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• RAMBLER'S BADGE

The Rambler's Badge

Before being awarded the Rambler's Badge the Rover must:

1. Demonstrate to an examiner appointed by the Crew, a thorough knowledge of survival techniques and first aid.
2. Have completed, as a member of a team of Rovers, a journey extending over four consecutive days, (with three nights out) or two journeys each extending over 48 hours, (each with two nights out) not reckoning travelling time to the starting point of from the finishing point. The journey must be organised by the Rover and approved by the Crew to be of sufficiently high standard. The journey may be by land or water, either by foot or by mechanically powered vehicle or vessel. The journey must present a definite test of endurance or other desirable skills as well as be calculated to bring out the qualities of self-reliance, initiative, determination and leadership. The Rover must present a trip diary/log of the expedition to the crew within one month of its conclusion.

- Rover Record Book, Second Edition. The Scout Association of Australia, 2003.

Contents

• Aims
• Planning
• Log
  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3
  • Day 4
  • Day 5
  • Day 6
  • Day 7
  • Afterwards
• Reflection
• Thanks

Aims

My aims are set out in my application letter to my crew.

December 22nd 2007

Crew,

I am writing to request your approval for the commencement of the Rambler's component of my Baden-Powell Award.

My goal for the badge would be to lead a successful hike in the Northern Flinders Ranges along the Heysen Trail, totalling a distance of 100 km or more. I have done some hiking through my long involvement with Scouting, but this would be far longer and more challenging than anything else I have ever organised.

Regards,

Ullr
(Cameron Roy)

Ullr is my Aesir god name. Each member of Aesir is given a god name when they are invested. Ullr is the god of skiing, archery and the hunt.

Planning

Planning began in July 2007. The Rambler's Badge was something that I was enthusiastic about and I wanted to get started as soon as possible.

While hiking, I think to myself about many things and during one of my previous hikes along the Heysen Trail, the idea had drifted across my mind of completing the entire Heysen Trail.

So the Heysen seemed a great place to start. My love of the spectacular Flinders Ranges and our holiday house near Blinman for use as a base made the Northern section appealing.

I poured over the Heysen Trail website and downloaded the trail route from the Friends of the Heysen Trail website into Google Earth. 100 seemed a nice round number, so I set my sights on the final 100 km from Hawker to Parachilna Gorge. I flicked up the uni calendar for 2008, picked some dates and advertised for expressions of interest from other Rovers.

I put the idea to my crew, who thought it was a suitable plan to satisfy the Rambler's component.

One of the principal barriers in beginning planning was approval from the PC Bushwalking, John Litvan. SS&P is less than clear with relation to what Rovers are allowed to do, but it's generally agreed that for anything North of Wilpena you need approval from the PC Bushwalking, due to the remoteness of the area and harshness of the environment. I emailed John in October and several weeks (and phone calls) later received the official good-to-go, subject to appropriate planning. I was stoked, it was great to know that what I planned was even a possibility.

I advertised for participants through the Rover Forum and as the date drew nearer, also on the Rover mailing list. Over a dozen people expressed interest overall - I was really happy that there was so much enthusiasm, as I have heard people say in the past that the hardest part of the Rambler's Badge is assembling the people to take part! That sounds to me more like a Method B Social Development Badge, and shouldn't be the principle challenge of the Rambler's Badge as I see it. It's supposed to be about getting out there and testing your skills on a challenging expedition.

During March, I began to compose the activity plan - an epic document thousands of words in length detailing everything I had in my mind regarding the Ramble. Who's coming? What do they need to bring? How are we getting there? Where are we getting water from? Who's bringing the map? What do we do if someone gets a sore thumb on day three? and how can we reduce the likelihood and consequences of thumb-related injuries?

The activity plan is available for download.

I sent a pile of emails - asking about hiring radios, seeking more participants, advising participants on plans, getting people to wear their boots in and more. I also posted on the Friends of the Heysen Trail Forums with some questions I had.

I made phone calls - to Hawker to get phone numbers, to Wonoka and Arkaba stations about the status of water tanks, the to National Parks Office about camping fees, water and goat shooting of all things!

I borrowed the Northern Heysen Trail Guidebook from Fullarton Venturer Unit, cut myself a 10km piece of string and set about measuring the course. My previous distance estimates had been based on Google Earth. I also acquired 1:50K topographic maps of the area which I used to formulate our escape routes (as the Heysen Trail Guidebook only shows the maps immediately around the trail, and sometimes the nearest road or station is not on those maps.)

Using the previously mentioned Google Earth trace, I was able to make an electronic map of the Heysen Trail, and to utilise it, I borrowed Chloe Stewart's GPS - an eTrex Legend.

I also borrowed a UHF radio from the Scout Radio Activities Group, and an EPIRB from the Scout Bushwalking Team.

During early April, I met with Michael Woodward to satisfy part one - Demonstrate to an examiner appointed by the Crew, a thorough knowledge of survival techniques and first aid. Michael is an experienced member of the Scout Bushwalking Team.

