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.
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