge to take you over the river, and the walker’s camp is supposed to be directly to the right after you cross it. I expected to find a similar layout to Gadd’s: a toilet and a shelter with water pumps and a picnic bench. What I found instead was a solitary tap and a clearing. So instead, I went 200 m up the road to the intuitively named “West Branch Camping Area.” There’s a 4WD track leading from here to the town of Mitchell, so this camp is more meant for people bringing in a vehicle and therefore a lot more equipment. Nevertheless, I decided to park myself there instead of at the walker’s camp.

This is when I began to spiral. In every past multi-day trip I had been on, I had my younger sibling Eli, or even my whole family walking with me. For some reason, I had got into my head that I would prefer hiking solo. Our last trip together was the Tongariro Northern Circuit in December 2022. On our second day, we had to deal with a pretty nasty descent from Red Crater and Eli, who’s had recurring knee issues for several years, was taking a rather leisurely pace (at least for my liking). It frustrated me, because I knew that I could’ve gone much faster if it was just me, but because I had Eli with me, we had to support each other, and that meant going at their pace. Now that I have done 2 days solo, I can confidently say that I prefer walking with other people. Sure, I have enjoyed setting my own pace on trail (knowing full well there is no way anyone else in my family is making it up to Battleship Spur in a single day) and as a result I have clowned on the “expected” journey times listed on the map.

But, with no one around me to chat and joke with, I’ve become very lonely. What’s worse is that there’s no easy way to get back to my parents from where I am now. Either I retrace my steps over 2 days, first to Gadd’s and then somehow descending Battleship Spur into the gorge, or I keep going up to the Consuelo Tableland and then come down via Boolimba Bluff over the course of 3 days. To me, that first option is out of the question: there isn’t enough money in the world that could convince me to go down that hill. That leaves me with two more nights on trail before I get back to base.

Needless to say, I’m very grateful for my satellite communicator. I only get a handful of messages a month as a part of my plan, but I was more than happy to use a few of them today to just let mum and dad know what I was struggling with. That definitely helped bolster my spirits, just getting some form of communication with the outside world.

Tomorrow’s walk is gonna be quite a bit tougher than what I had to deal with today. At 17.3 km, it’s the longest section of track on this circuit and includes a 350 m ascent, albeit a mostly gradual one. This will also be the end of my access to a proper toilet until I get back to Carnarvon Visitors Centre, so hopefully my trowel digging skills are sufficiently decent…