July 1st 2021

Days km: 17.4km
Total km: 444.7km

So this was my favourite day on the trail so far. I was in no rush to start this morning, so I wandered around town until the cafes opened so I could grab a hot breakfast. I also spent waaay too much at the chemist. I bought new inners for my shoes as well as a muscle rub thing, in the hope that they would help my shankbones. I sauntered back to the Post Office and I met the Bibbulmun Track legend Pack Animal (although I didnt know the legend part at the time). I was not expecting anyone so I had left my gear everwhere. I apologised profulsey, but I think he forgave me as I left a lot of food.

After buying the most expensive Gatorade ever (Balingup is pretty but pricey) I headed off into one of the prettiest parts of the trail. It was honestly like walking in the UK, with groves of oak trees along rolling farmland. It was really quite lovely. Even the road walk after that was nice, with the road nicely framed and shaded by the trees.

The countryside opened up a bit the closer I got to Blackwood and I often had to share the trail with thouroughly unimpressed cows. My days was dampened somewhat by a brief but intense rain storm when I was out in the middle of one of the cow paddocks.

As I climbed steadily up over the fields back in the woods, the unimpressed cows were replaced with unimpressed Roos. Some of those buggers were pretty damn big as well. Blackwood shelter is one of the more happily situated on the trail, as it sat atop a hill with awesome views on the valley below. The issue was mice. They were supposed to be pretty bad here. My original plan was to double today, but with the forelegs being what they were I had committed to staying here.

I had hoped they stories were exaggerated, but reading the shelter journal dissuaded me of that. Ah well, I’d just have to deal with them as best I could. Whilst I was eating dinner, enjoying the views from the becnh I noticed what could only be a mouse hole under the table. I covered it with one of the plastic boxes that contained the trail log book and amazingly it seemed to work. As I lay on my sleeping pad I heard some scratching on the crate but that was all.