Isabella’s Bronze 3-Day Bibbulmun Helena Valley Hike
The hike was intense, strenuous and difficult. But I learnt so many new things including endurance, stamina and confidence. Prior to the hike, I was dreading the experience, worried about hygiene, weight of the backpack, sleeping comfort. Due to having never camped or hiked before, I was increasingly worried leading up to the hike. I tried to pack minimally, willing to forsake clean clothes for less weight to carry and choosing food that was light and had minimal wastage. Every item I brought had to be thoroughly contemplated as to whether it was “fluffy” or a necessity for the hike. Everyday, I checked the weather forecast, desperately praying that no rain would come our way on the hike. As the days became closer, my anxiety increased, fearing the day would come to start the journey.
The drive to the hike departure point at Dale Road was quite lovely, with beautiful majestic trees rising towards the skies and lucky sightings of kangaroos leaping through the bush. This thrilling and unfamiliar environment somewhat put me at ease, lessening the worry that was coursing through my veins. I remember being dressed quite warmly and even though the hike had not yet begun, I was already overheating in thermals, a fleece and a rain jacket. Our hip belt was strapped tightly around our waist balancing on our hips to ensure that the 14 kg backpack did not weigh down on our shoulders.
As the hike for the first day was 11.4 km to the Beraking campsite, it was essential that the backpack did not rest fully on our shoulders and back as it would cause permanent damage. Knowing all of the people in my group was quite comforting and thus there was no awkwardness or fear between us at all. Venturing through the bush was quite beautiful, surrounded by Jarrah, Marri and Wandoo trees as we trekked along the vibrant red ironstone gravel. Occasionally, we walked upon slippery granite outcrops and thus needed to be extremely careful when crossing them. Although I did not bring my own hiking sticks, I used one of Meredith’s hiking sticks which I felt reinforced my stability and control immensely. I also noticed as I walked that many of the trees were hollowed out or scorched black – remnants of bushfires that have ravaged such areas. Seeing these trees up close was stunning yet quite saddening, beautiful mahogany trunks embellished with streaks of ebony.
Another thing worth mentioning is the Waugal. The Waugal is a Rainbow serpent in Noongar culture, believed to have greatly shaped the landscape and provided bountiful resources. Along the Bibbulmun track, the Waugal trail markers are strategically placed against the many trees to guide hikers in case they get lost or misguided. Didier, our hike supervisor, allowed some of us to take the lead to build our confidence and leadership skills by simply following the Waugal, thus emphasising the importance of keeping your eyes peeled for these yellow trail markers. However, he also informed us that in the event that we do get off track and lead the group in an entirely different direction than in the way the Waugals intended for us to go, he wouldn’t notify us. As a result, even though there was only one designated leader, we all had to be extremely observant in recognising the Waugals to ensure that we didn’t jeopardise our chances of getting to the campsite earlier to set up quicker. There was one devastating hill that I remember struggling to climb up. Every time I looked up, there only seemed to be further to go, every step like a rock weighing me down. Perspiration dripped off my forehead and my heart palpitated wildly, adrenaline coursing through my veins, as I gritted my teeth and kept on moving forwards.
By the time, I reached the top of the hill, I felt a powerful sense of accomplishment. It was that moment when I realised the real reason why hikers always come back to this sport as it is so strangely addictive and exciting. I found a craving within me to experience that achievement again, and as a result over the next few days, I found myself pushing my body as far as possible to its limit, stunned by my body’s resilience and endurance. I guess you never know if you never try.
After 11.4 km, we were exhausted by the time we reached the Beraking campsite but we still found the strength within ourselves to pitch our tents and set up our sleeping quarters. Later we reconvened as a group and set up a campfire to keep us warm, before starting to cook our dinners. The smoke from the campsite was simply terrible though and smelt foul. As our hike occurred during winter, we were told to start cooking dinner before the cold settled and dark encroached. Didier was right – the dark comes really quickly, and when it is dark you can’t do much. Thus, we retired to our beds quite early. However, to my shock and immense panic, I realised I had left my tent flap slightly open. As I shone my headlamp into the tent, I whimpered at the insects, an abundance of spiders and flies and all sorts of unnameable insects, crawling up and down on the inside of my tent. A huge fly flew straight into my eye and though I hate to admit it, I shed a few quite tears in my dire predicament. Switching off the headlamp was my only option as I knew that insects are extremely attracted to bright light. So there I was, shivering in the cold in my sleeping bag, in utter darkness, trying not to think about the insects that were surrounding me. Eventually, I fell asleep only to be awoken multiple times throughout the night by onslaughts of rain pelting against my thin tent. During these brief moments where I awoke, I contemplated my course of action in the morning and how I were to escape the rain.
By 4:30 AM, I could not sleep any more so I rested in my sleeping bag for a good half an hour before beginning to pack my sleeping bag, sleeping mat and pillow and reorganising my belongings so they could fit into my bag again. I even struggled trying to get out of my tent, the zipper getting stuck at the most unfortunate timing and I had to ask Meredith to pull the peg out of the ground so I could get out into the pouring rain. We ran to the hut to drop our bags off before dealing with our soggy tent and patiently waited for the rain to stop. The sun began to emerge, signifying the morning and warming the wet earth. After having a small breakfast, we set off on our way, ready for our 18.4 km journey to the Helena campsite. The kilometres did not feel so long and strenuous this time, most likely due to the adjustment to the harshness of the hike on the first day.
