27 September 2020
Although we had to leave Spalding that day to head home, there was time for one last run. Due to time constraints I chose to start north of Spalding and head back toward the town. This meant a shorter commute to the drop off point and no need for a pick up. The terrain was almost completely flat which meant a quicker run overall.
Also having checked out the section between Tin Hut Corner Road and Olives Road, I had noticed a lot of long grass and my snake phobia kicked in, so I convinced myself that it would be better to come back for that bit when snakes are hibernating.
After the views around Mt Bryan the day before, this was a pretty mundane section of trail scenery wise, traversing across farmers paddocks and along unsealed roads. However what it lacked in scenery, it made up for in weather – sunny, warm and virtually no wind. Ideal running weather at last.
The trail has been recently rerouted to follow the Morgan to Whyalla pipeline for a while and this bit was quite overgrown so it was slower going as I picked my way along and made plenty of noise to scare off any poisonous reptiles. I encountered a mob of sheep in a grassy paddock which helpfully ran around furiously in all directions which I initially considered was assisting the snake deterrent plan until I thought as they were running away from me, any snakes might be heading toward me!! Yikes! Recognizing I was overthinking the situation I was still relieved to exit the paddock and hit the irrigation channel the trail then followed for around 5 kilometers.
This was a very runnable part of the trail adjacent to farming land. It goes alongside some old cuttings for the irrigation channel, and ruins of stone cottages and farm buildings. It also forms part of the Mawson Trail which is another walking and cycling trail through South Australia. The trails frequently cross and join up before diverging again.
There were lots of gates rather than stiles to clamber over in this section (for cyclists), which meant a lot of opening and shutting. It was in this part that I encountered some shingleback lizards enjoying a nice sunbake.
After leaving the irrigation channel, and negotiating a gate where bees had set up a hive in the gate post, the trail crosses Belalie East Road and then runs parallel to that road into Spalding. A quick refresh and then it was into the car to head home.
Due to other commitments, this was my last run on the trail before it shut in November for fire season. At this point, I estimate I had covered around 60% of the trail.
Racecationing.com 