I have a Senior First Aid certificate but this is generally targeted at situations where medical help is less than 1 hour away. We discussed what the party would do while we were further away than this (almost always.) We pinpointed the worst case scenario location (which was halfway through the last day) and considered the party's actions in case of an emergency here. We conversed about the most important safety gear we needed to carry, and the contents of first aid kits. He had a great many ideas and was very helpful.

During the final days, the kitchen floor began to fill up with gear, I seam-sealed one of the new Aesir Macpacs, I tested the stove, I went shopping for food, I made a final call to the National Park to check for some kind of disaster which might prevent us going hiking, I bought water for the water drops and generally ran around like a headless chicken getting things organised. Everything got thrown into the car and off we went to Nilpowilla.

Log

Day 1 - April 17th - Hawker Road to Mayo Hut

The other participants set off from Adelaide, while my parents and I dropped water along the route. We dropped water near Trezona Campground, at Aroona, at Yanyanna Hut and at Moralana Scenic Drive. We also dropped the boxes of food and supplies at Wilpena. It was a very pleasant drive, with some great scenery and we got quite a few geocaches along the way.

We met at Hawker Motors around 3pm - an hour behind schedule. We did some final shopping (fresh muffins and bread) checked the weather forecast (fine and sunny, 25, for the entire week) and set off for the start point.

I decided to start at the original start location, even if we were going to walk in the dark a bit, it wouldn't kill us and there would be plenty of moonlight. We performed a grand unpacking/gear-shuffling/repacking procedure as we tried to get everyone's packs to about an equal weight. In the end the starting weights were:

Anton	22 Kg
Cameron	21 Kg
Jess	21 Kg
Kate	20 Kg
Nat	17 Kg

Overall I wasn't entirely happy with these arrangements, but everyone else seemed to be. I reasoned that we only had a short distance to go that day, then people could rearrange their gear as needed. Also everyone had their heaviest meal for the first night, so that would get rid of a fair bit of weight.

We finally set off at 3:50pm, with mum taking the required photograph of us on the first stile.

After a few hundred meters we dropped into Wonoka Creek, which we would follow until the next day. We skirted around Wonoka Hill, and then came across a surprise - other people! They were locals, collecting slate from the creek. They were very talkative and friendly - good, since they would be the last people we would talk to for 2 and a half days.

During the first few kilometres, I was continually assessing the status of peoples' feet - now was the most important time to catch hotspots before they developed into blisters - which could become extremely painful towards the end of the walk. Without their feet, a hiker is nothing!

We saw a lot of water in the creek over the next few kilometres - wide pools and small streams trickling between them. It was very picturesque.

At around 6:10, Kate stopped to tape her feet. I was glad my pleas were not falling on deaf ears. Anton and I ate an apple each - while apples are high in nutrients, they're also very heavy!

Darkness fell, however the moon was almost full and had risen several hours before, so there was still ample light for walking. We short-cut the last bend of the creek, and were quite surprised to come across some large furrows in the ground - seemingly at random. Anton's theory was aliens, and it was far better than anything else we could come up with.

We arrived at Mayo Hut at 7:30 after a steep, sandy climb out of the creek. The hut was great - with a rainwater tank, toilet, fireplace (with the fire set,) large table, benches, sleeping platforms for about 10 people and about 17 million billies hanging off the walls. There were also about a dozen Heysen Trail marker posts in the corner, used by track maintainers.

The loo was very impressive, looks to be brand new. The structure was made of enough steel to ensure it will be around long after the stone hut has crumbled into dust. There was a wooden-edged gravel pit underneath the tap on the water tank!

I lit the fire upon arriving, and it providing a very cheery atmosphere, even if all the heat was going straight up the chimney. There was a plentiful amount of wood available.

Anton and I had broccoli cous-cous for dinner, with tuna and capsicum (the broccoli and capsicum were fresh.) We used a bit too much cous-cous (and thus there wasn't enough flavouring) but we ate it all. Puddings for dessert.

The hut also provided plentiful information about its history, which was appreciated.

Mayo Hut

This pioneer homestead was built by William Mayo and his family in 1899. It was restored as an overnight shelter for walkers on the Heysen Trail. The restoration was carried out by unemployed persons from the Adelaide Central Mission's Whitmore Square Day Centre. The project was funded by the SA Government, through the South Australian Recreation Institute's Recreation Trails Division. The scheme was made possible with the generous support of Mr. & Mrs. A McInnes the owners of Wonoka Station, Hawker.

Officially reopened by Mr George Beltchev, Chief Executive Officer, Department of Recreation and Sport. September 3rd 1989.

- Plaque by the hut.

