Wednesday 28th February 2018.
Tonight I am on the Spirit of Tasmania headed to Devonport. Tomorrow morning I will catch the bus to Cradle Mountain, stay the night and then on Friday, begin to walk the Overland Track.
Preparation for this 80 kilometre walk has been in progress since before Christmas. I have walked several hundred kilometres around the block and tackled the 1000 Steps in the lower Dandenongs three times.
There has been as much rest as action as several injuries from the Bibbulmun walk have taken time to work their way out. Ben Taylor, my Exercise Physiologist has been most helpful and Helmut Doerner my Myotherapist (trained massage therapist) has found all the sore spots and worked his way around them and through them. Excruciating ouch!!
I feel relaxed and healed after last years walk but this will be tested on Friday and climb up to Marions Lookout (1200 metres).
The distance this year is shorter but the task a little harder. I have to carry eight days food so the first few days will be strenuous until I munch my way through some of the goodies and baddies.
Sadly Chris Atmore is not with me as planned. Today she is supporting her partner Philippa who started chemotherapy today to help deal with her breast cancer.
I have my super doopa Apple keyboard again and my iPhone Notes section to churn out a daily log. Marg and I will work on a blog for these notes in the future with a market aimed at Walkers in their Final Phase!!!
So the turbines thump away below me. The seas are relatively calm so I anticipate a good voyage. We left just after 7pm and dock at about 6am. So an early night is planned and hopefully some sleep after a few restless nights. The boat is well equipped with good dining facilities. Had roast lamb and a pick of nice salads. Soft drink and coffee before the small pav.
A bus will take me from the boat to the bus station for a 9.45am pick up. I think I have everything, including gas but it will be my last chance to get fresh veges/fruits as there is a ban on bringing such things into Tassie. Sadly their clean record was damaged recently when some fruit fly was found on their north coast.
So, here we go again. The boots feel heavy and clumsy as do I. But the swing will come and I will put that one foot after another until the rhythm returns.
Thursday 1st March 2018
The boat trip got a bit rocky coming through the heads out of Melbourne but then settled down to a smooth sailing. I eventually retired to my four bunk male cabin and was later joined by an Indian guy in one of the other bunks.
And then around 5am we were sailing up the river to Devonport and eventually docked. They gave us time for breakfast and getting ready for disembarkation which we did about 7am.
I collected my gas bottles, which had to be specially stored on board and waited for my hiking bag which eventually arrived. I had to pass the sniff test from a little Beagle as Tasmania has very strict bio security laws. The dog said “ok” so while I was waiting for my bus I downloaded my dehydrated food from their packets into freezer bags making them a bit lighter and malleable in my bag. It also reduces the amount of rubbish you have to carry through to the end.
The transit bus eventually arrived and took me into the town Information Centre where I parked my bags and went up to the shops to get a bit of fresh food for the walk.
Came back and a little Japanese man got off the bus and tried to get people around him to help make sense of his map as he was off bushwalking too and wanted to be sure where he was going. Eventually he got enough clarity to climb onto the new little bus which was to take us up to Cradle Mountain.
The young driver hurtled us around the Tasmanian corners with great agility taking us through old haunts that Beth and I used to visit when in Tassie. Like Sheffield a very conservative place where Jo and Flo Bejlke Peterson settled for a while after he was defrocked as Premier of Queensland. Her pumpkin scones were legendary in Sheffield. Friends of ours once lived nearby and he needed a piece of farming equipment welded so took it in only to be told by the welder that he would not do it for him because he was “a stranger” in other words he did not belong to his particular sect.
On we drove past the magnificent dolerite, (Magna intrusion from the glacial age) walls of Mt Roland. On past farms with hills beginning to tower over us. Past Lake Barrington famous for its rowing then on and up to the snow line plateau with its sparse greyish beauty.
We arrived at Cradle Mountain and were overwhelmed by a full to overflowing car park. Many had come to enjoy the experience of this special place. My bag, along with a number of others were unloaded from the trailer.
