The Larapinta Trail is the famous 230km walk that follows the West MacDonnell Ranges from Alice Springs to Mt. Sonder (1380m), near Red Bank Gorge. It is broken into 12 sections, and walkers can tackle one or more sections at a time, with options to be dropped off or picked up between sections. Section 12 is the 16km return trip from Red Bank Gorge to Mt. Sonder, which is classed as “hard” and should take 8 hours.
You guessed it. John wants to do it. He’s going to take the boys. My balloons (located where my knees used to be) can’t even contemplate it. Our camp is high on the ridge top, so they ride down to the start of the climb, and begin the walk at 5.30am.
I woke about 7am to the blood curdling howling of dingos. They must have been communicating across the valley. It was quite spooky.
The boys took a UHF radio and I called them on schedule at 8am, just as they arrived at the summit.

I heard them loud and clear as the Summit Party reported success.
It looks like it was well worth the effort they made. Here’s John’s video report from the top.

This amazing view includes the James Ranges to the south.

And just to add to the planking collection……

So, new ground? Earliest start (5am alarm), longest distance walked (16km), longest time walked ( 4.5 hours), highest peak climbed (1380m), and most exhausted!
And here is Mt. Sonder – the view as we headed on into Alice Springs. Of course, it’s the tallest peak in the photo!