I went to bed at 9:45. It was very windy outside and the sleeping platform was elevated to just below the roof of the hut so it was pretty draughty - the wind came in straight over the walls. I would recommend others wear a beanie to bed, sleep downstairs or in a tent if it's windy. I didn't sleep too well for the first part of the night, not quite uncomfortable enough to zip up my sleeping bag, but not comfortable enough to be sleeping like a log (as I usually do.) It was probably for this reason that I awoke at 1:30am to the sound of Anton being sick.

He reported that had sore tummy before going to bed (about 9) but hoped it would go away (as you do,) but it had progressively worsened throughout the night. I gave him some electrolyte powder solution and he moved downstairs to sleep.

I was by this stage quite awake enough to zip up my sleeping bag, resulting in a good night's sleep.

Day 2 - Mayo Hut to Red Range Campsite

We rose late - about 9:30 - due to the overnight fun and games. Breakfast was quandong muffins (to make a change from porridge, which we would have during the later days.)

We packed up, set the fire, swept the hut (at least there was less dust when we were done,) and filled up on water. The amounts carried were approximately:

Anton	7L
Cameron	7L
Jess	3.5L
Kate	3L
Nat	5.2L
Total	25.7L

The water status at Red Range Campsite was unknown, so we needed to carry enough to last until midday the next day.

I gave the morning briefing (these happened every day) detailing the day's distance, elevation changes, emergency escape routes, asked everyone how they slept, how their feet were, and if they had any other complaints. We also discussed Anton's health and I reminded everyone of the importance of using the antibacterial hand washing gel.

Anton had eaten a full breakfast and reported only that he felt tired and as though he hadn't eaten dinner (as you would expect.) Everyone else felt fine, so most likely it was not due to water at the hut or the previous night's meal.

We set off at 11am! Very late, but I reasoned that we only had a short day ahead of us, and we would be getting up earlier than 9:30 in future.

After half an hour's walk, we arrived at the junction of Wonoka and Mernmerna Creeks, where there was a very pretty waterhole, and we also saw a few goats.

Turning East, we now followed Mernmerna creek for several kilometres. We saw a shepherd's chimney in excellent condition around 552 852. At 1:20 we turned North-East into Slaty Creek. We saw a herd of horses here - it's always nice to see something different. They looked a bit skinny (understandable.)

We stopped for lunch in a creek (595 862) at 2pm. This was a leisurely affair, lasting an hour and 15 minutes. Anton and I had salami and cheese sandwiches (with real bread.)

Afterwards we threw rocks at the Aquim bottle. This is something I had done as a child holidaying in the Flinders. We'd take a picnic lunch, drive to a ruin, or a waterhole, or a mine, have a look around, then sit in the creek and have lunch. Mum and dad would have a thermos and cups of tea, my brother and I would have an apple fruitbox each (always apple, don't ask me why.) Afterwards, we would set the fruitbox up on a nearby rock, and throw small stones at it. There are only three rules: You must throw from a sitting position, the person who hits the fruitbox must get up and replace it, and you may not throw oversized rocks. As my brother and I grew older, our hand eye coordination improved and the fruitbox would be moved further away. This kept us quiet so mum and dad could relax for many hours during our childhood. Sitting in a creek having lunch on this day, it seemed like the only natural thing to do to pass the time - except we didn't have a fruitbox. An Aquim bottle was a suitable substitute. End of old-man reminiscing.

We saw a little more water in the creek during that afternoon, but that was the last we saw. We did come across quite a surprise at 623 898 though - a table! A folding table, just set up in the middle of the creek, and by the looks of it, it had been there for some considerable time (at least since the creeks last ran.) We had not seen a road for some distance, and it greatly puzzled us. A short distance on we did find a road, and later a Gas BBQ, a very nice bench and a longdrop loo (all of which looked as though they hadn't been used for some time.) We could only guess that these were part of a 4wd tour on Arkaba Station.

We arrived at Red Range Campsite at 6:10pm. The first thing I checked upon arriving was the water tank, which was full (we carried all that water for nothing!) the next was the loo, which was also full (and missing a door.) We decided we'd dig catholes instead.

I cooked dinner (although Anton had felt fine all day) which was noodles. Flavoured with sweet potato soup and some crushed corn chips added for texture. I thought it tasted great, much better than the previous night's, but Anton wasn't so sure. The noodles were a bit slimy - so this might require some testing at home to perfect. We had cheesecake for dessert (as it's quite heavy.) We carried a small amount of butter for use in the base and it tasted great! Apparently it's supposed to serve 12, and while Anton and I made a fair dent, we had to concede defeat and leave it for breakfast. It had also set much better by breakfast (we only had 2 pots though, so we couldn't have made it any earlier.)

Jess and Kate went to bed pretty early, they appeared tired during the day due to the poor night's sleep on the draughty sleeping platform the night before - I wondered how they would handle the longer days later on. A decent day's hiking means you sleep really well though, and there was no fun and games that night.

Nat and I sat up chatting around the fire until 11pm. As I lay back and looked up at the stars, I was really happy to be there, finally actually experiencing what months of planning had led up to.

