Brinkley Bluff to Standley Chasm and Rest Day (Days 17 & 18, Sect. 4 Part)
Dramatically rugged terrain and distant views
Fantastical backdrops and steep terrain
Nearly three quarters through your end to end, with Alice Springs approaching far too quickly even for slower hikers!
Today’s marvellous 9.9km/6.2mi predominantly downhill hike takes you through some of the most spectacularly rugged landscape of the entire track, with vast tilted landforms and folded, interlocking ridges. After your big climb yesterday, you’ll follow the Bluff gently down and eastwards with views the entire way, and then it’s time for knees to workout on a steeper descent with a short climb halfway. The gnarly folded and layered terrain that reveals itself both behind and ahead of you is utterly unique.
In the last kilometre, the track follows a gradually widening and flattening rocky creek bed and then a couple hundred metres of road, or you can take a shortcut that requires a climb over a small saddle.
You camp on the lawn opposite the cafe: slower hikers will see plenty of tents already pitched when they arrive.
It took us 5.3 hours to get to Standley Chasm.
Follow the ridge, then contour down into the gully.
If you’ve been following our conservative itinerary and comparing your hike times to ours each day (or checking against the table in Itinerary or official Parks figures) you’ll know by now whether you will be faster or slower than us on these more demanding days, and whether you need more time, or less. Adjust accordingly. If you are MUCH slower than us, consider how you might adjust by splitting days further, starting earlier, or perhaps even skipping Ellery Creek to Standley Chasm. Study our many trail images so you can also compare the terrain, and factor in your own strength and agility.
If it is too windy to stop at Brinkley Bluff, will you be able to make Standley Chasm from Section 4/5 Junction (we took 9.8 hours over two days to complete the 17.8km/11miles). Would you be comfortable night hiking in rocky terrain if you have to complete it in one day?
How to Make Today Easier
If you’re starting from Brinkley Bluff, you’ve already split today and it’s mostly descent — trekking poles help! — though the one short climb for the day is steep. With our (always) recommended early start, slower hikers should have no trouble reaching Standley Chasm and, if you’re following our itinerary, a rest day tomorrow provides time to recover from the last three days. If you can’t make it all the way to Standley, you’ll find a couple of small campsites near Reveal Saddle about halfway and, although they are lower than Brinkley Bluff, they are in venturi and would be exposed and turbulent, especially in southerly winds. If you didn’t stop at Brinkley last night due to a poor forecast and are instead hiking from either Section 4/5 Junction or Stuart’s Pass, you have a big day ahead of you. Be ready to leave at dawn, or earlier.
Walk with Us
With orographic cloud forming and then sweeping over the Bluff from the south, dawn proves to be one of the most spectacular mornings we’ve ever experienced on trail!
Be prepared for any weather on the Larapinta in winter: last night was unexpectedly cold, even with a warm sleep system comprising a -15C/5F twin quilt and warm mats. With a minimum of -2C/36F at Alice Springs, we calculate that the temperature would have been -6C/21F atop Brinkley during the night and early morning, with windchill dropping the apparent temperature to -11C/12F, as my bare bottom humbly attests! Ice formed on both the outside and inside our tent fly, and on packs and other items in the vestibule. Astonishingly, when Geoff hands me the wet cook pot to dry after breakfast, the moisture starts to freeze on the outside before I can wipe it off.
We are glad of that bomber pitch, too: DCF trekking pole tents are always noisy but, although I checked lines and stakes after night-time pee excursions, all held, so we weren’t lying anxiously awake waiting for the tent to collapse. Intuition paid off!
Wiping ice from inside the fly.
Camped at the western end of the bluff right beside the track, we heard a number of hikers decamping during the night and before dawn. Nearby, one cowboy camper’s sleeping bag is entirely white with ice when I go to check on her: she’s had an uncomfortable night but is still thrilled to experience such an extraordinary morning.
If you’ve ever wondered why you have to get up to pee more often when camping than you do at home, one common reason is that you’re more wakeful on trail, especially if it’s cold or noisy. When you’re asleep, your body produces antidiuretic hormone that slows urine production. When you’re awake, your bladder fills more quickly, resulting in those multiple bathroom breaks. And of course older men often possess uncooperative body parts.
It’s tempting to postpone getting up when it’s cold or wet outside the tent but that never works. You’ll just lie there getting increasingly uncomfortable; you’re awake for longer so no antidiueretic hormone is produced and your bladder just fills faster. Get up, pee, and go back to sleep to reduce awake time.
Ensuring that your sleep system is sufficiently warm and comfortable goes a long way to helping you stay asleep. If you’re bothered by multiple night-time pee breaks on trail, consider not only reducing caffeine and fluid intake mid afternoon and just before bed respectively, but also your sleep system (a wider, thicker and/or warmer pad), earplugs, and/or a quieter tent, though all tents are noisy in wind to some degree.