Friday 2nd March 2018
Had an excellent sleep in a new bed which made it difficult to respond to the alarm at 5.30am. Reset it for six but probably spent the time musing on the affairs of the world rather than nodding off.
A second shower in twelve hours allowed the sore spots to receive a massage then breaky with baked beans and banana.
I was at the Shuttle Bus station at 8.30am to catch the bus to Ronny Creek, the start point for the Overland Track. Linked up with some Americans from Idaho who proceeded to take off and were at camp at 1.30pm. I arrived at 4pm. Walked with some Port Macquarie folks who were most kind and helped me through some difficult places. A young woman took my “hand lugguage” for a while which was a great help. Later another Sydney young couple walked with me when it was difficult.
The track starts off on a boardwalk through button grass and then winds up way through a demanding set of steps to Crater Lake. Then the fun starts with a difficult transition to Marion’s Lookout with demanding climbing and clambering. After the summit and the glorious views of Cradle Mountain from the western side we climbed further to Kitchen Hut where the track splits into the trail up to Cradle Mountain and down to Dove Lake and the Overland Track goes in another direction. I thought we had the easier part until our trail was inundated with big chunky pieces of rock drifting down from the mountain. This went on ages and was most difficult compounded by tiredness and a diminishing water supply. I thought, wrongly, that an 11 kilometre walk could be covered by two litres of water. But it turned out to be a seven-hour walk and my supply ran out a half hour before reaching. We eventually reached some more button grass and a flatter track before a sharp half hour down hill steeplechase over more rocks, eroded pathways and some boardwalks.
Along the way I had was passed a very tall, muscular guy and his female partner. He was carrying a heavy load, which turned out to be a resupply for a group his company was supporting. The reassured me that the rocks would not last for more than a kilometer and a half!! When my water ran out they met me and filled up my cup from their supply, which was kind of them.
I was glad to reach the bottom and be greeted by the Volunteer Rangers who kindly guided me to a sleeping platform for the night. My Port Macquarie people had reserved a spot for me and were keeping it safe as the hordes arrived.
Saturday 3rd March 2018
The overnight experience in the Waterfall hut was interesting. We all bundled down quickly on our sleeping deck claiming our spaces with sleeping mat and bag.
Some got cooking early (4.30pm) getting ready for an early bed. I think I was the last to clamber in to bed and it took a while for the rustling of people getting comfortable in their new sleeping experience. Eventually quiet prevailed apart from the rustle of one who had a silver space blanket and the odd one or two up for the loo.
I was first up at 6.30pm followed by the rush. Making haste to depart. Everything now fitted into my pack or onto my pack. No hand lugguage.
I got away at 8.30am and began our “easy” day. I got to the next hut by 12.30pm which was a seven ks walk at reasonable pace. Others were already in and some are just arriving at 4.30pm having taken a side track to in Lake Will and other features.
The Windermere hut tonight is older and bigger. It will sleep about 25 and looks as if we will be full.
Got some help from an intrepid Japanese guy. He speaks no English and is heavily laden himself but very strong. I sat in a spot which was too low to lift my pack by myself and he gave me a yank to help me get up. Most people are like that being very helpful when needed.
The walk was a gentler experience than yesterday but nevertheless had its challenges. Downhill into a creek means an uphill on the other side and the notorious pathway scree returned today particularly on one hill on the downward section.
On the way we passed through button grass plains, heath lands and went near to alpine lakes and tarns. Lake Will in particular gathers its water from nearby Barn Bluff particularly when the snow melts on the Barn. Sitting at the turnoff gave me opportunity to drink in the beauty of the mountains, the plains and the small blue lakes which beautify each other.
I clambered over another hill and on descending came to the northern edge of a lake. Arriving at Lake Windermere I thought the name would make my English relatives chuckle. The nearby edge of the lake provided an opportunity for the bold in the cold to plunge and wash off the sweat of the last days.