Day 3 - Red Range Campsite to Bridle Gap

That was the first night I had spent in one of Aesir's new Macpac Stellar tents. Anton and I both find it slightly odd to look at after having used Beaumont's Macpac Naituluses for may years - it looks kinda short and fat (as the Nautiluses have entrances at each end, while the Stellar has the entrance on the side.) We hypothesised that this made it easier to get in and out of, but we're not quite sure. The tent was however very comfortable, quicker to setup than the Nautilus and seemed to be well ventilated. We did however manage to break one brand new peg later in the trip - I am considering sending it back to Macpac.

We rose at 7.45. Generally Anton would be first up, he would begin cooking breakfast and rouse the others. I appreciated this as I'm not an early riser. Nat, it seemed, was not a morning person either - preferring to pack up all her gear (and, we suspect, perform various hair-related activities) before emerging from her tent to face the prospect of other people.

Breakfast was porridge and brown sugar to sweeten it. A warm breakfast really helped to get me going. Jess and Nat also usually had warm breakfasts. Kate had cold breakfasts, hence she was almost always first ready in the morning.

We set off at 9:45, carrying significantly less water than the day before as we were going to collect our first water drop shortly after lunch.

The trail during the previous afternoon and this morning was fairly indistinct, and we lost it a few times. This wasn't much of a problem, as the general gist of it was "keep Elder range (HUGE!) on your left and Red Range on your right and keep walking." Fortunately, with the advantages provided by modern technology, I could simply whip out the handy-dandy GPS with the map of the Heysen in it and it would indicate whether the trail was to our left or right at any moment. No understanding of map-reading, contours, compasses, bearings or anything else required.

About 10:30 we came to a break in the vegetation which provided spectacular views of Elder Range, and collectively pulled out our five cameras for the photo opportunity. Continuing North we passed the ruins of Umberutna, then curved North-East towards Wilpena Pound.

I gave everyone a bit of a pop quiz on our emergency procedures, giving the hypothetical situation of my falling over and knocking myself unconscious (although being eaten by a giant wombat also came to mind.) It was good to discuss what was in the activity plan and the reasons for it.

We passed a yarded mob of sheep and stopped for lunch a kilometre further on in a creek (where else?) at 631 001. During the hour's break, a group of motorbikes came past - the riders were mustering sheep - going to collect the ones in the yard we had passed earlier. After a short chat they continued on their way.

We arrived at our water drop at 3:20 and added 20 kilos to our packs just in time for the ascent into Wilpena Pound. Throughout the afternoon, the pound had dominated the horizon, ever growing taller and more detailed as we approached. Upon reaching its foot, we commenced the 250m climb into Bridle Gap.

The ascent was steep and rocky - great fun. As we climbed, a glance over the shoulder revealed steadily more impressive views. Upon reaching the saddle, we turned around to be greeted be spectacular views of the Elder and Chace Ranges. After admiring them for about 10 minutes, I had to insist that we moved along as I did not know how far it would be to a suitable campsite. Fortunately there was one only 100m away, so we hastily set up our tents and moved back to the edge of the pound with a stove and some cup-a-soups to watch the sunset.

This was agreed by all to be the highlight of the trip - we stayed for some time, as the clouds changed colours and the light dimmed. The moon rose over the pound and we could see the lights of Hawker and cars on the Hawker-Wilpena road.

Dinner was Deb with salami, almonds and peas - much better than I had expected (having never eaten Deb before and mum's constant mockery of it.) I was, however, extremely hungry - finishing off Kate's satay rice and Jess and Nat's tuna mornay as well.

During the day, I asked everyone what their current worst complaint was and it was revealed that Jess had hurt her ankle on the first day. Nothing we could do about it, but it was nice to know. Kate complained that her feet hurt - particularly when rock-hopping in creeks (not in the blister-rubbing way that everyone else's did.) We told her she needed to see a podiatrist - she walked quite pigeon toed and there clearly wasn't anything we could do about this.

Bed at 9:50.

Day 4 - Bridle Gap to Black Spring

We rose again at 7:45, departing at 9:15. Progress across the pound floor was fast and we arrived at the Hills Homestead at 10:45. This is the restored homestead of the foolish family who attempted to grow wheat inside the pound in the early 20th century. As we approached the homestead, the tourist population exploded, and we continued to be surrounded by people until leaving Wilpena in the afternoon. Most of them were not particularly chatty - seemingly the closer you are to civilisation, the less friendly you are. We dropped our packs, relished in the luxury of the available toilet seats, and scrambled up the side of the nearby hill to get a geocache. It was a welcome break from carrying our packs.

We arrived at Wilpena at 12:30 and headed straight for the visitor information centre to enquire about showers. $3 per person - bargain! The showers were spacious and clean too. After scrubbing up, we picked up our food drop and had a grand repacking on the balcony of the visitor centre. Many items (unused over the past 3 days) were discarded including 2 of our 3 GPS units, 1 of our 5 cameras, and unbeknownst to me one pair of our apparent six pairs of shoes! Jess kept this a secret until the very last night - very amusing.

