Month: October 2019

Hello!
My second day started out in snow and finished in brilliant sunshine!

This section of the track is 16.8kms – it changes from open buttongrass plains to rocky forested areas.

I love these tracks – a bit of a challenge as you have to keep an eye on your feet, but its never boring!

And just when you’ve had enough of the dark forests, back out into the open you go!

Hi!!

It didn’t take me long to shed the gloves, coat and hat. The wind was brisk but not too annoying.

That point is the edge of Mt Oakleigh. By the end of the day I will be on the other side of that mountain looking back. Seems a long way off doesn’t it??

Enough of the easy plains walking… back to the climb up through the rocky forests again.

It’s incredibly peaceful walking through here. I did pass a few hikers but mostly I got to enjoy the solitude and the beautiful surrounds.

I did stop when I was looking up and about. Marvellous twisty trees.

And suddenly… daylight:

Back to the duckboards and a bit of wide open scenery and sunshine!

Its a bit hard to see the steepness of where the path was going but you might see its continuation on the right side…

I think I did a lot of garden planning and soap making planning in my head along this section.

Happy as a clam I am!

One thing that was very noticeable was the amount of trees down on the track since we were here last March… They must have had some epic storms. Apparently the rangers had been in recently to clear the track. I’ve not seen it like this in the last 3 years.

The mud was epic.

I met up with a group of Chinese students part way along the track. One of the girls was industriously cleaning off her shoes with wet wipes!!
Her idea was to clean her shoes before getting to the hut. I advised her not to bother. Firstly – nobody is going to care because everyone is muddy.
Secondly… she was going to find an awful lot more mud before the day was out!!

Can’t believe this was a rushing river that Fiona and I had to navigate when I was here with her April 2018!! So different.

My shoes got cleaned for a brief time

The narrow track around the mountain goes for so much longer than I remember.
Its hard to see in the photo, but a whole section of trees fell away taking part of the path with it. What was left to hike on really wasn’t much.

It falls away steeply so you had to really watch your footing.

(Looking back)

And back into the sunshine! Time to pull up a rock and get out the gourmet lunch!

Camembert cheese and a fresh apple.
I felt a bit posh!

Best views for lunch too!

It was time to prepare myself for the last slog up up and up before the gradual decent down into Pelion.

At that time of the hike, its much harder work.

The hut is a welcome sight – the big veranda was bathed in sunlight and everyone was taking advantage and hanging out socks, shoes, gaiters and other clothes along the balcony to dry off.

Told ya I’d be at the other side of Mt Oakleigh by days end!!

I got in around 2pm (about 5 and a half hours hiking) so plenty of time to change into my stylish PJ pants (complete with circus elephants) and lounge around in the sunshine on the tent platforms.
I might have been thinking of my husband a little bit…

All in all… a really fabulous day on the trail.
Time for some soup and a snack and try for a decent nights sleep!
Cheers!

Well – I am back in one piece! Yay. Believe it or not I walked out yesterday morning, so completing the full track in five days instead of seven!
My legs may never speak to me again!! 😀
Very nice to be home with Jeff and Pip, a warm fire and a bed with a mattress that doesn’t run away!!

THE START:

Well… 5am and I was up (hardest part of the whole adventure I might add)
Sunday morning – my lovely cousin Fiona was at the gate at 6am to drive me to Cradle!
We started at Dove Lake and pretty much hiked straight up to Marion’s Lookout – shorter but oh so steep!! That 17kg was weighing heavily – but slow and steady – got to the top.
In the first 45 minutes we had wind, sun, rain, hail and snow.
Good start!!

Before we got to Kitchen Hut at the base of Cradle we had to plow through a couple of big snowdrifts. Hard work. Managed not to fall over!

We had a bite to eat at Kitchen Hut before parting ways. Fiona was heading back to sensible normality and a warm home while I continued on out into the sleet.
It was all very peaceful… although I did have an irrational moment of wanting to shed some tears and chase her down and say “Take me home, this was a stupid idea”
I worked through it … haha

I was keeping quite warm, despite the weather. I didn’t get the camera out for ages – then I told myself to stop being lazy, as I wasn’t carrying that extra 1.5kgs for nothing!!

The traditional first stop on the Overland is Waterfall Valley Hut. I was hoping I would have enough energy in me to skip that hut and go through to Windermere. I was planning at that stage to do the whole hike in 6 days rather than 7 so Jeff could collect me on Friday.

Waterfall Valley is 10.7km – happily I met a ranger walking in the opposite direction not far out of Waterfall Valley hut. He told me it wasn’t even 12.30 and said I’d make it to Windermere no problems, which was another 7.8km down the track. That gave me the confidence to keep trundling on – knowing I had lots of time left.

I got bursts of sunshine but mostly sleet and snow.

Wet and muddy feet were always going to be a ‘thing’

By the way… I only took my fisheye lens… so the photos will be a bit odd and a few more goofy selfies than I would normally inflict upon you 🙂

The colours in the rain up there always make things look so much richer.

Trudging up the duckboards.

My bandanna, even though not a scarf, was handy to wrap around my face and ears.
I actually had very little on as I get so over heated when hiking. I had my two merino tops – the t-shirt over the long sleeved top. Then the rain jacket – which is a shell only for the rain, not a warmth thing. (Although it does help with the wind a bit)
I didn’t have thermal pants either – just my hiking pants and rain pants over the top. I had extra, of course, in my pack but never needed them.

By this time of the day I was getting pretty tired. Up waaaaaay before my normal hours and a lot of walking – I was certainly starting to feel it in my feet and shoulders.
I was still enjoying it but I was going to be rather happy to see that hut!

You can see the icy sleet on my pack. It wasn’t the greatest weather, but after walking through what Fiona and I did a year and a half back… it didn’t seem so bad really!

I got into Windermere at about 3.30 – which wasn’t bad going I thought. (I kept asking people what the time was during the hike so I could get a sense of my progress)
I was about done in. The hut was crowded (lots of families and people like me taking advantage of the last of the no fee starting time)
I think people were surprised to see me as most of them had spent the night at the previous hut together.
Luckily there was a spare bunk, so I put my gear up there, changed into my night clothes, wolfed down my sandwich that I didn’t eat at lunch, then put myself to bed at 5pm! (Much to the amusement of one of the fellows I met who was hiking with his sister – he mentioned it at the end of the hike how he was impressed I could just go right to sleep like that. I said I think I passed out haha)

A dusting of snow overnight made the morning just beautiful.
I had no intentions of jumping out of bed and racing around with the melee of people. So I kept warm in my sleeping bag while everyone else was breakfasting and packing.
The next leg was to Pelion. Its a 16.8km day – with a fair bit of ‘up’ towards the end – so people get out on the track madly early.
Eventually I got up and made a cup of tea and had a muesli bar for brekkie, chatted to people as they left.
I was the last one out. So peaceful!

Mind you – I say last one out, but it wasn’t yet 8.30am, so really… thats early enough for me!

Despite the snow, it wasn’t that cold. I did start with my gloves on and rain coat, but eventually as the day wore on, they all came off.

This is me. Happy in the wilderness!

Anyway – I have had a slow paced day at home, went out to a lovely lunch with Jeff – and now I am pretty tired so going to hit the hay again!
Will be back tomorrow with a continuation of my ‘Day Two’

Cheers!