Rob and I took full advantage of the long weekend, in honor of the Queen's birthday (although it wasn't actually her birthday, whatever…), and got out to have oodles of fun. We busted out of work early Friday afternoon, packed up the car and headed south with piles of food and only the vaguest of plans. We knew we were headed to Dwellingup, had some notion of hiking a bit of the Bibbulmun Track out to a hut and hoped to get in some kayaking before heading home Monday.
We made good time to the little community, taking a short cut that afforded us some stunning sunset views, and had camp set up before dark. Dinner was full-on gourmet, putting us at slight odds with our beer-swilling, hotdog-roasting, TV-watching, music-blaring neighbors. Gosh, it's so nice just to get out and get away from it all, isn't it?
It was kind of a slow, groggy start the next morning, but it didn't really matter as the tourist info office didn't open until 10 anyway. We needed to stop in to grab a map and get directions to the trail head. The Bib Track, as it's so fondly referred to, wanders some 1,000 kms from the outskirts of Perth south to the city of Albany on the southern coast of Western Australia. It's similar to the great hikes of the U.S. in traversing a great and diverse region, dotted with huts spaced an easy day's walk apart, and passing through numerous small towns, where through hikers can pick up provisions. Our 11 a.m. start seemed rather late to me, but still afforded us plenty of time to pick our way along, checking out every flower along the track, and make it to the Swamp Oak Hut 13.1 km from town by 3:30.
We were accompanied at the hut for the evening by the most delightful collection of folks. There were two sets of ladies out for varying lengths of hikes and a solo gentleman. Everyone was so affable and conversation just flowed easily among the seven of us as we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the bush. I provided the evening's camp fire entertainment with a few tunes before we all turned in around 8 - I felt so old being the first to call it a night!
It rained pretty hard during the night, soaking Rob's pack and getting everything quite muddy. We were in no hurry to jump up and retrace our steps in the light drizzle that persisted through the morning, so we just lazed in the tent until everyone else had vacated the hut. This allowed us some dry space to organize our gear and dry the tent a bit before heading back. We took advantage of the leisurely morning and wandered down to the river for a quick leg stretching sans packs. There we witnessed a most comical group of horribly inexperienced paddlers negotiating a pair of small rapids.
We both were suffering from sore, tired tootsies by the time we strolled back into Dwellingup that afternoon. Wearing old running shoes and worn-out hiking boots is not the best idea for a 26.2 km hike, especially when neither of us has carried a pack in ages. There were no injuries or major blisters to complain of, but hot spots, aches, and foot cramps abounded. I was pretty well ready to amputate my stupid little toe by the end of it.
Eating out sounded like a great treat after a few days of wheat-free, dairy-free camping/trail meals, but that was before we fully considered what the hamlet of Dwellingup honestly had to offer. Neither of us was exactly impressed with what passed as a meal at the local cafe, and to be perfectly honest, my insides haven't yet settled! Alas, we returned to our campsite from the first night less than satisfied, but pleased with our efforts nonetheless and fairly impressed that we managed not to kill each other on our first overnighter.
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