Longstride

We waited out a swelteringly hot day in a cabin in Port Vincent.

The goal of the day was to avoid the 95 °F (35 °C) heat outside. While those temperatures might be hikeable on some other trails (such as the tree-covered Appalachian Trail), it’s not a thing even worth considering doing on a trail like Walk the Yorke, where there’s near-total sun exposure for the whole day.

• We had a simple trail breakfast (augmented with fruit) this morning.
• We booked a campsite in Pine Point (28 km ahead) for tomorrow.
• Around 1 pm, we went to the Port Vincent Kiosk for lunch. (Cheeseburgers and milkshakes.) While we were there, the self-professed “oldest bloke in town” (at 96 years old!) sat down with us to rest his legs. He also had a milkshake, which he said was because he used to be a plumber, and was advised to drink six pints of milk every day to counteract lead poisoning (back when lead was used in pipework). He’s also part of Port Vincent’s beautification committee; the town won Australia's Tidiest Town award in 2004, and also South Australia’s Cleanest Beach Award in 2011.
• After lunch, we went back to the IGA to do our very tiny resupply, for two days (48 km) to Ardrossan. Despite being only a few meters from the water, a hot breeze blew and walking on the sidewalk felt rather like we were walking through an oven.
• We arranged lodging in Adelaide for when we’re done with the trail, and a train trip back to Melbourne and then on to nearby Geelong.
• By dinner time, it had cooled down enough to sit outside, so we made more pasta and sat on our porch, watching the sea birds reoccupy a growing spit of land as the tide went out.

Tomorrow, it’ll be windy, but the temperature will be much more agreeable (only 74 °F / 23 °C), and we’ll have a long 28 km walk to Pine Point.