Larapinta Trail

West along the backbone of the West MacDonnell Ranges, from the old telegraph station at Alice Springs to the summit of Mount Sonder. The ranges are the eroded stumps of mountains older than anything else walked on this board, cut by gorges that hold permanent water in the middle of the desert — which is why the trail exists where it does. [Route details] Start: Alice Springs Telegraph Station · End: Mount Sonder 223.1 km · east to west · 577 m to 1,340 m Twelve numbered sections, about two weeks end to end [The gorges] - Simpsons Gap 24 km · Standley Chasm 64 km · Hugh Gorge 96 km - Ellery Creek 125 km · Serpentine Gorge 138 km · Ormiston Gorge 180 km - Glen Helen 190 km · Redbank Gorge 216 km [Good to know] - Walked in winter, May to August. Summer here is lethal. - Water is at tanks and gorges only, and the gaps between them set the section lengths. - Elevation is sampled from a terrain model, not recorded on the ground.