Bibbulmun Track – Here I come | Australia

von Weg als Ziel

Coming back home after my 3 months US experience I now spend 3 weeks in Austria.

Besides enjoying to sleep in my own bed again, I started to prepare for my next adventure: The Bibbulmun Track, one of the world’s great long distance walk trails, stretching 1000km from Kalamunda in the Perth Hills, to Albany on the south coast, winding through the heart of the scenic South West of Western Australia.

On 6. November I will leave Vienna towards Kuala Lumpur, where I will stay for one night. On 8. November a ridiculous cheap Air Asia flight takes me to Perth, where I will stay for two nights before I start hiking 1000km through the Australian bush on 10. November.

This will be my first real long distance hike after several hikes ranging inbetween 200-230km and my first one in absolutely unknown conditions. Heat, drought, poisonous wildlife and much more awaits me. To challenge those circumstances I have to rely on my physical and mental abilities and on my gear.

Bibbulmun Track Overview (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibbulmun_Track)

Bibbulmun Track Overview (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibbulmun_Track)

With a bit of experience out of the last few years and lots of miles hiked during this years spring and summer, my mind and body feels prepared (even though those aspects can’t be planed 100%).

What can be planed in advance, is the gear I am going to carry. As light as possible is always a good choice. Since length and conditions vary from my so far experiences I adjusted some pieces but mainly sticked to proofed equipment.

The major change was in my sleeping system: a Cumulus Quilt 250. Since I am a cold sleeper I usually carry a warmer and thus heavier Quilt. For the Bibbulmun Track I wanted something lighter which still fits the expected minimum temperatures. With my size of 186cm I ordered a longer version of the Quilt 250. Communication with Cumulus was fast and nice and they even agreed to my inquiry about supporting me for this hike. A detailed review will follow after I put it through the wringer. So far I can say that the quality and craftmanship of the quilt is fabulous.

I love losing myself into writing too much, that’s why: long story short, here is what I am going to wear on my hike

What I wear on the Bibbulmun Track

What I wear on the Bibbulmun Track

And that’s what I am going to carry in my backpack:

What goes into my backpack while hiking the Bibbulmun Track

What goes into my backpack while hiking the Bibbulmun Track

For the gear freaks out there, here’s the gearlist with weights:

Worn (in gram) – Total 2042 g

Shirt Longsleeve Odlo Synthetic 195
Boxershorts Odlo Synthetic 56
Trekkingshorts ZipOff Montura Stretch 280
Socks Darn Tough No Show Endurance 52
Trailrunning Shoes Brooks Cascadia 10 910
Dirty Girl Gaiters 37
Running Visor Salomon 44
Bandana Cotton 28
Trekkingpoles Fizan Compact 375
Watch Suunto Core 65

Baseweight (in gram) – Total 5647 g

Backpack
Gossamer Gear Mariposa 900
Gossamer Gear Liner 40
Clothing
Frogg Toggs Dri Duck – Rainjacket 150
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer – Isojacket 209
Montane Featherlite Trail – Windjacket 110
T-Shirt Patagonia Merino 108
Boxershorts Icebreaker Merino 57
Running Shorts New Balance 130
Socks Darn Tough 1/4 Vertex 49
Sleeping Socks Darn Tough Running 35
Sunglasses (optical) 70
Sleeping
Cumulus Quilt 250 long 521
Exped SIM Hyperlite Short Pad 349
Thermarest UL Pillow 50
Petzl E+Lite Headlight (inc. batteries) 26
Rab Silk Inlet 129
Shelter
Gossamer Gear SpinnTwin Tarp (incl. stuffsack 9g) 305
Trekkertent Net Tent 1 230
6 x MSR Mini Groundhog Stake 15cm á 8g 48
4 x MSR Groundhog Stake 19cm á 16g 64
4 x Titanium Short Stake 25
Polycryo Groundsheet 43
Dynema cords + elastic cord + Tankas (to hang moskitonet in shelters) 50
Cooking / Water purification
Stove BSR3000 (gas) 28
Windscreen Titan 15
Fire (matches Blister + 2 Minibic lighters) 27
Esbit Titan Pot 102
Freezer Bag Cozy MYOG 18
Sea To Summit Light Alloy Spork 9
Filter Sawyer Squeeze (+MYOG Flushingdevice) 70
1L Playtpus 25
Hygiene
Mini Towel 16
Hygiene (Toothbrush, Sunprotection, etc.) 238
First Aid, Meds, Repairkit 228
Orientation
Bibbulmun Track Guide Book 183
Garmin Etrex 20 Navi + Batteries 128
Smartphone + charger 190
Misc
Euroschirm Swinglite Flex (Sunprotection) 229
Sony WX500 + 2 SD Cards + 2. Battery 270
MP3 Player AGBTEK 8GB + Earphones 41
Paper 32
Pen 6
Wallet UL 5
ID 39
Travel Documents 50

5,6 kg is more than I wanted to carry and there is a huge potential to cut weight down. First of all the backpack itself is too big (and heavy!) for this hike, but since I travel in Australia and/or Southeast Asia after finishing the Bibbulmun Track I want to have additional space for spare cloths etc. and hey, at least my quilt has a lot of room to loft and what is more important: the Gossamer Gear Mariposa is fabulous to carry and I don’t have to think about where to put food for multiple days.

Running shorts and a T-Shirt besides my zip-off trousers and longsleeved hiking shirt is luxury but I will use them to sleep in, or wear it when flies and attacking insects allow me to hike in them (I really prefer light running shorts over zipped off trousers! A slight breeze in the crack pushes me fast forward…).

And now I really stop to complain about my gear being to heavy:

  • First of all it is my fault because I packed it, even I know better (Don’t pack your fears!)
  • Second: if I keep complaining, I will end up throwing it out my pack and I will loose the comfort I think I need…. (shit, „I think I need“ is a hint that I pack my fears… STOP THINKING NOW!)

Anyways, stay tuned for updates!

Folge mir auf meinem Weg, leichter, weiter, schneller...

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