Before departing, we checked the weather forecast again (more fine and sunny) and made some phone calls. We then scrambled up a nearby hill to get another geocache - spectacular views accompanied by the spectacular smell of dead goat.

We departed at 5pm and continued North to Black Spring. I have noted that Anton's leg was hurting him some, but after adjusting his pack it improved. There were some very pleasant sections through dense pine trees. We also saw some far-too-tame kangaroos up close. We arrived at a campsite at 6:05. It was a bit rocky but at least it was flat. We chose not to have a fire as nobody had camped there before - minimal impact and all that. Also laziness - the nearest gum trees were some distance away. It was a bit fresh sitting around after dinner but not too bad.

Dinner was cous-cous with peas, tuna and soup for flavouring. I'd recommend more soup next time, maybe three packets instead of one. Anton also suggested making the soup separately and making it fairly thick and then pouring it on like a sauce. Nat and Jess made some AWESOME pasta with pesto, salami and sundried tomatoes - it was really tasty. We had dried apples with cinnamon and brown sugar for dessert which was a bit ordinary, but Nat and Jess had the same thing a couple of nights before and said theirs was much better - they recommended trying a different brand of apples.

Grumbling about the moon rising too early so we couldn't enjoy the stars, I went to bed at 10:10.

Day 5 - Black Spring to Yanyanna Hut

Rose at 7:45. Anton burnt the porridge! Only a little bit though and very curiously due to the non-stick pot, it meant that instead of ending up with 10 minutes of scrubbing, we ended up with burnt bits stirred through the porridge - it was quite odd. The non-stick pots were absolutely awesome though - "washing up" was simply a matter of waving a sponge in the general direction of the pot!

While packing up, Nat was stung by a large ant. I gave her some Stingose to put on it and reapply during the day. It left quite a large mark which was visible for some days. We departed at 9:20.

After a short distance, Nat was awarded The Rock Award by Anton. Nat consistently walked faster than everyone else, thus Anton reasoned that a good sized rock in her pack would slow her down. It didn't really help.

At 11:10 we had a POB and I took the opportunity to do some real navigation. Took a bearing off Mt Abrupt and was able to get our location to within a few hundred meters (confirmed with the GPS.) Kate asked how far we'd gone that morning, but my answer was to pass her the map book instead. Reasoning that we had gone in roughly a straight line, she calculated our morning's walk to be √32 and gave an approximate value for this. Jess then spent some considerable time drawing in the dirt calculating √32 (5.6568542494923801952067548968388) and how far Kate's estimate was off. The fact that √32 was a very, very approximate estimate of our progress didn't much bother anyone. We had in fact travelled 7.2 km.

We departed from the Wilcolo Track at 12:30, turning sharply east into the ABC Range. We were now on a marked walking trail loop which started from Bunyeroo Gorge, and thus there were signs every couple of hundred meters. At the track junction there was a huge steel sign with information about the Yellow-Footed Rock-Wallaby - civilisation wasn't that far away.

We then climbed 140m to a spectacular lookout, starting through a rocky gorge and then across the side of a hill covered in pine trees. As we neared the top, the vegetation thinned out, improving the views. We chose to have lunch a short distance from the lookout where there was some shade. Lunch was mountain bread, tuna, cheese and peanut butter - the same as every day (with the possibility of salami.) From our elevated position I was able to contact the channel 3 repeater (55km North) using our UHF radio, however we were too far away to actually communicate.

After lunch, we descended into the Bunyeroo Valley, following a fire track and then a creek. In this creek we saw our first (and only) snake! After observing us for a short while, it slithered into its hole and we continued on our way. The creek became quite narrow and rocky before we climbed out to the east. It was a pity we didn't have any geologists in the party as we often saw things we were sure would be interesting to geologists.

We had another 110m climb over a small range (again with spectacular views to the south of Wilpena Pound, St Mary's Peak, Mt Abrupt, the Heysen Range and as far north as Mt Patawarta) before descending to Yanyanna hut - arriving at the record time of 4:55 (which I congratulated everyone on.)

The tank was unfortunately dry, however I knew this because I'd visited and dropped the 20L of water beforehand. The hut itself was quite pleasant - not quite as awesome as Mayo Hut, but nice nonetheless. There was a small strip of carpet, some chairs, a table, a fireplace and even an electric kettle. Kate seemed genuinely curious as to where to plug it in.

Plentiful firewood was available from the nearby creek and I set about collecting a suitable amount. The previous entry in the logbook complained about the amount of litter people had left behind, so I burnt as much as I could (everything except the glass.)

