Bibbulmun Track - Tips and Gear List

[dougjjj]

Hi All,

I'm a little new around here, I'm planning an End to End of the Bibbulmun Track in a few months time (May - June) and am getting into the exciting planning stages now. At the moment it seems likely I'll be heading South to North for the best weather.

I've got 30-33 days to complete the trail, I'll also be heading into it after a couple of months trekking in Nepal so the fitness side of things should be sweet.

So I'm just wondering if anyone who has done the trail before has any hints or tips for a newbie and possibly their gear list from the walk would be great, just as a final check to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.

I'm undecided on shelters at the moment, the ones on the Bibbulmun are great so I'll be sleeping there given the opportunity but given my time limit camping in between shelters on occasion seems like it would be handy.

What were your thoughts on the Maps vs Guide? From previous walks on the trail navigation is fairly straight forward so I figured the Maps alone would be fine?

Cheers

[Empacitator]

Hi Doug,

A few thoughts in random order:

I completed in 29 days including a rest day. I didn't focus on walking as fast as I can, but I was very efficient. I could wake up, have breakfast/coffee, pack away everything and start walking in 30 minutes. I suggest having as much ready as possible before you go to bed- I had filled my water bottle, checked my maps for the next section, signed the register and packed away as much as possible before bed.

I suggest doing most of your walking in the morning, besides being a very pleasent time of day it also helped me mentally- I would always aim for 20km by lunchtime. I only had 1 rest stop for the day, which was a half hour (ish) break for lunch, although I would gladly stop and have some coffee or a snack if I found somewhere good to sit with a nice view. Find a walking pace which isn't tiring and that you can maintain.

I was surprised how much water people carried- there are so many steams and creeks that you can collect and filter water from along the way (note- I did the track in August). Very few people carried a water filter and those that did only used it to treat the tank water at the campsites. It was rare for me to carry more than 600mL of water, though in some places I carried up to 2L, because I knew how much water my body needs and that I could quite often find more. I suggest carrying more than you need to start with and see how your body reacts.

While I was walking the Bibbulmun track foundation was remapping the track (which is why it is now offically over 1000km) so I assume they will be bringing out new maps. I've never looked at one of the guide books but a lot of others carried them. Please make sure you do bring a shelter of some kind as you cannot rely on the huts to be empty and if you are planning to walk the track quite quickly it will often not be convinient to stop at a hut- if the 1st one is 20km away you only have a short walk that day- if the next one is 30km after that then you are looking at a 50km day, which I did a few times, but later in the afternoon it can get pretty tough. I took a lightweight tarp with a groundsheet and V stakes that suited softer group as well as TI skewers which were great for the hard clay.

I never had an exact gearlist or base weight, I never measured it, but if you want to complete in 30 days you would want to be a light as possible but remember to bring some sort of luxury- I was very happy to have my kindle so at night I could just relax and read, I would look forward to that every night.

Do you have a gear list that you can post up, if you want me to have a look at it?

I'll be happy to do a section with you in May or June, if you'd like some company. With the distance you will be covering it is doubtful you see someone more than once on the track (unfortunately).

Hope some of that makes sense. It was only August last year but it feels like a lifetime ago! If you have any specific questions, please ask. My head is jumbled full of information!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHfaBZT ... Q&index=15

Cheers,
Will

[dougjjj]

Hi Will,

Cheers for the response, efficiency in the mornings is something I need to work on, once I'm up I keep on the move but getting up in the morning is always a slow process.

It will be interesting to see how the water situation goes, as I'm there before winter there probably won't be as much as August but I guess I'll have to play that one by ear and see how it goes. I'll have a water filter with me so can pick up water anywhere I find it.

At this stage I am leaning towards the maps, I haven't seen if they have released a new updated set, I should check that.

I've been tossing up about the shelter for a while now, I don't currently have a light weight one and I was hoping to get away with not needing one. I've been going through the distances between camps and with the extra days I have I think I should be able to get away with it. I have still got my eye on a Six Moon Designs pyramid tarp though so I may end up getting one of those.

I put together a list of distances from the details on the Bibbulmun Website today and a rough guide on how long I would potentially take, it's roughly based off your times but I've added a few extra days to sections as I won't be doing it as fast as you did. I might end up with a couple of 40km+ days I think but the majority should be around 30km.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing

I assume on town days you try to get there early so you can shop before things close for the night? I'm also assuming most shops etc will be closed by 5pm?

I'm working on my gearlist at the moment, I should be able to post something maybe tomorrow night, it's mainly just so I don't forget anything obvious.

How did you go about arranging accommodation in towns? Did you just phone the Accom in next town ahead of you and book the night you expected to arrive as you went?

Same goes for posting food to yourself, did you send it to the Post Office or to the Accommodation you expected to be staying at? I wasn't sure on the best plan as Post Offices have limited hours and not booking the accommodation means you might not end up staying there if it was busy.

