I’m sorry that I haven’t been around to get this blog up earlier so I will try and get as much information up as soon as possible (before I go away again). Therefore this blog pretty much serves as a bit of an overview and recount of some of the notes I made along the way – but what about this first: Q. Is it always the way or is it just me that has the amazing insight in regards to my equipment/fitting/adjustment etc. during the final hours of my 5 day hike? Obviously, I MADE IT! Wow the Cooloola Great Walk (CGW) is a… “Great Walk” I guess that pretty much sums it up right there. The CGW topo’ map say’s that the CGW is ‘designed to hold you captivated for 5 days’ and I can honestly say it did just that. Each day had its own unique flavour (and weather) and took you through so many diverse ecosystems and habitats that I hardly got a chance to put the camera away before I had to get it out again! This diversity I must admit was the hidden bonus for me – I knew I was going to see some beautiful examples of our native flora and fauna but I failed to anticipate just how often it would change from one distinct system to another – so quickly and dramatically in so many places. Then, at the end of the day, to arrive at one of the four walkers’ camps with real (eco) toilets (DON’T FORGET YOUR TOILET PAPER!) – and (tank) water within these systems – to spend the night there and to wake up there well… just awesome! Of course, out of the four camps there is a standout and for me that was the Brahminy walkers’ camp on the very first night (coming from the South). I spoke to one of the rangers before doing the CGW and he “warned” me about how beautiful it was going to be up there (weather permitting – and it was) and he was spot on. Sunset at Brahminy Walkers’ camp with a well deserved cup of coffee and the sounds of nature all around me – and nothing else – was a truly unique experience: mind blowing… and this was day one! Now I’m going to try and complete fairly succinct highlights/timings/notes blogs for each walking day to help out anyone who is interested in completing the CGW however it must be noted that I completed the walk by myself which was totally cool but it makes for a little heavier pack and the definite requirement for an emergency strategy/action plan in the event that “something” should go awry and as you will read later “that something” nearly happened to me before lunch on day one! Therefore I would recommend that you share the experience (and the load) with at least one other person for safety reasons but once again going by yourself – if you have the knowledge/experience, the equipment, the first aid and the fitness is a very awesome thing too. A few notes (as I think of them): 1. Phone Reception: Telstra is sketchy in some places – every other carrier (I have Optus) is shit! I met another walker along the way and he had Telstra and was getting reception in most places where I wasn’t getting anything. So if you plan to use your mobile phone as part of your emergency comms. plan (as I did) and you are not with Telstra – think again. 2. Water: I weigh 83kgs and about 180cm tall and I carried a 25kg pack so I liked my water. I had a 3litre Camelback and this seemed to be the exact amount of water I required (for the walk) each day – I would literally arrive at camp swallowing my last two mouthfuls of water! I couldn’t help but think to myself about how much water I would need (and therefore how much heavier my pack would be) if I was to do the CGW during the summer months. Even though there are rainwater tanks at each of the four walkers’ camps it is “not guaranteed” and there is no water along the way (remember: all water needs to be treated). So you really need to accommodate for these realities especially during the summer. 3. Fitness: I am by no means superfit but I do however work in the outdoors which requires lots of walking so I felt that I had the “moderate” level of fitness required beforehand and after the five days of walking an average of 17.62kms a day with what was initially a 25kg pack it was just as well. There is really no shortcut around this – and you should know it within yourself if you are fit enough or not so don’t kid yourself: at base, your enjoyment levels have a direct correlation with your fitness levels. 4. Pack Weight: Even though I go on many multiday adventures (with my pack) they are always with large groups where there is a certain amount of sharing the load going on and, I must admit, most of our food/cooking requirements have been “dropped off” which negates even further the need to be totally self-sufficient (i.e. carrying more weight than is absolutely necessary). Now, it has been some time between drinks so to speak in regards to packing for a fully self-sufficient multiday hike and I am getting a little older and I do like my little luxuries here and there so my advice to you in regards to pack weight is: LEARN FROM ME! Apart from your essential equipment – wet/cold weather, emergency, first aid, sleeping, cooking etc. IF YOU CAN’T PICTURE YOURSELF ACTUALLY USING IT DON’T TAKE IT AND IF YOU CAN – QUESTION YOUR VISION – especially if you are travelling solo. I love my coffee (read: I am addicted to coffee) so I just had to take my ground coffee and small percolator because I need coffee(s) first thing in the morning and when I arrive at camp in the afternoon and preferably with some dark chocolate! Of course such desires have repercussions: (a) you must carry your used grounds out with you (so the idea of weight loss through consumption is nullified) and (b) sure you can have as many coffee’s as you want but you need to think about the fuel you are burning vs. your other meal requirements (note: I always carry more than enough fuel and always will however, I could have definitely saved weight here). My MSR standard size fuel bottle (full of shellite) provided me with 8 percolated coffee’s, 4 hot breakfasts and 4 hot dinners + 2 extra hot meals. I might also think again about using my old trusty stainless steel cook set too. Just to give you an idea, Andrew’s (I met along the way) pack was about 9kgs lighter than mine – NINE #%&*ING KILOS LIGHTER! Man…that’s a lot of weight I can think about not taking next time. 5. Food: which in turn is related to pack weight so the good thing about food is that after each meal your pack becomes lighter! I didn’t want to spend $17+ a night for a lightweight dehydrated dinners beforehand – BUT I CAN QUITE EASILY SAY THAT I WILL DEFINITELY THINK ABOUT IT IN THE FUTURE! – or better still, do my own dehydrating because apart from the weight the other consideration when buying supermarket-easy-cook-meals is the leftover packaging that you need to carry out afterwards – with the dehydrated meals you can just squash them up and pack them into each other. A basic run down of my meals is as follows - Breakfast: hot porridge (oats) with dried fruit and nuts thrown in; Morning Tea: homemade “power bar” with dried fruit and nuts; Lunch: salami, cheese and crackers; Dinner: pre-packed ready to eat meal; Extras: coffee, milk powder, dark chocolate, honey and 2 pkts “mi-goreng” noodles. 6. Tracks and Navigation: The Cooloola Great Walk (CGW) is a class 4 track according to Australian Standards -
Well that should do it for the overview – if I think of anything I’ll try and fit it in for tomorrow. hope this helps – please let me know or if you require any further information Source: https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/great-walks-cooloola/about.html Source:
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