The engine roared into life breaking the silence that a suburban area can only experience at this time of the morning; 5am. All dark quiet and still...Just the buzz of the street light throwing its orange light onto the street still wet from overnight rain, and the sound of 4.5 litres of twin turbocharged V8 engine coming to life (Sorry neighbours)...Inside the car was quiet and as my bluetooth connected I slipped into reverse and backed my Landcruiser onto the street. By the time the roller door closed on the garage my device had connected and music filled the cabin. A couple presses to select some good travelling tunes and we were off through abandoned Sunday morning streets.
Four hours, many tunes, a bacon and egg muffin and two coffee's later we arrived at our destination. I pulled my car up pausing only long enough to allow the dust to settle back to the gravel road before I jumped out and took a deep breath of crisp mountain air. The Southern Flinders Ranges. A smile split my face and I set to work arranging my back pack whilst Faith strapped on her hiking boots...And complained about the cold. I accepted the chill stoically, but it was cold. By 9:30am we were on our way up the mountain, back pack filled with items for lunch, a few litres of water, GPS, first aid kit, camera and binos.
The breeze sang in the tree tops, leaves and creaking branches adding to the symphony whilst our boots crunched on the trail in time, upward along the winding mountain trail towards the summit we went. There wasn't much talking, just walking, as we ascended one after the other enjoying the calming sounds one finds in places like this; Places devoid of humanity, the intrusion of humanity's noise. Our breath laboured in the steeper sections, and muscles strained as rocks fell away behind us as we scrambled upwards over sections covered with the loose shale intrinsic to the area, rocky outcrops and scrubby sections.
We'd seen no one on the way up as expected considering the remote location and time at which we set off although heading back down could be another matter as hikers may have set out after we had meaning we'd meet them as we descended. For now we held the summit alone just us, the sky, the breeze whispering in our ears and the sun for company. Welcome company.
We laid back on an outcrop of rock soaking up the warmth from the sun like a couple of lizards; The day was cool despite the clear blue skies but we'd warmed up through the exertion of the hike...We were cooling off now though so we spread out on the rocks and made like lizards...Thanks for providing some warmth sun, much appreciated.
Lunch was at one of the best restaurants I've ever been to...The top of that mountain, out of my backpack. Preparation was simple: Crack open the lid on a can of tuna, rip open some crackers, apply tuna to cracker and you're done...We added in some trail mix and a few swigs from our water bottles and the meal was complete. Simple. We resumed our lizarding after lunch and had a chat about our Europe trip in 2020. Seemed like a good way to spend a Sunday.
Halfway down we heard voices and before long came across another couple on their way up. We chatted a little and I warned them about a brown snake (will kill a person) I'd seen back up the trail and we went our separate ways, them up and us down.
Twelve hours after first jumping in the car earlier in the morning we made it off the mountain and back to my vehicle which, thankfully, didn't get stolen. Before long were on the road and dust billowed out behind us, lit warmly by the setting sun ahead of us. All golden rays and splendour the sun headed to a new day somewhere else on the globe. There was a moment of disappointment as I turned left onto the blacktop and and headed south bound and home, however all fresh air we'd breathed left me feeling energised nonetheless and my spirit couldn't be broken...I opened the throttle and the Landcruiser leapt forward eagerly, as if it knew where we were going.
Our weekend ended with tired muscles, droopy eyes and a pretty early night once we'd gotten home around 9pm. It was a great weekend all round though and I determined it was indeed, officially, owned. I went shooting for most of Saturday, had a movie night on Saturday night, went hiking Sunday and squeezed in a little sleep in between. Our sneaky hike was unplanned and only decided to do it on Saturday night around 8pm but it was a great day, despite being long and tiring. Best of all it was spent together doing something we both love and enjoy...Hiking, with no one else around.
I'm at work right now, wishing I was back up on that mountain eating crackers...But that'll have to wait until this weekend. I'm not sure what adventure we have planned...Maybe sitting on the couch watching Netflix, maybe not.
(OK I lied, I'm not at work. I'm at a café right now, during work hours...) 😂 😎
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