Trek the Spicers Scenic Rim Trail with Henry Macphillamy
Take a trip through the rainforest along South East Queensland’s stunning Scenic Rim hiking trails with Henry MacPhillamy. Henry recently completed the 62km, four day trek with his partner, as part of a guided expedition. Henry is completely blind and has moderate hearing loss, so there were unique challenges during this hike. Henry tells his story and shares his best tips for hiking the Scenic Rim Trail in this blog.
Blazing the Trail
I grip my hiking poles in my hands, using them as two extra points of contact on the rugged terrain on which I walk. As I step forward, the pole in my opposite hand strikes the ground in front of me. This unorthodox mode of travel gives extra stability, and allows me to get an insight into what lies ahead, be it rock, tree root or precipice – and right at this moment, I need all the insights I can get!
My guide, Juanita, walks behind me, giving me directions using a clock-face system. This orientates my steps along the narrow rainforest track that winds its way around in unpredictable directions. The track’s undulations and switchbacks remind me of the snakes that I am certain are hiding nearby in abundance in the dense, fragrant vegetation that surrounds us. We make our way between towering trees, and along and across well-worn creek courses that swish and burble – a tangible reminder of just how much rain has fallen in previous weeks. When the trail widens, I ditch the poles in place of a guiding elbow, and our pace picks up considerably.
A 3D map of the Scenic Rim Trail was found in every lodge along the trail.
If you think running blind presents challenges, so too does hiking. The challenges are surmountable however, as demonstrated in our recent experience walking the Scenic Rim trail. Over the course of 4 incredible days’ hiking, and 60 challenging kilometres, our hiking group slowly followed the contours of a mountain landscape that feels as though it is as old as time itself.
The Scenic Rim trail is in rugged rainforest terrain in and around Main Range National Park (the portion of the Dividing Range behind Brisbane). The five nights’ luxury accommodation along the trail turned an already memorable experience into something very special indeed.
Planning and experiencing a holiday can throw up unique challenges for someone with a disability. This post explains how I planned an awesome holiday that took into account the additional challenges I knew I would face as someone who is blind, yet took nothing away from a rich sensory experience. It is my hope that others might learn from this perspective and create similar opportunities for both themselves and other people.
Tip #1 - Own your environment
The environments in which we live, work and play dictate what we are able to do in them. As someone who is completely blind and moderately hearing impaired, I would not be able to function effectively without tools to navigate the world, keep me safe and make me productive. I have a lazy guide hound named Yas, deploy a white cane where necessary, wear hearing aids, and utilise screen reading technology and braille. All of these tools enable me to own my home environment.
Travelling to new environments means that the tools I use need to change. I realised that if I wanted to be up for the challenge a tough hike throws up, I needed a reasonable amount of fitness, and a reliable method of detecting the obstacles around me. I knew from previous hiking experience that hiking poles were essential, to give me the tactile feedback necessary to walk across rough terrain. We were fortunate in having time to practise using them in the weeks leading up to the hike. Changing and adapting your tools to deal with new and changing environments is crucial if you are serious about challenging yourself to venture into them.
Henry used hiking poles to navigate along the Scenic Rim Trail.
Tip #2 - Choose your people
The people with whom we interact and associate can make a big difference in how we experience the world. When I travel to new places as someone who is blind, I am much more reliant on others to confidently navigate my surroundings than I normally would be in my home environment. When planning a holiday as someone with a disability, it is therefore really important to have the right people in your corner. Quite apart from enjoying one another’s company, they can give the kind of support that empowers you to do what you can, and to help in ways that ensure you get as much out of the experience as possible.
Henry climbing a steep rock formation with the help of two guides.
When signing up for the hike, I knew that I would need the support of an experienced guide with knowledge of the trail. This additional support would also let my partner get the very most out of the trip herself. Fortunately, the tourism provider was prepared to accommodate my request for a third guide to walk with me so as to keep up with the group.
My guide, Juanita, had the experience and expertise to let me have the multi-sensory adventure I was hoping for. We worked together to find the best guiding techniques for the different terrain we walked through, crossed creeks and scrambled up and down boulders and rocks. . All of the guides’ expert knowledge of the trees and plants we came across enabled me to get a frame of reference for all that I experienced. I touched trees to get a glimpse of their scale and majesty. I tasted and smelt fruits and bush herbs to get a rich sensory understanding of the environment through which we passed. Choosing the right people and telling them what you need can be the difference between thriving and surviving on a trip away from home base, so get choosing, and choose wisely.
Climbing up a ladder to reach the top point of the trail.
Tip #3 - Don’t give in to doubt
We put limitations on ourselves every single day – from the assumptions we have about what we can do and what we are capable of aiming for, to the stories we tell ourselves that play a part in how we feel, act and react in any given situation. Understanding the challenges we face and where it is that they come from is the key to overcoming these same challenges. While the right tools and the right people can help you own your environment and make your trip more enjoyable, resilience and a positive mindset are your most important tools when taking on a challenge. You have freedom to take action and respond to adversity however you choose.
There will also be questions that pop up in your head again and again as you push your limits and try new things.
‘Can I do this?’
‘Should I be doing this?’
… and my personal favourite, ‘why the hell am I doing this again?’
The only right answer to all of these questions is the one that flips the switch from negative to positive, and keeps you moving forward with whatever adventure you are planning or doing.
A triumphant and exhausted group stand alongside the bus, waiting to be taken to their last night’s accommodation
My takeaway…
The thing that stands out the most to me as I reflect back on this magical holiday are the sounds and scents that I encountered as we walked along. The very absence of manmade sounds heightened my awareness of the prolific birdlife all around us, and I was able to tune into such subtleties as the sound of the rushing wind through the giant trees. The meditative silences also made an impression, and made me feel more present in the moment than I think it is possible to be in the course of everyday life in the city, with its myriad of sensory distractions competing for attention. It was a reminder to me that new experiences bring with them growth and changes in one’s perspective. Everyone needs a holiday to take them out of the familiar and into new frames of reference.
Finally, while someone with a disability may have more challenges to deal with than another person, challenges and limitations exist for all of us. I want to challenge you, the reader, to think more broadly about the difficulties you yourselves encounter in the everyday… whether you have a disability or not. It is my view that every one of us is stronger than we think and more capable than we know.
At the top of Bare Rock, the highest point of the whole hike.