Crossing Mt Solitary

It was the last hit out before the North Face.

Carey, Colin and I opted for crossing Solitary the hard way - from Kings Tableland via the Ruined Castle finishing with a climb up the Giant Stairway to the top of the Sisters.

Then back to Katoomba Oval and our car.

From Jamison Creek below Solitary, a 700m climb in the pouring rain led straight up a super steep ridge line to the eastern Summit. The track had turned to a creek and the clouds descended.

It was meant to be a simple 25km run but the rain turned the track to black mud. The Wild Endurance - a 100km walk for the Wilderness Society was also using parts of the same track.

So 400 plus walkers had turned the Federal Pass track into a boggy morass!

Cold and drenched we arrived at the car just before dark - hot coffee

returned some life.

6 hours and 15 minutes for a lousy 25km - it was a slog.

Running in the West Macs - video

First video: At 1358m, the summit of Mt Sonder on the edge of the Tanami Desert is a surreal place!

Second video: Descending Sonder - grand views all the way down!

A Little Trip to the Desert

With time running out for the North Face. Carey joined me in Alice Springs for a taste of desert running.

The West MacDonnell Range is home to one of the greatest walking tracks in the world - the 234 km Larapinta Trail which leaves the Overland Telegraph Station in Alice and winds its way through desert, rugged mountain tops and secret canyons brimming with water from a year of rain, to finish on the summit of the majestic Mt Sonder.

Our plan was simple - run two stages of the"Lara" - my friend Dan joined us for the first day, a stunning 25 km from Serpentine Gorge along the top of the range to Counts Point and then down to Serpentine Dam to close out the day.

Blue sky, cool wind and mind blowing views accompanied us all day. The view from Counts Point is as good as any in the world. In fact, Dans words rang loud - it seemed as though we were on another planet.

Day two and Carey and I tackled the 8km climb to the summit of Mt Sonder. At 1358m - the fourth highest mountain in the Territory - after 700m of ascent we were rewarded with a view that takes the breath away.

Visibility was over 100km to the edge of the Tanami Desert. Everywhere we looked ancient mountains and desolate landscape filled the vista.

The desert is a special place to run.