Having some company on a section would be great, I'll be heading South -> North, I wouldn't mind a couple of sections to myself at the start to get into the swing of things but after that anywhere along the way would be great, I'll send you a PM regarding it.

Oh one last question, how did you find the mozzies at that time of year?

I've watched a few of the youtube videos already, looks great. I can't wait to get out there

Cheers


Doug

[Empacitator]

You will need to take some sort of shelter, both for safety reasons (getting caught out inbetween the huts) and just because sometimes the huts do get full. I used a pyramid tarp which gave me good all round protection although next time I would choose something with a smaller footprint.

I didn't have a schedule as such but a rough idea on how long it would take me to get to each town (for food/accommodation purposes). I ended up finishing 6 days earlier than I had 'planned' at home. Once I got my legs under me I was averaging 40-50km every day on the second half of the track but I was still eating all the extra food I carried.

Most shops will definitely be closed by 5pm, as soon as you get to town I recommend you try and get as much done as you can before you get to your accommodation and clean up and stuff. I arranged all of my accommodation before I left and gave approximate dates. Because it was August most places weren't that busy and when possible I would call them when I was a couple of days away and let them know when I would be there. All accommodation that I organised were fine to hold a parcel for me. I was putting in things like new socks, extra tape/foot care, small soap/toothpaste refills in Collie and Pemberton (I think). Let me know if you need help with accommodation most of it was pretty good.

Mozzies were fine (in August) except for all the campsites between Albany and Walpole. But I ended up doing Walpole to Albany overnight and they did annoy me at the campsite I stayed in. I also noticed that two of the campsites are new, make sure you have the updated maps- one of the campsites is gone and two more have been built in it's place, they diverted the track a couple of years ago when they expanded the wind farm.

Are you taking walking poles? I've used them for almost 3 years now and I would very highly recommend them

[InspirationOutdoors]

Here is my two cents.

Just having the maps should be fine. They guides are pretty out dated now although the BTF are in the process of updating the guides so they may be available by May. You might want to call the foundation to find out. In fact, getting in touch with those guys is a good idea before you go. They have a free end to end planning service and they will also be able to tell you if there are any planned diversions for that time of year. Also, they will appreciate your membership if you can afford it.

In terms of shelters, it is highly unlikely that you will need a tent at that time of year. In the 120 odd nights that I have spent on the Bib, I have not been able to get space in the shelter once, which was on a public holiday in the closest hut to Perth. The only way you won't get to stay in a shelter is if you arrive after 6pm and there is a group already in the shelter.

When we did our first end to end we drove down to Albany the weekend before we left and then dropped off the boxes to accommodation providers on the way back. This was good as we could check out the accommodation and book in at that time but obviously you need the time to be able to do this. Most places will be pretty quite in May/June except Public Hols, and they are used to people arriving a day early or a day late. If we knew we were going to be early or late, we would always call from the prior town.

I didn't look at your plan, but I would suggest doing Albany to Perth if you can. It will be freezing on the southern coast in June so walking north will negate the onset of winter.

In terms of gear, I agree with Doug on the poles. They will really help reduce injury. I recommend Helinox brand as a good quality and Aussie made pole. They are not the cheapest but you will have them for 20 years.

A system to dry your gear over night (well kinda dry) will be handy. Some huts have hooks but many don't so a couple of pegs of some line for a clothes line would do the trick.

Get a Merino wool walking shirt. They work.

In terms of clothing, take layers. Even when it is cold, you will be warm when walking.

If you have a top loading bag (recommended) take 4 or 5 stuff sacks. One for food, one for clean clothes, one for dirty clothes and one for your knick knacks.

Finally for my two cents... take as long a time as you can afford. The walk is physically not that hard. I mean there are hard days/sections but it is very achievable and it is no Nepal! Most people who don't complete the walk fail due to either injury or loneliness. If you try to really push yourself, in my experience you increase your chances of both of these things. If you try and push yourself too much it will seem like an ordeal and you won't enjoy it and that is when it gets mentally tough... but if you take your time and relax, the experience will be that much more enjoyable. Even if it means not completing the end to end in one go.

Best day I have ever had on the track, I walked 7 kms in a whole day.

Have a great time,

Cheers

Simon

[dougjjj]

Hi Guys,

Thanks again for the quick replies, I've been away so haven't been able to reply.

Will - Cheers for the info regarding accommodation in towns. I don't normally use walking poles but I picked up a set for my partner at xmas and had planned to 'borrow' them for Nepal and the Bibbulmun

Simon - Cheers too, I'll get a set of maps and a foundation membership. The clothes line sounds like a good idea, I'll add that to my list. Pretty much all my clothing is Merino so I'm already sold on that one. I'm a little limited on time but I'm hoping arriving after 2 months in Nepal will mean I'll be able to cover the distances required comfortably so I can enjoy the trip as much as possible rather than it becoming a slog.

Doug