Some people swear by the Zenbivy system bed which is too heavy for us at about 2.9kg/6.4oz (1.45kg/3.2oz pp) for their lightest double bed option without pillows, but which very closely resembles your bed at home. Unfortunately they currently only have one temperature rating (-2C/28F comfort) in the double bed, which is insufficient for many hikers. However, their individual ultralight bed options are lighter, and come in warmer options, albeit at a price. The extra weight and cost might be worth it for you: a good night’s sleep is priceless.
The spectacular dawn light changes from second to second, and I race around like a headless chook snapping wildly with the big camera until, after less than ten minutes, my fingers are too cold to operate the controls: apparent temperature is still around -8C/18F because it is so windy.
Shadows chase across the landscape.
By the time we leave — a brisk and chilly pack up — wearing every layer again, the Bluff is shrouded in drifts of cloud.
The wind curves over the ridge and downwards, sweeping the mist along with it and creating a spectacular ‘cloud waterfall’. What a day!
And then suddenly the cloud clears as we descend below it, the sunshine beats down and views explode eastwards to the horizon.
You know it’s cold when Geoff is wearing gloves and his rain shell in the sun! Brrrr!
Still descending along that ridge, with the folds and gaps of Standley Chasm in the distance dead ahead.
…but first you have that short, steep climb. It’s only about 50m/260’ or so elevation but, if your legs are anything like mine, they’ll remind you of what you’ve put them through these last few days!
The terrain is utterly unlike any we’ve seen thus far.
Here’s Reveal Saddle with its little emergency campsite centre; it’s at a lower elevation than the Bluff, of course, but you can also tell how exposed and turbulent it would be in strong winds.
Looking north to the Bluff; it’s the first glimpse for east to west hikers.
After the saddle, a delightfully countouring section of track…
… before it descends down a stepped valley. The loose rock is treacherous underfoot: take your time.
Great sweeps of purple Showy Indigo (Indigofera basedowii) and yellow Acacia surround the trail.
The valley narrows until you divert and follow the creek bed.
Akeake (Dodonea viscosa) seeds and bracts range from dull yellows and browns to bright reds as here.
It looks hot but you can see I’m still wearing my fleece jacket and windproof rain pants for warmth.
Nearing Standley Chasm, you can either follow the official trail as we did and reach the road here (above), or take the shortcut which is about one third the distance but involves a climb. Keep an eye out for the shortcut turnoff as the small sign would be easy to miss if you’re not looking closely for it.
The campsite at Standley. Geoff is plugging in electronics to charge at the power point behind the tree. The terrain is shaded from early on in winter, and is very cold today.
It has been yet another banner day … and now you have the reward of hot showers, the famous Standley Burgers, and a full day to recuperate and enjoy more sights!
Rest Day
Time to fill up at the cafe for breakfast and lunch, and/or an early dinner (open till 2pm Sundays, 4pm other days at time of writing). After ten days on trail, you’ll find that the fairly basic burgers are some of the best you’ve ever tasted!
Be aware that the cafe is occasionally closed for Sorry Business; we arrived just after it had reopened. Rather than getting annoyed, accept these cultural practices with the same empathy as you would for a death in your own family or circle of friends.
As well as the standard powered site outlet in the campground, you can charge devices in the cafe above the fireplace and in the little hiker’s kitchen/laundry/resupply area.
We packed double adaptors in our resupply boxes so that if a charger or device is already plugged in, we can still plug in too. It’s not acceptable to plug your depleted device directly into someone else’s charger without their permission, but plugging their charger or device into your double adaptor doesn’t affect their device or charging speed.
A tangle to delight OH&S inspectors and electricians in the hiker’s kitchen/laundry/bathroom/resupply room.
Because Standley is the first resupply out of Alice Springs for east to west hikers and therefore the place where many, many inexperienced ones bail or lighten their packs, the giveaway box is stuffed with goodies. Check it if you’re running low on supplies, or need extra snacks! Those seeded Vita Weats, for example, are lighter and more energy dense than wraps. We only ever carry crackers on trail, usually Geoff’s delicious and long-lasting Sourdough Crackers. Conversely, those puffed rice crackers are not only bulky but also very low calorie, not ideal for long distance hiking.
A separate giveaway box of fuel. Immediately behind the cardboard box you can just make out the bottom racks where resupply boxes are stacked. The shelves reach from floor to ceiling along two walls and are completely chockers in peak season as they’re used by the all the trail companies as well as independent hikers.
Of course you’ll visit the Chasm (it’s included in your camp fee). Consider going several times in different light, or join one of the fascinating guided tours.
Easy track the entire way, of course.
Rock Isotome (Isotoma petraea)
Respect signage: wading and swimming in the pool is prohibited, as is continuing deeper into sacred country.
Although most people visit the gorge at midday when it’s most spectacular, it’s also when, well, most people visit. Convoys of buses arrive: be warned, it does not look like this! We preferred the late afternoon peace, and it is still beautiful.
Slower hikers will have been on trail for about 17 days, with less than a week left. Time has flown by and, after a rest day at Standley, you’ll be eagerly anticipating the final stage of your Larapinta journey! Subscribe so you don’t miss the last days!
We respectfully acknowledge the Arrernte People as the traditional custodians of the land on which we walk and pay our respects to Elders past and present and to the Aboriginal people present today.