One of the great things about the hut was that we could take our boots off while inside - something that was incredibly pleasant as we had been wearing them for 13+ hours a day for 4 days now. Anton and I had cream of chicken-pig curry with salami and peas for dinner. This came about by mixing a packet of cream of chicken with a packet of bacon curry pasta, and then adding salami and peas. It wasn't actually as bad as I expected - tasting basically like pepper. Nat and Jess shared their cheesecake after dinner which was very nice, but I didn't find it nearly as tasty as ours.

It was disappointing that no history was available at the hut, but I read later on the Friends of the Heysen Trail forums that there had been a hut here from the 1850s as part of the Aroona pastoral run. The current shelter was built in 1937.

I had developed some quite painful tinea on my feet during the day - possibly from the showers in Wilpena, definitely from wearing socks for 2nd days and not washing my feet enough. I now washed my feet every day.

Bed at 10:40.

Day 6 - Yanyanna Hut to Yunula Creek

We decided to get up slightly earlier - at 7:30 - as we had a slightly longer day ahead of us. Breakfast was muesli this morning which made a nice change. The morning's route followed a road so progress was fast. We passed Middlesight Water hut at 11:45 and arrived at our water drop (near Trezona campground) at 12:30.

Nobody wanted to carry the boxes, so we had a rest while I burnt them - I felt like an arsonist lighting a fire in the middle of nowhere, but it was very small and well out by the time we left. While we were refilling our water, Nat managed to get stung by something else! We weren't able to find it, but it had a rather large stinger sack. She still had the Stingose so she reapplied that.

We continued along well-marked trails, picking up a geocache at an interesting geological formation. The flies were getting worse and the land in this area had a distinct "ex-overstocked" feeling to it - dry and barren. We had lunch in a creek at 758 329, again practicing our marksmanship on the battered Aquim bottle.

The flies continued throughout the afternoon, as we ascended Hayward Hill. Well at least that's what the sign at the top calls it - we noted later that it wasn't called that on either of the maps we had. This was amusing as we were finally able to make contact with my parents here, and gave them this name rather than our coordinates - they were quite puzzled.

We then descended to a very nice campsite on the banks of Yunula Creek, arriving about 5:25. As soon as you sat still, the flies were everywhere. They didn't bother me much, but I made a fire on Anton's suggestion that it makes them go away. More to the point moving around collecting firewood means they won't sit on you any more, and by the time I had it lit it was approaching that time of the night when the flies suddenly disappear anyway. Firewood was of course plentiful here.

Dinner was pasta with lentils and tomato paste. I wasn't a huge fan but maybe this was due to the large amount of scroggin I had consumed during the day (Anton was getting sick of carrying it.) Anton on the other hand very much enjoyed the pasta.

Nat's thumb hurt for most of the day, but the pain had subsided by now - although the swelling hadn't.

Sat around the fire chatting and reminiscing until 11:10.

Day 7 - Yunula Creek to Parachilna Gorge

Although planning to rise early, it was unfortunately 7:45 by the time we got up. We didn't depart until 9:30. We saw two people just as we were departing, but they didn't stop to chat.

We wove through the ABC range to Aroona - an old pastoral property from the 1850's. The ruins on the hill are now a "historic precinct under development" and there is a large pug and pine hut from the 1920's. Hans Heysen, for whom the Heysen Trail and nearby Heysen Range are named, often came here to paint and take in the Flinders' landscapes. The hut has a new roof and a very large tank, which was full. We also collected 10L of water here, and got the nearby geocache.

From there, we turned North for the final run to Parachilna Gorge. Everyone else seemed to have their "last day legs" on, but I was hanging back - not struggling, but not my usual energetic self - the answer would be revealed later. We passed Pigeon Bore - an interesting bore which used to be used for watering sheep, but had had the tank and windmill removed and a hand pump installed for hikers' use. I washed my face, but we had plenty of pure Mt Lofty Spring Water for drinking.

We stopped for lunch at 1:15. When we ran out of tuna, salami, cheese and peanut butter, we only had half a packet of Vita-Weats left over, which seemed like pretty decent menu planning to me. We finished them off nonetheless.

I learnt about Vita-Weats (and other nutritional principles) from Anton - who seemingly has conducted an extensive study of hiking food. Shopping and hiking with him over the years has been an educational experience. The priorities are carbohydrates and protein. Just like choosing what to eat at home, less-processed foods contain more complex carbohydrates, more fibre, more vitamins and minerals. Vita-Weats are made from wholegrain wheat - they get the Anton tick of approval.

Similarly, every meal needs to be analysed for what provides the most energy, which items are of lower value, and which are there simply to make it taste good. Carrying a 20 kilo pack on your back all day up hill and down dale uses a lot of energy. Cheese is extremely high in energy - also in protein and calcium (which isn't so important specifically while hiking, but good for you nonetheless.) We had cheese for every lunch and parmesan on most of our dinners. The other thing about cheese is that it's almost invincible and incredibly easy - it doesn't freeze, it can handle high temperatures (to a point,) it doesn't require a can opener, it requires minimal wrapping (ie. wasted weight,) and minimal preparation. It's the perfect hiking food.

