After another freezing cold night in the tent, we got up reasonably early, had breakfast then packed up to head to Albany. It was only about a 1hr 20min drive, and there was barely any traffic early on a Sunday morning.
We arrived at the Bald Head carpark, got our gear sorted and headed off. The carpark already had a few other cars parked in it, so we knew there were others who had arrived before us, but not very busy. We were both feeling a little sore through the legs from the day before, but we found the walking to be pretty good, initially. We had read, and heard, the trail could be challenging and we were starting to wonder what people were talking about.
The day was quite nice, and a very reasonable temperature. We soon realised that we did not need to be as rugged up as we were, and the layers started to come off pretty quickly. Even with our sore legs we were moving at a pretty good pace and we overtook a few people, mostly they were a lot older than us.
We could not have asked for a better day, the weather was fantastic. We soon discovered the more difficult part of the track. There was some steep boulders that needed some negotiating, and in a couple of parts the track was not very clearly marked, not that you could really get lost anywhere there. We then encountered a steep decent and a nice set of stairs going down a rock face. Not exactly something we were ready for with our tight aching calf and quad muscles. And, also knowing we would have to venture back up them on our return.
I was a little conflicted, I was sore, but felt I was doing quite well considering the day before I was struggling to walk up Bluff Knoll. I also knew I was no where near as fit as I was 18 months earlier. I have let things get the better on me, and my mental and physical health have been on the decline. I have become a lot more tired, sore, and unmotivated than ever before. Depression and stress, mixed with a heap of everyday life is a vicious circle.
Bald Head trail was longer than Bluff Knoll, but a lot easier going, for the most part.
We made it to the end, and were absolutely amazed about the weather and the environment. There were also several whales and their babies swimming around nearby. We sat down for a while and had a snack, and just enjoyed the scenery.
Aware of the time, and the long drive ahead of us to get home, we made our way back to the car. We started to encounter a lot more people, and the temperature had warmed up considerably.
We struggled back up the stairs, but then we were soon making a pretty good pace, even jogging a couple of the sections of the track. While doing Bluff Knoll the day before, we noticed quite a lot of people did not seem very well prepared for the walking they were doing. There were even two groups of young people carrying speakers and had music blaring, that was annoying, but could just be the old man coming out in me. Some people were wearing thongs, and sandals. I could not imagine them getting all the way out to the end and back.
With the exception of realising just how unfit I had become, it was a fantastic weekend away, and two great walks in two days.
I had previously been doing a lot of thinking of getting a Roof Top Tent for my 4×4, I was now convinced I wanted one. I wanted to be able to quickly pack the car with what I needed, and know I could park anywhere and just open up the tent and climb in. But that’s for a future post.
The Bald Head walk, we did 12.03km in 2hrs 54 minutes.
Sailing The Unknown 