Walking SA was delighted to receive financial support from the Office for Recreation and Sport to conduct our Walktober 2016 project in October. We carried out a range of activities and events all with the intention of fulfilling our organisation vision of “getting more people to walk more often”. We would like to thank all of those actively engaged during October. A significant effort went into our social media engagement as well as providing a range of resources on our ever expanding web site. For more details of what we did please refer to walkingsa.org.au/walktober

Of particular note was our “Trails Less Travelled” event where we focussed on promoting walking other trails to the summit of Mount Lofty. This event was extremely well supported but suffered due to the atrocious weather on the day. We would like to thank all our volunteers and participants who supported the event and despite the weather had a great time. Read about the 8 Ways to Hike Up Mt Lofty.

Despite the morning’s rain and wind over 120 people participated in the six hikes for Sunday 16th October’s Trails Less Travelled event, exploring the different walking trails up to Mt Lofty summit.

The walkers were welcomed at the summit by our two intrepid explorers with goody bags and competition entry forms (congratulations Emily Young from Unley for winning a Mountain Designs day pack and a set of walking poles valued at $300.)

You can walk these trails yourself anytime. We’ve outlined the best ones below with maps and details.

Thanks to all our volunteers for making the event happening, including Heart Foundation Walking for packing the goody bags, for our walk leaders including volunteers from the Friends of the Heysen Trail, ARPA Bushwalkers, Adelaide Happy Wanderers, Heart Foundation Walking and Walking SA volunteers, for our stall holders including ARPA Bushwalkers, Murray River Walk, the Friends of the Heysen Trail, ARPA Bushwalkers and Mountain Designs.
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Trails Less Travelled: Hike Mt Lofty from a different direction
8am Sunday 16 October

We’ve had lots of volunteers helping out to bring you tomorrow’s event and show people the many different ways to hike up to Mt Lofty summit. Register now, it’s free!

1. Recent days have been fabulously sunny but the weather forecast for tomorrow is for some showers. Bring a rain jacket, umbrella or cheap plastic poncho (available from Coles, some servos, camping stores, travel stores, Harvey Norman, Spotlight).

   We also recommend:

   • wear some runners or hiking boots
   • wear a hat and sunblock
   • bring something warm to wear at the summit
   • bring 1-2L of water (water can be refilled at Mt Lofty summit)
   • avoid wearing jeans (if they get wet they stay wet for a long time and can make you feel very cold)
2. The following walks are all good to go:
   • Wine Shanty Hike (5km, easy)
   • Winter Track (6.7km, moderate) [registrations full]
   • Crafers (4.8km, easy)
   • Chambers Gully (8.2km, challenging) [registrations full]
   • Heysen Trail, Bridgewater (5.1km, easy)
   • Uraidla (7.5km, moderate)

   Regretably we’ve had to cancel these hike options:

   • Botanical Gardens
   • Measdays Lookout
   • Adventure Trail
3. All hikes start at 8am. The meeting location for each hike is listed on the hike’s event page, see:
   • Wine Shanty Hike
   • Winter Track
   • Crafers
   • Chambers Gully
   • Heysen Trail, Bridgewater
   • Uraidla
4. The summit expo is open from 9am to 1pm, free entry. Thanks to Mountain Designs you could win a Mountain Designs day pack and some walking poles in our event competition. Refresh yourself at The Summit Cafe, stroll among the stall holders in the summit courtyard and enter the competition.
5. You can grab a detailed map of the event hikes
6. Getting back afterwards
   • Some host clubs will offer to also walk back via the same route or another route.
   • You may choose to walk your own route to return, or retrace your steps.
   • If you’re hiking with a friend you could park a second car at the top before the hike, and drive back to the start in your first car. Then when you reach the top you have a car to drive down in, back to collect the first car.
   • Adelaide Metro bus service 823 stops at Mt Lofty Summit at 10:42am, 1:42pm and 4:42pm. The bus service originates in Cleland Wildlife Park and goes to Crafers Park N Ride stop 24 (by the freeway), with connections to the city and hills.