There is a real solitude in this place. Last night we had two volunteer rangers who hike in and out on a fortnightly basis and then return home to Hobart – a 5 hour drive. Today our Ranger is a professional but he too hikes in and out over the same territory we cover. He rotates his work to fit in with the others as do his replacement.
No phone coverage here and emergencies are dependent upon helicopter which is needed from time to time. Closing down for now as the night settles in 7.30pm. It is raining as it was last night. It will help fill the tanks but maintain the Tassie tradition of not raining on the bush walkers??
Sunday 4th March 2018
Today was full of diverse track experiences and very demanding. At 16.8 ks it represented the longest walk on the trail. I rose at 5am and was off and running at 6.45am. I arrived in at the next camp, Pelion at 3.45pm so it was a long day. As the day progressed many fellow walkers passed me and I was once of the last to arrive.
It was delightfully chill when I started and the scenery was magic with light clouds scudding in front of the high peaks and a cool chill prevailed until the sun broke its grip. I started on a level plain but soon began climbing to cross several ranges between us and the destination. The ascension to height gave brief opportunity to connect by mobile phone but then it was gone again.
A magnificent view down the Forth valley had followed a racy trip across some boardwalk on button grass picking up speed to about 5 kph – highly unusual. The seating at the lookout gave opportunity to rest in great pleasure. This was helpful as on returning to the track a climb began. The view vanished and we ascended into a beautiful rainforest with its shadowy darkness and slimy green moss surrounding and laughing at our struggles to weave in an out of distorted limbs and over the volcanic rubble of a million years ago. Each step is a careful calculation that threatens to throw you to your death or some broken limb or graze.
At the bottom of little valleys the water gurgled effortlessly breaking out the pristine noises associated with wilderness. The path wandered over and around little valleys and watercourses and over grasslands until we began to drop down to Pelion Creek a rapidly gurgling river over which they had strung a camping platform. At the half way mark it would have made a good break to end the day and bathe in the pristine overnight.
We then headed towards the Forth River on an extremely rocky, root strewn muddy trail, which I named “The Kokoda Trail”. The rocks and the mud impede pace and most people found it difficult. The downward spiraling pathway led us to the silted banks of the Forth River known as “Frogs Flats. The wooden pathway, which followed was inviting but soon broke up and the track became a corrugated obstacle course. I guess
For a while I picked up the pace along boardwalks and smoother trail. This then came to an abrupt end with rocks and roots and climb. My memory of walking is spoiled by the leafy waste on the trail, which formed pathways among the Karri trees on the Bibbulmun. There you could pick up rhythm and get lost in your thoughts on smoother paths. Here you have to watch your steps all the way.
From the Forth River, the guidebook tells us :
“it’s a gentle ascent through more myrtle-beerch rainforest before breaking out into the open eucalypt forest on the edge of Pelion Plains.”
The second part of that statement is correct but, the handbook is consistent in its inaccuracy in minimizing difficulty. The climb up the hill was not gentle, it was difficult and frustrating given the promise of the the Guidebook. On several occasions the Guidebook was to prove to be inaccurate for the average walker. Eventually more wooded pathway broke out making the final part of the climb more helpful until we lurched out onto the meadow where the Pelion Hut is found.
This is an excellent campsite, sleeps 36 with bare essentials such as a table end a bed, tanks of water and a toilet. It was good to chat on with known walkers and to talk with a few more who were new to me. All folks are in good spirits and will press on tomorrow. Some taking side trips, others pressing directly on to Kiera Hut, over a mountain and far away. I will stay put recovering and wondering what might have been if Chris Atmore had come to deviate together on tracks unknown.
The rest will be beneficial as last night was a bit sleepless and the journey today difficult.