Didier also gave Meredith and me the opportunity to lead the group halfway through the day until we got to the campsite. Secretly delighted at the prospect of such an opportunity and simultaneously complaining that we were extremely slow, we started off again, keeping our eyes peeled for Waugals. What I didn’t realise was that without the expectation of keeping up and giving us the ability to walk at whatever speed we wanted, the experience became much more enjoyable. Once I gained the momentum, it was much easier for me to continue putting one foot in front of the another, peacefully observing the beautiful nature along the way. We trekked through a tiresome uphill but being able to go at a speed that was good for me, was extremely helpful in making the experience less tiresome. However, Meredith and I didn’t realise that we had actually left the group behind. We saw Didier’s head but we didn’t see the rest of the group which frankly meant that we were not doing very good jobs at being leaders. In the end, at the next break which was only 3 km later, Didier demoted us as we were too fast and the rest of them couldn’t keep up. Although we were only allowed to lead for a short amount of time, I extremely enjoyed the opportunity, as it sharpened my hiking skills and restored confidence in me that I was able to survive the hike.
The views continued to be extremely stunning. As there were three terrible up-hills and a half mountain to climb in total for today, we were extremely exhausted. However after the second hill, I remember feeling the fatigue tire me out. Honestly, indulging in sugars and proteins was the only thing that gave me strength to continue. Later on when we encountered the half-mountain, a lot of us were feeling quite tired. But some of us still had that momentum to keep going and didn’t want to lose it just yet. I could feel blisters sprouting on my toes but all I desperately wanted to do was to get to the campsite as fast as possible. Towards the end, I even started racing Sean to get to the toilet as both of us did not want to do our business at a nearby tree. How I found that energy is still a mystery to me. I think that the urgency of nature calling increased my desperation and thus pushed me to get to the campsite faster. By the time we finished the 18km, my legs felt like they were on fire, the muscles in my limbs feeling tiresome and heavy, and my hip bones feeling bruised and battered. But nevertheless, we got to the end. And I did get to use the toilet. Didier was also very kind and allowed us to sleep in the hut that night. Due to my traumatic ordeal with the tent that previous night, I was extremely grateful for this act of kindness.
The Helena campsite was actually quite spacious and overlooked the Helena Valley, offering the most beautiful and breathtaking views. As we arrived at 3:00, we unpacked our bags and set up our sleeping bag, mat and pillow in the hut, with girls taking the top level and boys taking the bottom level. After having dinner, we took some amazing pictures with the sunset overlooking the Helena Valley. The view was simply just so picturesque and one that I will never forget. Later as the sky darkened, we observed the exquisite stars dotting the midnight sky. Without all the light pollution present in the metropolitan areas, the stars seemed so clear and bright. Being on top of a mountain meant that we were even closer to the stars. I also don’t think that I’ll ever forget how beautiful the stars looked that night, all of us lying with our backs on the rocks, heads gazing up at the dark sky, silently appreciating the twinkling dots. By the time we all got into bed, most of us fell asleep quite quickly, but I think I was unable to sleep too well due to the biting cold and the incessant snoring. I actually slept better in the tent than in the hut with everyone squished together. I remember huddling with everyone like penguins to retain warmth.
That morning when we woke up and packed our bags felt eternally cold. I don’t think anywhere else could have been as cold as it was at the Helena Campsite. Making my Milo in the morning was honestly such a lifesaver. I also forgot to mention previously that every time I cooked with my little gas stove I used rainwater from the tank. I also had to fill my bottles with rainwater after a while as you drink quite a lot of water everyday to make up for all the perspiration that is being secreted. Rainwater tastes so pure and fresh. As it was so cold that morning, the water was also extremely chilled. I think I had expected the water to be quite dirty on the hike, but to be perfectly honest it was some of the best water I had ever drunk. Packing our bags for this morning wasn’t as difficult as I had eaten most of my food and thus created slightly more space in my backpack. But I think due to my terrible packing skills, my bag still looked quite full and still felt quite heavy. However, it didn’t matter as I was finally going home, back to my parents and my warm bed. I was willing to trek through the last 14 km and get to the Mundaring Weir Hotel as fast as possible.
Every day, hiking felt a little easier. These last 14 km did not feel very hard at all. Meredith and I also chatted a lot to Miriam at the back, about her job, her family and pets. It was very insightful talking to Miriam and we extremely appreciated how she was so kind and opened up to us about so many details of her life. Along the way, we also encountered quite a few hikers along the way. They were all so compassionate and didn’t mind that we were occupying the hiking trails and taking up space at campsites. They even asked us about how much we enjoyed it so far and what challenges we encountered along the way. By the time, we reached the Mundaring Weir Hotel, I felt that it was such a shame that our hike had come to an end. Personally, I had enjoyed the journey much more than I could have possibly envisioned.
Didier also took Meredith and I back to Perth Modern School with him, as our parents could not get there themselves. I’d like to really express my gratitude towards Didier and Miriam who supervised us and took care of us along the way and to Didier for taking us back with him, where we enjoyed such lovely conversations about our hike, the other Perth Modern hike a week before, and about our experience.
The bushland is such an amazing place to explore but I don’t think I would have been able to appreciate it fully without Didier’s guidance, mentoring and support. Going on this hike reinforced skills such as leadership, endurance, confidence and fostered a sense of independence within me. Before, I felt that I had been so reliant on other people such as my parents, family and close friends. Going on this hike made me repossess this independence and come up with solutions to problems that appeared along the way. It was a testament to my resilience and persistence but was truly such an eye-opening experience for me. I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to participate in this hike for my Adventurous Journey for my Duke of Ed Bronze and sincerely hope that later on in the future if I do complete my Duke of Ed Silver and Gold, I’d be able to complete it again with this tight-knit group of friends and with Didier and Miriam from LifeTrail.
It was difficult, it was challenging but the hike is something that I will always look back on with fond memories as a time where I found peace with myself in the extraordinary bush and found strong inner qualities within me that I didn’t even know I possessed.
