Adam, Leigh and the Trees

Day 1: Kalamunda to Hewitt’s Hill Campsite

Cumulative distance hiked: 11km

I find it amazing that this morning I woke up in Katoomba, flew from Sydney to Perth and from the airport, took an Uber to the start of Australia’s second longest hiking trail. I was nervous starting the Bib, it had been 6 years since my last thru-hike, would I still enjoy hiker trash life? Would my frazzled hip hold up? Would I run into creeps at the shelters? There was lots of unknowns and nervous energy.

After a meal in town I picked up gas and the last little bits and pieces before heading off my next great adventure. The trail starts opposite Kalamunda’s Coles shopping centre which is a convenient but odd place to start a long trail.

Despite being so close to town, the first 4k of the trail were spectacularly beautiful. I was ecstatic to see Kalamunda’s wild flowers out in force and felt like I was walking through a botanic garden at times. I put my excited energy to use rapidly snapping shots, a flower! a different flower! Oooohhh a flower with a little bees butt sticking out of it! This made for a very slow start the the trail. It took me 40 minutes to walk the first kilometer but as I soon came to realise, this is one of the simple joys of hiking solo.

I saw plenty of birdlife on my first day, brilliant green 28 parrots, multiple species of black cockatoos as well as kookaburras and kangaroos. As I walked I took in the spectacular height of the local Xanthorrhoea and the towering Marri trees. A big driver for hiking the track at this time of year was the wildflowers and Kalamunda did not disappoint. I couldn’t have asked for a better first day on trail.

The campsites along the Bib are very thoughtfully spaced, my home for the night, Hewitt’s Hill Campsite was a short 11km from the trailhead making it the perfect first night after a day of transit. Arriving shortly before sunset I was taken aback by the condition of the hut, everything was clean and in good condition, from the sleeping platforms to the toilets. It was better than I had anticipated when I did my planning at home, I felt very grateful to be able to use the facilities.

I had a couple of hut buddies for the night. Jeff, in his mid 50’s also hiking the track solo and a young Dr couple from the NT, Alice and Jack. I was yet to know it but they would turn out to be great company over the next few days. It was the perfect number of people in the shelter, I enjoyed the company but also enjoyed not having to pitch my tent.

Getting back into the camp routine of set up, water, dinner, bed felt rusty but also familiar, intuitively I knew the muscle memory was hiding somewhere deep inside me and wouldn’t take long to resurface.

It was a night of mixed emotions, I felt content to be back on trail knowing that I had 7 weeks of pure freedom in nature ahead of me. It felt surreal to actually be out on track after all the planning and I felt excited for what was to come along this trail.

Day 2: Hewitts Hill Campsite to Helena Campsite

Cumulative distance hiked: 32km

I woke up to the sound of Currawongs, they were making their way to camp at sunrise in anticipation of hiker crumbs.

I had a 9 day food carry on the first section from Kalamunda to Dwellingup. I have done longer carries through the Richmond Ranges (TA) and though the Sierra’s (PCT) so I didn’t think much of it when planning however my pack was so full this morning I found it challenging to pack well. I felt a calm comforting in knowing a routine would soon develop as I moved south and fell into my rhythm. There is a simple beauty that comes with hiking a long trail, your sole focus becomes water, food and shelter. It may be one of the things I relish the most when thru-hiking, the narrowed focus and sheer simplicity of it.

Once out on trail the kilometers started flying by, 7km in and I reached Mundaring Weir Hotel. I arrived at around 10am and was planning to only stop for coffee but I couldn’t turn down my first on trail food opportunity so I ordered an omelette for second breakfast and took the time to charge my phone.

The kilometers passed a little slower post omelette. The trail looped past Mundaring dam through forest dense with Xanthorrhoea, directly through the middle of the Perth Hills Discovery Centre and eventually to Ball Creek Campsite. The campsites are close together in distance in the Northern and Southern sections of the Bib track (~10km apart). For the most part I would be “double hutting” through to Dwellingup. One of the nice things about double hutting is having a reliable water source and shelter for a break mid way through the day. I stopped long enough to filter water at Balls Creek but I found it to be a bit dark and gloomy so I didn’t stay long.

The scenery was varied from here to my would be home for the night, Helena Campsite. A mix of Xanthorrhoea, pine and wildflowers. The temperature rose higher than I anticipated, it was in the low 20s but in the direct heat it felt warmer. I became a little worried about the fresh food I packed out, particularly the hard boiled eggs.

I played leapfrog with Jeff all afternoon, it was nice to have some company on track, particularly someone who enjoyed taking in the wildflowers as much as I did.

I arrived into camp around 3pm and whilst I thought it would leave me with an excessive amount of time to kill, ended up chatting away the afternoon with an inspiring solo female NoBo hiker, Elise. Elise was an outdoor guide on break over winter and only 2 days out from fishing her hike, it was lovely hearing about her experience thru-hiking the Bib in winter.

As the sun set Jeff lit a campfire and we all sat around enjoying marshmallows Jeff generously shared. Jeff, Elise, Alice, Jack and I were later joined by 3 lovely young guys from Perth who had recently graduated university. About to embark on their careers, it was interesting to hear their perspectives on the state of the world and their job prospects in the face of the rapid introduction of AI. One of the beautiful things about trail life is how it brings together people from all walks of life who you wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to meet, all with the single common thread of a love for nature and the outdoors.