Day 12 of Munda Biddi - Into the wild
Distance: 43 km
Elevation gain: 527 metres
From the town of Pemberton to the town of Northcliffe
About 3.5hrs travel time, from 9am to 12:30pm
At Northcliffe, my distance from Mundaring: 669 km
Distance to Albany: 371 km
A late start today while I finished off some work before rolling out of town. Today was also a shorter day so there was no need to ride in the very cold morning air. The "feels like" temperature was 5 degrees this morning and maxed out at 17 degrees. Very different to the first few days above 35 degrees.
First stop on the ride today was the Gloucester Tree. In the past you could climb the tree to the lookout 53m above the ground. However, as of July 2023, it is closed for climbing. Good call. I don't know if the photo does justice to the climb. There are steel bars screwed into the tree that form the ladder as it corkscrews up the tree. No steps and nothing to really stop you falling if you slip. Also nothing substantial on the right end of the steel bars to keep you close to the tree trunk.
Next stop was the River Road Bridge, an old wooden railway timber bridge. I'm not sure how much longer it will be in action as the forest decays the bridge posts and bearers.
Today was also a transition day from the tall Karri forest to the coastal sandy plains where the trees are sparser and there is more water on the track.
I'm spending the night in Northcliffe and it has the feeling of an outpost village, on the edge of the wilderness. The next two days (130km) are the most remote on the Munda Biddi. There are no towns and I'll be staying in huts. There probably won't be any posts as I travel further south, until I arrive at Walpole. In preparation for this leg of the journey, I will be visiting the Northcliffe Op Shop tomorrow morning to purchase warm clothing before I leave civilisation. The forecast for the days ahead is lows of 8 degrees and highs of 18 degrees. Cooler in the wind.
Another good day on the Munda Biddi.
Gloucester Tree - closed for climbing but the ladder of steel bars are still in the tree. The second picture tries to capture the corkscrew ladder up the tree.
River Road Bridge was very rickety.
Tall Karri trees line the track in paces. This part of the ride felt very uncomfortable - hundreds of eyes watching me. Like a shooting gallery where I was the target and Magpies were up in the trees ready to pounce. There were no such attacks but I was on edge the whole section.
Closer to Northcliffe the track became sandy with more water crossings as the landscape changed.
Elevation gain: 527 metres
From the town of Pemberton to the town of Northcliffe
About 3.5hrs travel time, from 9am to 12:30pm
At Northcliffe, my distance from Mundaring: 669 km
Distance to Albany: 371 km
A late start today while I finished off some work before rolling out of town. Today was also a shorter day so there was no need to ride in the very cold morning air. The "feels like" temperature was 5 degrees this morning and maxed out at 17 degrees. Very different to the first few days above 35 degrees.
First stop on the ride today was the Gloucester Tree. In the past you could climb the tree to the lookout 53m above the ground. However, as of July 2023, it is closed for climbing. Good call. I don't know if the photo does justice to the climb. There are steel bars screwed into the tree that form the ladder as it corkscrews up the tree. No steps and nothing to really stop you falling if you slip. Also nothing substantial on the right end of the steel bars to keep you close to the tree trunk.
Next stop was the River Road Bridge, an old wooden railway timber bridge. I'm not sure how much longer it will be in action as the forest decays the bridge posts and bearers.
Today was also a transition day from the tall Karri forest to the coastal sandy plains where the trees are sparser and there is more water on the track.
I'm spending the night in Northcliffe and it has the feeling of an outpost village, on the edge of the wilderness. The next two days (130km) are the most remote on the Munda Biddi. There are no towns and I'll be staying in huts. There probably won't be any posts as I travel further south, until I arrive at Walpole. In preparation for this leg of the journey, I will be visiting the Northcliffe Op Shop tomorrow morning to purchase warm clothing before I leave civilisation. The forecast for the days ahead is lows of 8 degrees and highs of 18 degrees. Cooler in the wind.
Another good day on the Munda Biddi.
Gloucester Tree - closed for climbing but the ladder of steel bars are still in the tree. The second picture tries to capture the corkscrew ladder up the tree.
River Road Bridge was very rickety.
Tall Karri trees line the track in paces. This part of the ride felt very uncomfortable - hundreds of eyes watching me. Like a shooting gallery where I was the target and Magpies were up in the trees ready to pounce. There were no such attacks but I was on edge the whole section.
Closer to Northcliffe the track became sandy with more water crossings as the landscape changed.
Roll to the coast time! I am amazed that it is so cool/cold!
ReplyDeleteWith the new warm clothes, should be ideal riding conditions.