Scroggin? Just go along and pick whatever you want off the supermarket shelf? Not likely! Nuts (carbohydrates) provide long-lasting energy as well as protein. Lollies and chocolate make it taste good and can provide a boost for climbing a steep hill, but when you have to carry them for four days - keep them to a minimum.

For protein (apart from cheese and nuts) we ate tuna or salami every day.

For carbohydrates, we had porridge for breakfast every morning, Vita-Weats and Mountain Bread for lunch, and some form of pasta, cous-cous, noodles or potato for dinner. And the nuts in our scroggin.

Of course there's things like dessert (cheesecake, puddings) which are there simply to look forward to, a little treat. Our White Wings cheesecake weighed over 400g, but it sure was tasty!

Getting back to us sitting in the creek eating lunch, we packed up and continued on our merry way. The trail followed an old road (disused by the look of the washouts) between the Heysen and ABC ranges. We dawdled through a saddle and descended into the last creek, which we followed to its junction with Parachilna Gorge. We climbed out of the creek and over the last stile at 4:45.

My parents, as arranged, were there to meet us. The day before, I had estimated arriving at 4pm, but we got up half an hour late. No matter, they were in no rush and had their books with them. They'd also brought champagne on ice, as well as a bowl of succulent rockmelon. We were more concerned with just taking our packs off and sitting down, but it was a nice touch. We got the geocache at the stile and had a bit of a chinwag about the past week.

We then drove the 40 minute trip back to Nilpowilla. We weighed our packs:

Anton	17 Kg
Cameron	17 Kg
Jess	10 Kg
Kate	10 Kg
Nat	10 Kg

Finally the answer to why the ladies were jogging ahead on the last day. Everyone had eaten all their food and was only carrying a minimal amount of water at the end. However, Anton had been carrying all our food. For most of the hike, I carried our tent, stove and shellite. I carried the group's radio, EPIRB, first aid kit, maps, etc. Sometime during the hike, I had also taken the large metho bottle used by the three girls, and Anton had taken half of Kate's tent. Kate dropped her Trangia in Wilpena, and Jess her extra pair of shoes. On the last day, I had given Anton some of our gear to level us out a bit, but apparently I should have given it to one of the girls...

Sitting around the fire at the end of the day with a cold drink, it didn't really matter. Hot showers were had, chops and sausages were thrown on the BBQ, potatoes were roasted in the coals, and a very tasty meal was eaten. I called Paul (BC Rovers) to let him know we were all safe and sound, and then made a bee-line for the comfort of a mattress and pillow. We all slept soundly that night!

Afterwards

The next day, we did a bit of touristy sight-seeing. I blathered on like a tour guide and we got a couple of geocaches, culminating with a picnic in Eregunda Creek. After lunch, we had a gear shuffle and the others drove home. My parents and I stayed at Nilpowilla for a few more days.

Upon arriving home, I spread my gear over the kitchen floor once more. Between packing up, I submitted an Incident Report form for Anton's fun and games on the first night and gave information to the Friends of the Heysen Trail on the status of water tanks along the trail and where maintenance might be needed.

Reflection

While reading Rovering to Success, I came across the following passage. I imagine every Rover who's ever written a Ramble log has included it, but at the risk of becoming one of the crowd, I shall anyway - it's a great quote!

By Rovering I don't mean aimless wandering, I mean finding your way by pleasant paths with a definite object in view, and having an idea of the difficulties and dangers you are likely to meet with by the way.

- Lord Baden-Powell, Rovering to Success

While also an analogy for life, taken at its simplest this is an excellent description of the ramble. The Heysen was a joy to walk, being for most of the way removed from other people and civilisation, yet never being too far from the next marker post. As for having an idea of the difficulties and dangers along the way, we've given that a new name these days - we call it risk management (see Attachment B in the Activity Plan.)

Bushwalking, in my opinion, is one of the greatest things in Scouting. It takes you to amazing places and to see wonderful views, it tests and expands your skills in navigation, campcraft and leadership, it increases your fitness and while it's an excellent social activity, it also provides ample time for reflection and inward thought.

It is because of this love for bushwalking that I chose to go hiking for my Ramble, and it was indeed a very enjoyable experience.

All the prior planning meant a minimal amount of thinking along the way - it was all already thought out. I knew where we were going to camp, I had details of how far we were going each day and how far we were climbing and descending, I knew where our escape routes would be in the case of an emergency, etc. etc. All this meant that I could focus on having a good time instead of spending half an hour every day working out the next day's route.

Discussions with the other participants indicated that they all had a good time too. People said they liked the amount of information available during the lead-up to the hike (I distributed the drafts of the activity plan to the participants) and the only suggestion was to possibly have the longer days towards the beginning of the hike, not at the end.

