Written by one half of the winning duo, Andrew Heitmann
It’s been six long years since the last rogaine in Sturt Gorge and 2020 was a totally different time. I still vividly remember the March 2020 event – our final taste of freedom (and communal pizza), just hours before a public health emergency was declared and life suddenly went off the rails.
Warripari Wandering was a chance to return to those magnificent rolling hills, rocky creeks, coastal views and flowy singletrack. After a wet winter, everything was looking stunningly green. Fortunately water levels had subsided since the TRSA trail running event there a few weeks earlier, so as promised in the pre-briefing, there was no need for soggy shoes.
We knew it was going to be warm, so the hydration vest and bottles were filled to maximum capacity and I did suss out some potential refill options on SA Water’s BYOB app on the train ride to Blackwood. These proved to be essential for warding off the dreaded cramps.
With a target distance of 40+ km over 6 hours, route planning decisions revolved around which controls to drop, how to accommodate the limited river and train line crossings, and how to avoid dipping in and out of the gorge too many times. To keep options open for picking up extra controls later on, Ben and I agreed on a clockwise loop, following the perimeter of the map along Main Road to Horner’s Bridge, then along the upper southern slopes of the gorge to Flinders, and saving the guts of the gorge and Craigburn Farm to the end.
We set out on fresh legs and had no troubles picking up the first 20 controls as planned. Our first navigation challenge was control 90, which we approached from the gully and overshot a bit. The surface was pretty steep and loose and the scrub didn’t allow much visibility. But fair enough – it’s worth 90 points.
Satisfied with that small victory, we wound our way down the switchbacks into the gorge and up to Flinders. By this stage we still had 3 hours left, so we made the decision to pick up some extra controls in the second half and try to clear the course if we could.
After another trickier control at 65, we headed back into the gorge, but fatigue was now starting to set in. This is where we made our costliest mistake and totally missed our planned out-and-back to 82. After 4 hours in the sun, the highlighter ink on the map had mostly dissolved in sweat and it went unnoticed until the end of the day. It’s a pity, as I know this to be one of the most rugged and beautiful sections of the river.
After climbing back out of the gorge from 92, the gnarliest part of the route was behind us and we enjoyed some runnable singletrack through the MTB park and surrounding suburbs. With the light starting to dim, we were on the home straight by the time we got to Blackwood Footy Club, but mentally we were fading. We almost lost our bearings in the maze of MTB trails around 61, but after resetting ourselves on Craigburn Road and finding what looked to be some well-trodden grass from the hundreds of rogainers who had come before us, we found the control in the end.
This left four remaining controls to grab and a few km before we were back at the hash house, with just over a minute to spare. While our lofty ambitions to clear the course would have to wait for another time, we were very satisfied with our effort: 48 km and 1200-odd m elevation. I’d say that’s the sign of a well-set course – tantalisingly possible to clear but just out of reach.
As it turned out, one of us also mispunched control 41 (I’ll take the blame for that). A lesson learnt in paying attention, right to the end!
An ice cream from the sports centre cafeteria and of course a well-earned Freddo Frog was a great end to a wonderful day.
Thanks to setter Jo Powell, the amazing volunteers, my team mate Ben, and all the other participants for another great rogaine.
