After being washed out in parts during the winter and consequently being one of the re-routed sections for the Yurrebilla Ultra, I was keen to get back in to Morialta and hit some of the trail that acts as both part of the Heysen and Yurrebilla trails.
I started out from the Morialta Cottages on Colonial drive and headed along the Colonial Track to the viewing platforms of Third Falls, up in the 'top' of the park. There was still a surprising flow of water for December, emphasising how wet our winter has been, but also our spring, and still now even our summer; we've just had a few high 30 - low 40 degree days, but are due 10mm later this week and this was preceeded by a storm that washed roads out again between Xmas and New Years. Everything seems to be getting constant top ups!
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Still noticeable water in Third Falls. And Festive feet thanks to Inov-8 and Injinji!
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The singletrail from here on follow right along the banks of Fourth Creek, down through the gorge. This section has been noticeably affected by extra water this winter, with crossing points much wider and a few sections fairly unrecognisable. However, that's nature and this is trailrunning; it all just adds to the escape.
Further along, the trail forks, with the lower section, Yurrebilla, heading to Second Falls and the upper section, Heysen, heading more directly to join Centre Track. The Yurrebilla section looked fairly washed out still, so I opted for the higher, Heysen section, of trail. The trail merge again shortly after the Second Falls sightseeing has been taken care of, so no real dramas either way. Besides, I was going to add an extra loop to this run to increase my mileage and elevation for the day, as the weather was on my side for mid December (i.e. cool!), so I would run all but a few hundred metres of the other fork anyhow.
I carried on up the trail passing a fair number of others out enjoying the ideal conditions, heading towards the Deep View lookout. I headed further up the (steep!) hill at this junction, heading for Rocky Hill, before turning off, leaving the Heysen/Yurrebilla to drop down the switchbacks to the upper carpark. I quickly crossed over to the opposite side of the gorge and up the stone stairs, to follow the trail on this side, above the Giants Cave, passing the Kookaburra Rock Lookout and heading back towards First Falls.
Now, it's been a (very long) while, since I'd been here, but I was pretty sure there was a bridge to cross the creek. No longer. Those winter storms had another 'victim' to add to the list! So a hop skip and jump over the creek and onto the Yurrebilla trail again, heading back up past the First Falls lookout and back to re-ascend the climb from Deep View up Rocky Hill.
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| Something is missing, I think... |
Up the whole way to the top of Rocky Hill and this usually rocky, sandy, technical climb was loose underfoot as usual. Popping out atop the hill to meet the powerline access tracks, there was a quick change to sand underfoot as it is out in the open, the sun drying everything out. Often there are plenty of lizards and signs of other reptiles up here. I've still yet to see a snake, only marks in the sand, but being a quieter section of the park with lots of warm sunny rocks to bask on, I always tend to keep my eyes open! I saw a small group of folks up ahead and gave them a bit a of a start when I called out a 'G'day' to them - it's rare to see other up here due to the stiff climb, I reckon they were surprised to see anyone else more than anything!
At the junction with Moores Road and Chapmans Track, I went left along Moores, following the Yurrebilla Trail as the Heysen diverged to the right. I'd be back for that later, but for now, it was down Moores and past Fox Dam, losing about 200m of elevation in the next 3 and a bit km. This is fairly uneventful, as the track is firm and gravel surfaced for large stretches, with a few pinches along the way, before dropping down Montacute Road. Yurrebilla then leads on to the infamous Quarry Track further along Montacute Road, usually the final killer climb (and KOM/QOM) during the YUM run. But for me it was about regaining the lost altitude with the even tougher climb up, Chapmans. Here you regain the 220m or so, but this time in 1.5km; a stiff climb for sure with sections registering over 35%!
Once I'd pushed up Chapmans, I was back to the earlier visited junction, this time following the Heysen in the opposite direction on Moores Road, before veering off onto Third Falls Track to rejoin and retrace my way along Colonial and back to the start. Being wide open fire/access tracks, there is little of note here, but easy running, mostly downhill, and with little other traffic. I'm glad it was easy though and my water was low by this point, having needed it earlier with the hills climbed.
Stats:
This run: 7.6km of HYSN (21.3km total)
Overall HYSN: 54.5km
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/804990178
Labels: adelaide hills, adelhills, heysen, heysen trail, HYSN, running, trailrunning, ultrarunning, Y56k, YUM, YUR, yurrebilla, yurrebilla trail