This was something I considered during the planning, driving to Nilpowilla and staying there for the first night, then walking in reverse and driving back to Nilpowilla at the end. Unfortunately this would take a day longer (unless people got in the car and drove home straight after, maybe having a shower at the Hawker caravan park.) Ideally I think it would be best to have any longer days in the middle of the hike, as for the first couple of days you are getting into the routine and things like packing and cooking dinner take longer, and at the end you are of course tired. However, it's nice to stay in a hut when they're available and due to their layout it's not possible to walk exactly 125/7=17.9km per day. In the end we managed fine anyway.

If I were to do the hike again, I think I would drop the pair of lightweight trousers I took (longjohns is enough for an emergency) and the second shirt. I would wash my feet more regularly too - while the tinea has cleared up very well upon my return home, it was pretty painful for a short while. Otherwise, I'd change very little.

This was the first time I had properly used Aesir's new hiking gear - I made use of one of the packs, one of the tents, and the MSR shellite stove. Kate used one of the new lightweight Trangias.

The pack, a One Planet Strezlecki, was superb. Large and spacious it enabled me to carry everything I could want without having to spend too long packing it in the mornings. Plentiful pockets enabled easy access to useful items. The very well padded hip belt and pulley system on the strap made it a joy to carry.

The tent, a Macpac Stellar, also performed well. As mentioned earlier, we did manage to break one peg though. Sleeping in the tent was comfortable and setting it up was very fast.

The stove, an MSR Simmerlite was great. Much faster than a Trangia (the stove I have been using since forever) and also using significantly less fuel. We used 720ml of shellite between the two of us for the entire trip - and we heated water for the girls quite often too. I'm guessing that if we planned a bit better and didn't prime it as often we could have used even less. Through practice we were able to perfect the technique of priming it, and even get it to simmer. The non-stick pots were simply heaven, I don't know if I could ever go back to regular pots!

Overall, the new gear performed great - I was impressed with all of it.

Moving on, a large number of photos of the hike (with captions) are available from the Aesir Rovers Photo Gallery. Larger versions (for printing, Rover promotional material, etc.) are available on request

The other file of interest that I have is the GPS log (877kb gpx) of the trip. GPX stands for GPS Exchange Format. It allows you to see where we walked, where we stopped for a break, how fast our progress was at various points, where the batteries ran out (indicated by perfectly straight lines for some distances,) and where I accidentally left it on in bridle gap for several hours (indicated by a large blob of tracks in the same spot.) You can open it with Google Earth, or Oziexplorer (you'll need the maps of the area) or a large number of other programs.

You can also open it alongside the Heysen Trail trace provided by the Friends of the Heysen Trail (bottom of the page.) The KMZ file can only be opened with Google Earth, but if you want to view it in Oziexplorer, open it with Google Earth, then save it as a kml, which can be opened in Oziexplorer. Opening the two files alongside each other shows where we lost the trail and where we took side trips to get a geocache or visit a lookout.

After analysing the GPS log, I've concluded that our overall distance hiked was 126km, of which 122km was on the Heysen Trail (important for those of us wishing to calculate how much of the trail we have completed.)

Thanks

There were a great many people without whom this hike could not have happened.

• Firstly, the participants, Anton, Jess, Kate and Nat. Without them I would have been pretty lonely - thankyou for sharing the experience with me. Also for your photographs for use in this report.
• Next, to my parents, for the amazing help they have been throughout the whole process. They helped with the food and water drops the day before we began, they performed the car shuffle, they listened vigilantly to every peep the radio gave, day and night, for the entire duration of the walk, they were there to collect us at the end, they provided feedback on the activity plan, they allowed their kitchen to be used as a Q-store for the assembly of gear for weeks before the hike (and after,) and their study to become an expanse of maps, books, forms and scribbled notes.
• To the Friends of The Heysen Trail, for both their continued maintenance of the Heysen Trail, the wealth of information available about the trail through their website and the Heysen Guidebooks and also for the helpful answers they provided to my questions on their forum.
• To the property owners of the land through which the Heysen passes. To the owners of Wonoka Station (who were kind enough to check the status of the Mayo Hut water tank for me,) Arkaba Station, Gum Creek Station and Alpana Station - thankyou for the privilege to experience the wonderful terrain your properties cover.
• To the Flinders Ranges National Park, for their helpful answers to questions, for the use of their campsites and for holding the boxes of food and supplies for us.
• To Aesir Rover Crew for the use of their gear (which was in turn thanks to a Volunteer Small Equipment Grant from the Australian Government's Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA.))
• To John Litvan and Michael Woodward of the Scout Bushwalking Team for their assistance during the planning stages. Also for the use of the Scout Bushwalking Team's EPIRB.
• To Sam Adcock of the Scout Radio Activities Group for the use of a UHF radio.
• To Chloe Stewart for the use of her GPS.
• To Fullarton Venturer Unit for the use of their Northern Heysen Trail Guidebook.

© Cameron Roy, Aesir Rover Crew
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