Thorsborne Trail Packing Guide

In August 2023, I was lucky enough to finally go to Hinchinbrook Island and hike the Thorsborne trail, together with three Wild Earth teammates.

Half the fun was planning the trip and deciding what to bring. Below I’ll go over everything I packed, what I should’ve packed and what I could have left behind.

 

 

Shelter & Sleeping

Due to the geography of Hinchinbrook Island, the weather can be very inclement. It can be beautiful and sunny on the mainland, but the high peaks on the island are always catching clouds causing it to rain a lot more on the island. It will pay off to have a good quality tent that can handle the heavy rain but also has great ventilation to get a cool breeze coming through. I used the MSR HubbaHubba 1-person tent that worked perfectly for this trip.

I also recommend a lightweight tarp, like the Sea to Summit Escapist Tarp, to create a communal dry spot for cooking, playing cards, drying clothes etc. while it’s raining. Being winter (August), seeing temperatures of 11 to 13 C overnight, and with me feeling cold quickly, I ended up bringing a Sea to Summit Spark sleeping bag, which was way too warm for this trip. A liner/sheet would be enough for most of the year, while a thin summer sleeping bag would be sufficient for the coldest months. As for a sleeping pad, I bought the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Sleeping Mat with an R-value of 3.2 and a comfy thickness of 10cm, which was perfect for this trip, 

 

Navigation

For navigation, I mostly used my phone, on which I had downloaded the trail. I used the FatMap app to track our trail while having my phone on flight mode. The trail was quite easy to follow as there were arrows along the trail. However, the couple of times we missed an arrow it was great to have FatMap ready to find our way back to the trail quickly. As a backup, we had the Garmin eTrex 22 with the map and trail. I also carried a physical copy of the map and a compass as another backup. Lastly, Brad from Hinchinbrook Island Cruises supplied us with a basic map, on which he highlighted campsites, locations for phone reception and tricky river crossings, as well as a tide table. 

 

Cooking

When cooking my meals, I used my favourite little hiking stove, the MSR Pocket Rocket, and a Toaks titanium 750ml pot. If you book your island transfer with Hinchinbrook Island Cruises, you can order a gas canister with them as well, which is great for anyone flying in, like Lynne and I did. As a bit of luxury, I brought a plate and cutlery, rather than eating out of the packets of dehydrated meals. To clean up afterwards, I used Sea to Summit Wilderness Wash and a small Quick Dry Towel to clean up after dinner and had a drybag with 4 small biodegradable garbage bags (1 per day) to carry my rubbish. This way it was easy to hang it up high away from animals, keep any potential smells at bay and strap it on the outside of my pack when on the go.

 

 

Food & drinks

We booked Thorsborne for 4 nights and I always bring food for one extra night, so I had 5 dinner meals with me. This was a variation of Radix, Backcountry Cuisine and Campers Pantry. I also brought a bag of freeze-dried rice and a packet of couscous to bulk up my meals and make them a bit fancier. 

I’m not a big breakfast eater, so I just had some dried fruit and Clif bars in the mornings. For lunch, I brought Miso soups, 2 side meals from Radix, a couple of Weka bars and a bag of mixed nuts. 

For drinks, I brought a variety of teas, a tube of Bix Recovery tablets and a couple of powder sachets from Pure and Tailwind. Finally, to enjoy a bit of luxury, a couple of freeze-dried desserts and 2 flasks, containing tawny and some tequila for trail margaritas were most appreciated by the rest of the crew.

Water

When we did the Thorsborne there had been plenty of rainfall prior, which meant there was plenty of water available along the trail to fill up our water bottles. To filter my water, I used the Katadyn BeFree 600ml, as it’s easy to use, effective for the water on Hinchinbrook Island and it is very compact and lightweight. As for water containers, I always take at least 2 different containers for water, in case one leaks or accidentally rolls off a cliff. As I am pretty bad at drinking enough water and it can get pretty hot in Northern Queensland, I took a water bladder, so I could take regular zips while hiking. I also took a 1 litre Nalgene bottle, which carried my water for camp (cooking, tea etc) and a small Nalgene bottle for electrolytes and energy drinks.

 

 

 

Clothing

Due to the unpredictable weather conditions, proper rainwear is a must for Hinchinbrook Island. I used the Patagonia Granite Crest jacket and pants, which have a 3-layer construction but are still super lightweight. The jacket also has pit zips to dump heat when it gets too sweaty on the inside. 

As for hiking bottoms, it was cool enough to be able to wear long pants and I ended up just bringing 2 pairs of hiking tights and 1 pair of shorts. For tops, I had 2 merino t-shirts, 1 long sleeve merino shirt, 1 singlet, 1 fleece and 1 lightweight down jacket (which I used twice, but didn’t really need) The island has some beautiful swimming spots, so don’t forget to pack swimwear.

 

Footwear

This is a much-debated topic for the Thorsborne trail. The trail has a lot of variety and includes lots of uneven terrain, massive boulder fields, river crossings with slippery rocks and tree branches and mudflats to navigate. I took a pair of lightweight mid-high waterproof boots as my main footwear. My second pair of footwear was a pair of lightweight, quick-drying trail runners, which I wore on the stretch from Banksia Bay to Zoe Bay where there are plenty of river crossings and mud flats to cross. I always make sure that my second pair of footwear is something I could walk the whole trail on if needed, just in case something happened with my main pair of boots, like causing blisters, falling apart etc. As for socks I had 2 pairs of lightweight merino wool hiking socks and 1 pair of merino wool running socks.

 

Toiletries

To keep feeling human for the 5 days on the island, I carried the following in my toiletry bag: a toothbrush, a tin of toothpaste tablets, a small bottle of Wilderness Wash, 1 pack of Wilderness Wipes, toilet paper, a tin of NoPong deodorant and a small tube of face moisturiser with UPF protection. There are plenty of beautiful swimming spots, so I took a large quick dry towel for after a refreshing swim.

 

Insect repellent 

As we had been advised about the many mosquitoes and sandflies on the island, I wanted to have all bases covered on this. I carried personal insect repellent, a long-sleeved shirt and head net and a couple of coils to burn at the campsites. The combination of this worked a treat. 

 

Hiking Poles

I don’t usually hike with hiking poles, but after learning about the many river crossings and mudflats, I decided to take a pair and I’m glad I did. They were mostly strapped to my pack, but crossing rivers with slippery rocks and a big pack strapped on my back was so much easier and quicker with a pair of poles for balance. And even though it hadn’t rained too much in the lead up of our hike, the mud was still extremely slippery at times and the poles saved me from a few faceplants in the mud.

 

Lighting & power

For lighting, I packed a 330-lumen rechargeable head torch and a solar-powered Luci Lantern, which I both used on a daily basis. I carried a power bank with a solar panel to charge my devices. Both the power bank and the Luci Lantern were strapped to the top of my pack during the day, giving me enough charge to keep everything charged during the trip.

 

Hiking Pack

To carry all my gear I used the 60L Gregory Deva, which was the perfect size. To keep everything dry in the rain, I used a variety of dry bags. I had separate dry bags for clothing, food, rubbish, sleep system, first aid kit and one for miscellaneous items.

As there were a couple of side trips along the trail and we also had an extra day of exploring planned, I brought my running vest as my small pack to carry a bit of water, a snack and the monocular. I chose my running vest as it’s easy to scrunch up into a small pocket of my main pack.

 

 

Keen to hit the Hinchinbrook Island trails? Grab your Thorsborne Packing list here!

 

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