Monday 5th March 2018
Today I chose as a lay day and stopped at Pelion Campsite. It was a little sad to say farewell to some of the people who had been so helpful since Friday. Particularly a young couple from Sydney who took a special interest in my welfare. They walked up the nearby Mt Oakleigh for the day before a four hour hike to Kiora the next campsite. The rest: a camel driver from Port Macquarie and his wife, a couple from Idaho in the US, a young guy from Burnie and his teacher from Canberra who had hiked up through the Walls of Jerusalem. Off they all went to spend a day less on the track than me.
The Hut was cold and empty until the next group came wandering in. They are a diverse group as well. A large group of Taiwanese, a girl from Queensland, some German dairy farmers and others who struggle with their English. Students from Woodleigh College on the Peninsula in Melbourne and so it goes.
I spent the day just tidying up my pack and making it ready for resuming tomorrow. The pack has grown small since I started eating so more fits on the inside than was on the outside. I had a snooze in the afternoon which was part of the rest plan so I feel a little more rested to go on.
Tuesday 6th March 2018
Today, Tuesday, I was back on the track. Preceded by a fitful night of sleeping and it just got good when the alarm went off at six annoying my neighbors.
After a chatty breakfast I finally departed at 8am and got to the next camp about 1pm. Pelion to Kiora Campsite is only 8.6 kilometres but on this track it is measured so that you can fit other things in. And today it was to allow walkers to climb Mt Ossa – Tasmania’s highest. I gave Ossa (4-5 hour return) a miss as I did not want to take the edge off yesterdays rest day.
There was a moderate climb out of Pelion Hut using prepared sleeper track or clambering over roots and rocks and a bit of slush. Annoying but the nature of this trail. We passed through some beautiful rain forests, over rocky outcrops and along button grass plains. The gradient was pinnacle shape rising then falling back to the level we started.
The 8.7 kilometre stretch was good for me as it allowed early entry into camp which means longer recovery time and a chance to get other things done.
Today I tried my solar shower and it worked. It is a specially prepared, small black bag, which is filled with water and left in the sun. It can get very hot but for my first it was lovely and warm and cascaded over me with a refreshing reminder of civilization.
We are surrounded tonight by mountains. They fit snugly into a valley with the obligatory stream flowing nearby. Many have been in the small pool of the creek and are slowly getting their feeling back. I rinsed some of my clothes – I am not sure how much shook loose in the cold water but I hope there is a measure of freshness particularly for those I join on the bus on Friday.
My guide book tells me that
“Every major plant community on the Overland Track is represented today, including heath land, scrub grassland, eucalypt forest, myrtle-beech rainforest, button grass moorland and alpine.”
I did notice some whilst not searching for the next rock or root to use or avoid. You are certainly aware that you are surrounded by a magnificence you have neither manufactured or imagined into being.
The slow hiss of insects comes to me as I sit on the decking outside the Hut. The golden and dark greens pervade what is around with the occasional mosquito or leach making its presence felt.
It is 5pm. Dinner time and I will go and rehydrate. My Dietician assures me it is still nutritious food! The only ingredient missing is hot water.
So three days to go. I hope this gets to you soon but probably wont until I am closer to civilization.
Wednesday 7th March 2018
I was up at 6am to get ready to go and got away at about 7.45am.
This was to be the last of the mountain days climbing up to the Du Cane Gap and catching some waterfalls on the way.
There was very little decking today so most of the walking was over roots and rocks.
We traversed through some lovely rainforest again with its mossy surfaces giving colour in the shade.
Overnight rains have filled up the little streams and enlarged their obstacle capacity in places.
One of the original Du Cane Hut still stands and we paused on the walk to read its interpretations panels.
Onward and upward passed the D’Alton, Ferguson and Hartnett falls which I bypassed as it adds to the already long time of the journey.
The peak of the day was the Du Cane Gap at just over 1000 metres so it was a bit of a struggle for me to get there.
And then the descent took just over an hour but was treacherous for me with its deep jump down gaps, it slippery mud and its never ending rocks and roots.
