Bibbulmun Track - Day 30 - 32

Day 30

A bit more rain in the morning but I managed to shoot off just after 8am. First stop was the Gloucester Tree. A cool tree that you can normally climb up around on the re-bar spikes... sadly for me it was closed for maintenance... 

The track then takes you down into a valley and along a creek for a while and in typical Bibb fashion; Half way up the hill and then half way back down, then back up again... There was a short side trip to some Cascades which were nice for a break. 

After the break the remaining km fell quickly and I found myself at an empty hut by 130pm. It started spitting soon after so I quickly grabbed some mostly dry twigs and sticks for a fire later. It wasn't long before Jess caught up too. 

Around 4 we lit the fire and just as we got it going we were joined by another team of 4. 2 E2E hikers and a pair of friends that were joining them for a section. Apparently they have been behind us by a day for a few weeks so they were happy they caught up and finally met us. All in the hut tonight, and although both top loft spots were free all 4 decided to fill in the space in the middle of the bottom platform... 

Day 31

I was the first up this morning, getting out of bed at 630am. The others wernt too far behind but I was already packed and ready as they were still making their coffee. 

Fairly easy trail today and some amazing spots along the Warren River to stop for breaks. Some cool little rapids and if was a touch warmer some great swimming spots. 

The 2nd half diverted from the river but was still pretty easy walking. So much so that I was at the next hut at 1130am...  There was a nice dam here with steps for entry. A bit of sun, a lot of time and a little boredom got me to jump in for a dip. I lasted 30 seconds. It was almost as cold as the river. Very refreshing...  

The others soon made and we played some cards to pass more time in the arvo. One of the group of 4 also had a Bluetooth speaker so we had some tunes going. At one point everyone turned on their flashing mode for our headlamps to have a 20 second mini-rave. 

After dinner down by the Lake edge we could see a bunch of marron (yabbies) hanging about. They didn't stay long with all the lights shining on them. Some a decent size, apparently they're good for eating... but have a very restricted collection season.

Day 32

Only a short 14km today so there wasn't a big rush in the morning. People started stirring just after 6 and I was out about 630. While I was having breakfast two keen hikers decided the dam looked good for a morning swim. Mad. Very quick way to wake up I guess...

Noticing another change in vegetation. Trees are spreading out and less of the huge Karri Gums. Stating to see more wetland and marsh type grasses but today also has you walking along farmland. Lush green grass and lots of dairy cattle.

After the farmland we were back along another river and past the wier which provides the town water. Nice creek most of the way. I made town at about 940am. Pub starts serving lunch at 12... I ate a sneaky pie at the cafe for smoko. When I still had time in the morning I also did my resupply in the General store. 6 days worth... pack is heavy again...

Pub finally opened so headed there for lunch. 5 others from the hut last night were there. On the way it started raining pretty heavy, good day to be watching it thought the window. Room check-in isn't until 3pm so there was a bit of time to kill in the afternoon. The group of 4 had planned to hike out (15 ish km to next hut) but the rain dampened their plans so they grabbed rooms too. 

Laid out the food resupply to work out rations for the next leg. 6 days, but the last day is only 10km so not as much needed there. Probably have too much.... have to ensure there is enough though :o Also discovered that my Micro->USB C adapter had died so picked a new (more expensive than I would like) cable. The shortest they had was 1m...

We played cards upstairs and snacked fairly heavily in the arvo. When the game finished i took the time to do some life admin stuff and lost track of time. When I finally went down I found the kitchen had closed 10min prior... Lucky some hiker friends had extra chips/wedges to share. 

There was a motor bike group ride all staying here tonight so a pretty vibrant atmosphere. We played darts for a short while before a relatively late night, just after 9pm! I feel asleep very easy.