Jonno is currently making his way down the Bibbulmun Track on an End-to-End. In the coming weeks I'll be joining him for a few sections. Before I share those, here's a look back at a similar trip from ten years ago.
Having completed my own End-to-End three years earlier, I was already pretty familiar with the Track. Helena was an easy choice for an overnight with Jonno: a 12km walk in, great views with barely any signs of civilisation, and one of the nicer huts in the area.
This trip came at a time when Jonno was adjusting to life as a shift worker. We decided to leave time behind for the night, leaving our watches in the car, phones switched off and only a small digital camera to document the trip. For the next two days, we'd let daylight, hunger and tiredness set the schedule.
The walk in was a pleasant wander through the winter Jarrah forest, with plenty of stops to take in the views. I particularly enjoyed watching the shadows of the clouds move across the uninterrupted forest of the Helena Valley.
Helena Campsite
When I passed Helena Hut on my End-to-End, it was the first day I'd felt fit enough to double-hut, so I'd been disappointed not to stay, especially after spending the previous night at Ball Creek Campsite, the worst hut on the whole Track!
This time there was no reason to push on. With no watches, no phones and nowhere else to be, we settled in to enjoy Helena for the afternoon, gathering an excessive amount of dead wood for a big fire that evening.
With such a big fire we had to wait for it to settle down before we could cook dinner.
Given the indulgent nature of the trip, I'd carried in fresh steaks and some garlic butter potatoes, which I'd pre-prepared and wrapped in foil to cook directly on the coals.
We spent the rest of the evening around the fire, sharing some port and plenty of laughs.
The Walk Out
The following morning we rekindled the fire enough to cook breakfast before ensuring it was properly extinguished. We left behind a substantial pile of firewood for future visitors, somewhat atoning for our reckless behaviour the day before.
Back on the trail, we decided to vary the return journey with some off-track hiking. I studied the maps and picked out a suitable ridgeline to follow.
We were rewarded with sweeping views from a rocky outcrop.
We rejoined the Bibbulmun Track before reaching some thick Parrot Bush and returned to the car without incident.
When helping Jonno plan his End-to-End itinerary, I made sure to steer him towards a night at Helena rather than nearby Ball Creek. He was glad I did, and impressed by the substantial new shelter that now occupies the campsite. I’ll be joining him for sections around Balingup, Pemberton and Walpole in the coming weeks.
