STIRLING RANGE RIDGE WALK

WHILE MANY WALKS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA offer challenge to experienced bushwalkers, for most of these the difficulties lie primarily in their remoteness. The Ridge Walk in the Stirling Range is one of the few exceptions. Isolation isn’t an issue here; instead, its difficulty lies in its technical demands. The range is the sole mountain chain in Western Australia’s southern half, and the route across it—steep and unmarked—traces across exposed, craggy peaks high enough that they’re the only places in the state that see winter snow. And while the Ridge Walk is just 26km long, and a single night out, don’t be lulled into a sense of complacency. Scrambling is necessary at times, and the going is slow and tough; the terrain here is genuinely challenging. It’s not for nothing that this route is often called the ‘Western Arthurs of Western Australia’.

The walk lies within the Stirling Range National Park, a park of great ecological importance. With peaks rising to more than 1,000m above sea level, the relatively high altitude of the range and its associated montane ecosystem gives rise to a rich diversity of plants. More than 1,500 species grow in the national park, many of them nowhere else. And the topography makes an interesting alternative to most other Western Australian bushwalks, which wind through flat and arid landscapes. Spearing sharply above the surrounding plains,