Heike Mullee (Schnitzel)
Completed: 13 September, 2024
- Start date: 24 April, 2024
- Age When Completed: 60
- Direction Walked: Both
Track Towns and Supplies
- How many days did you stay in Track Towns? 5
- Good, healthy food and minimising food weight are important to me, so I prepared and dehydrated most of my lunches and dinners. A lot of work, but I enjoyed my meals, so it was definitely worth it. I dropped off and/or posted resupply packages to visitor centers and only bought supplementary supplies in track towns.
- Dwellingup
- Donnelly River Village
- Pemberton
- Denmark
Your Story or Advice for Others
General CommentsI started my solo end-to-end with a fair amount of trepidation: How would I go with weeks of solo hiking? Would my almost 60-year-old body (with at least one dodgy knee) be up to the task? Is my moderate level of fitness adequate? In the end my body amazed me with its ability to adapt, my stamina and fitness improved, and walking the track was one of the best decisions I ever made. I met some amazing people on the track, had a lot of fun and made some new friends who I walked with for many days.
Your Best Equipment
My AARN backpack with balancing pockets, which meant I could easily access my water, snacks and various bits and pieces without taking my pack of. My Z-seat foam "sit-upon", which doubled as "kneel-upon" and tent doormat.
Your Worst Equipment
My battery driven head torch, which was fine around camp, but not powerful enough for any walking in the dark. I have since replaced it with an ultralight rechargeable Nitecore headlamp.
Advice for Others
There are lots of ways to walk and enjoy the track, and not every way suits everyone. Do it "your way", whether that's slow or fast or very organised or improvised. Get out there and enjoy our amazing country.
Trip Details
How you completed the Bibbulmun Track:- In sections
- How many days did it take you to complete the Track? 61
- Who did you complete the Track with? Solo (primarily)
- Was undertaking your hike the PRIMARY/MAIN purpose of your TRAVEL from where you currently live? Yes
- What first prompted you to walk the Bibbulmun Track? BTF event
- BT Maps
- BT Guidebooks
- App (please specify)
- - Far Out
Your Experience
- Availability of information: Excellent
- Amount of Wildlife Encountered: Good - The friendly resident Quenda family at Torbay, a very large feral cat on the track near West Cape Howe, a pod of dolphins surfing the waves at Mazoletti Beach and the carpet python at Mt Wells were my favourites.
Too many favourite sections to mention them all. The track is so varied, and I enjoyed it all from breathtaking coastal views to walking through ancient giant trees and the views through the Darling Ranges.
Highlight of your trip
I expected my hike to be a solo adventure, but ended up building some great new friendships, which I think will last a long time.