Trail #4: ALDGATE TO MYLOR LOOP

The 12km loop had a range of roadside footpaths, dirt roads, fire tracks, and narrow trails that a step either side would find you on your arse in dense shrub. This one was a fun adventure!

Date: 2 February 2025

Distance: 12.4km

Time: 2h 28m

Elevation gain: 335m

This trail had it all. The 12km loop had a range of roadside footpaths, dirt roads, fire tracks, and narrow trails that a step either side would find you on your arse in dense shrub. This one was a fun adventure!

I parked at the Aldgate Pump Hotel. Easy to find and filled with childhood memories, my family would go here often growing up. I had looked at the guides for this walk on the All Trails app and the Walking SA site, both were fairly clear, but I was unsure how this trail would take me from the roads that I had driven so many times to a walking journey that wasn't visible to the naked eye.

I hitched on my new trail backpack (I love new gear!) and hit go on the All Trails app. It led me out of Aldgate and onto the trail.

The first couple of kilometres followed Strathalbyn Road up past Aldgate Primary School and on a comfortable footpath. It was a nice way to start - steady incline, familiar surrounds, and no second guessing the trail.

The 2nd section of the walk veered down into the deep forest, bush and gullies of Aldgate as it began to lead through to Mylor. It was in this thick scrub that the adventure really began. I continued to keep track of my app and a close eye on the markers on the trail, which were very clear and helpful the entire trail.

It was in these depths that I started to feel like Frodo and Samwise on their perilous journey, even though truth be told, Aragorn was always my favourite character in the Lord of the Rings. However, on this trail I felt more like a frightened hobbit at times than the fearless Man of the West (tip of the hat to my Lord of the Rings friends, sorry to everyone else!).

A new fear was unlocked in the bushland of Aldgate and that was the possibility of being bitten by a snake. Add to that the thought of lying there on a dirt trail and not being found in time. Certain death. This was some serious snake territory. It was forecast to be a sweltering 40 degs', so I got out on the trail early to beat the heat, and I was sure all of the snakes of the Adelaide Hills would be thinking the same thing.

[The 2nd pic in the gallery is what I took and had ready to send to Stacey if I got struck down by a 2m brown snake.]

I went deep into the Aldgate Valley Reserve, along Aldgate Creek, scurrying through the Nurrutti Reserve and some other unnamed reserves around Mylor. The trail was hemmed in at both sides by heavy scrub, my heart rate rose and I trod and skipped through as if there were landmines afoot. There were numerous times where I was in peak stress mode. Disappointingly when it comes to my fight or flight response, flight and freeze are my most natural stress responses - I was on edge and it wasn't pretty!

As I crossed the threshold of Aldgate into Mylor, rising out of the heavy bush and crossing Stock Road I began to relax as I collected my bearings and had some breathing space on the trails that led on.

Strolling down to the main street of Mylor signified the first half of the loop trail done. It was a solid trek so far. It had been an adventure, mentally challenging, but seriously enjoyable. I stopped for a quick drink, popped my AirPods in and began the 2nd half of the loop which would take me back to Aldgate.

It was the 7km mark that I chucked on a podcast. Up til now I kept my ears to the trail, no music, pods or audiobooks. This has surprised me on my trails so far, I thought I would want music on, but truth be told I have enjoyed being with my own thoughts, and dialling in on the moment. I had about 30 minutes left on my favourite Manchester United podcast, and we had just won our last game so I wanted to enjoy this rare moment of United victory and positivity.

The last section of the trail followed Aldgate Valley Road and most of it was set back only 10-20 metres from the road. It was a welcomed way to finish the trail after the first half was so deep in the bush. The trail eventually linked back up with the first section which then led back down Strathalbyn Road to the Aldgate Pump Hotel.

I hit stop on my tracking apps, took a selfie, sprayed myself with deodorant, and then popped into Fred for a juice and waited for Stacey and Maya to meet me for a cute post-trail date. Aldgate to Mylor loop trail is one I will do again, I think Autumn would be the perfect time to do it, next time I'll bring my son, Henley and see how far we can get together. Hopefully by that time I can be like Gandolf and he can be the hobbit!