Youngest person to solo-hike the AAWT sets off on Dec 8th

[neil_fahey]

Hi all,

Just noticed that there hasn't been anything posted on here about Ally Durr, who is setting off on a solo-hike of the AAWT next weekend in order to raise awareness for Lyme Disease. Ally is only 16, so I think she's deserving of our support. Have a read about her here - http://www.bushwalkingblog.com.au/16-ye ... ing-track/

Cheers
Neil

[ULWalkingPhil]

Interesting she mentions, one of the most difficult challenges so far is to get her pack weight down, the lighter the more expensive.
I think that depends on where you purchase. For a very reasonable fee, i have reduced my pack weight down immensely,
I think Australia is way behind the ball in regards to lightweight backpacking, what they call lightweight here is a joke in my opinion.

I sourced quality gear from the states.

Good luck Ally, all the best wishes on your hike.

[Lindsay]

Well done to this young woman. Here's hoping all goes well for her.

[Lizzy]

Good luck Ally!
I agree it can be an expensive process lightening the gear-especially for a 16 year old. Consideration must alsobe taken that "some" of the lightweight gear is less durable and may need replacing earlier. However all lightweight gear need not be pricey. When I was a youngster we used an army bivy, a ccf mat, a hexamine stove and my Dads work rain gear. Maybe not quite as comfortable as now but not bad. Coming from an Outward Bound course Ally should be used to the bivvy
Good work promoting Lyme disease- the Aussie Govt needs to take note.
Cheers
Liz

[DarrenM]

All the best for your trip Ally, stay safe and good luck.

[neil_fahey]

Hi all,

I've gone fairly light-weight for my setup too, and did find it quite expensive to buy in Australia. The biggest challenge was really the research/decision-making and balancing weight/wear-and-tear/comfort/warmth. There are so many options and it can be quite daunting when you're starting out, especially when you don't have much cash.

Thanks for checking out the story everyone!

Cheers
Neil

[TerraMer]

This is a great walk for a good cause.
Here is the link if you want to help Ally get her kit together and help her spread awareness.
http://www.allydurr.com/#!how-you-can-help/citr

[ULWalkingPhil]

Is Ally still seeking all this gear with just a few days before she leaves?

[ULWalkingPhil]

What's the latest on Ally's hike?

There has not been an update for two days and I noticed her Spot GPS tracking website is down for the past day.

[Travis22]

She's had updates every day on Facebook, I think she's passed Red Jacket now.

[LAMEA-Gals]

Just checked out her blog and looks like she had some navigational problems that have shaken her up. Understandable. I guess the terrain in those parts can be confusing with the regrowth. The blog now says her 14 year old brother is walking with her for a while. I can understand Mum being doubly worried!

The Spot is fascinating - I assume you activate it manually to send a reading of where you are.

[wayno]

yes you just hit the button and it sends your location if it has satellite contact at the time...

[LAMEA-Gals]

Thanks Wayno - so it has to be a manual action. I'm also assuming they are pretty accurate - with some sort of metre error margin in the co-ordinates they send back?

I'm looking at her Spot locations now and it looks like she has spent 6 hours bushwacked trying to find the right ridge line to follow. It doesn't look like a good day if the Spot readings are showing the true story.

[Mountain Rocket]

What is the link to her SPOT page? I quickly looked at her blog but did not observe an obvious link.

[LAMEA-Gals]

This is what I got from her blog page - hopefully it works. The link that seems to work is the one next to a picture of Ally standing by a road sign.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... gmNqcLHOsp

[photohiker]

I'm looking at her Spot locations now and it looks like she has spent 6 hours bushwacked trying to find the right ridge line to follow. It doesn't look like a good day if the Spot readings are showing the true story.

Most of the spot locations are close together, I think it is in her pack in forest with poor GPS fix and she left it on and tracking. GPS does that, I've had the same. They do appear to have stopped for some time though.

If you switch to terrain on the map, she is in a valley near the Black River and close to a road. Don't think she's very lost.

[madmacca]

Thanks Wayno - so it has to be a manual action. I'm also assuming they are pretty accurate - with some sort of metre error margin in the co-ordinates they send back?

I'm looking at her Spot locations now and it looks like she has spent 6 hours bushwacked trying to find the right ridge line to follow. It doesn't look like a good day if the Spot readings are showing the true story.

Lamea - Spot has two tracking options. One is a manual action, and sends a TXT/email to your nominated contacts. I tend to do this each evening when I set up camp.

The other option is tracks your position every 10-15 minutes, and is viewable on the Spot website (but without the messages). I tend not to use this option, but for a fundraising walk like Ally's, it is a good feature. Like all GPS's, getting a fix can sometimes be an issue in steep terrain or under tree canopy.

Looking at the time stamps on the GPS fixes, it seems she got down Champion Spur in about 1.5 hours, then decided to call it quits for the day (but left the tracker on). Perhaps she just wanted to go swimming in the Black River on a hot day? Chapman's book mentions a couple of campsites there.

[photohiker]

And she's off again.

Wow, early start at 5AM!

[LAMEA-Gals]

Thanks Madmacca for the explanation of the Spot and why there would have been so many readings from the one spot. Also great to see she's powering along today.