The day was spent with eyes fixed on the track lest a rock or a root got you. Occasional glimpses away were rewarded with special images. But there must be a better, probably slower way of doing this stuff.
Finally you burst out into this magnificent bowl like arena of mountains creating a cluster or ruggedness and misshapen beauty. The hut is large and modern and has sleeping for 30. Spacious dining area but no walkers. They have kept going to finalise their trip at Narcissus bay. Strange after juggling with humanity at close quarters for a week I am “home alone”.
Some more campers have arrived since I began writing filling up some of the empty sleeping spaces.
At 5pm a helicopter circled, then landed, unloaded its Ranger passenger with gear and food for the next stint and was gone in 90 seconds.
Tomorrow is a 9 kilometre walk across to Narcissus where you can catch the ferry back across Lake St Clair as a short cut way of finishing.
I will walk the last 17 kilometress on Friday as the final bit of exercise. I believe that tomorrow and Friday will be on flat land full of button grass and in some places rain forest. I believe the roots and the rocks remain with you to the end!!
Thursday and Friday 8th and 9th March 2018
The Windy Ridge Hut is a magnificent piece of architecture in the middle of the bush. Spacious and decorative in Tasmanian timber it had adequate sleeping spaces in three separate areas compared to bunk room settings in other Huts. I slept in a room by myself. The Hut also had a spacious dining area and several other smaller rooms. The dining room faced on to one of the mountainous terrains giving a great aspect.
As I was unpacking a runner joined me. He was a rogaining type athlete who runs these track training for his pursuit of elite bush running through. He had jogged in a short time what would take me hours to walk.
He warned me off doing the last section by foot – “take the boat” he said. The roots were to be widespread and in several places you had to climb under trees. Figuring it also included a 17 kilometre walk on my last day I was hopeful to be able to secure a place on the ferry.
On Thursday I left the shelter of the hut to traverse the 9 kilometres to Narcissus Hut on the Narcissus River near Lake St Clair. I left at 7.45am and got in about 2pm. This was to be a “gradual easy descent” but as I and my fellow walkers have concluded the Overland Track Guide was written by a hiker just back from the Himalayas.
The track surface is described as follows:
“Almost entirely natural surface through the forest (gravel/tree root base) with duckboard per the button grass plains.”
All sounds very simple but that pathway descended and ascended from many creeks which means you go down – you go up. So it was undulating texture and style.
So your feet are bouncing from one rock to another or criss crossing root systems careful that neither let you slip or trip up.
Occasionally you are able to look up and see the lovely foliage or see far ahead a snake slithering off to avoid you.
The gurgling streams are delightful company as was a group of oldies who I encountered along the way or to say high as fellow hikers who left after me passed at a rate of knots.
The Woodleigh kids left before me and I said farewell at the Ferry at Narcissus as they left to go back to Melbourne.
Today the track was more even that previous days as we were out of the mountains. But there is a style to this walking. Great patience is require to flip flop from rock to root or enjoy a spasm of speed over leafy strewn paths – an all to infrequent occurrence. Decking came and went making the task easier as it covered marshy ground or helped you wander through button grass.
I have been adjusting to a Suunto navigation watch as the Fitbit was not accurate on such walks. The Suunto was equally unhelpful in the first few day until I realised that I must have knocked it as I took my back pack off. When I became more careful and discovered the “Lock” mechanism it became deadly accurate. On some days it proved the official distance short or long. On Thursday I should have arrived at 9 kilometres but it was actually 9.6 kilometres which is a bit frustrating at the end of the day. So much so that two older ladies saw my frustration as distress and sent out the plumber to help me in!!!!
Finally arriving at the Narcissus Hut or kennell – so small but still adequate. Gradually some began to join me others were in tents. Some chose to bypass this hut and make progress on tomorrows time by walking an extra 6 kilometres to Echo Point. This reduced their final days walk to 11 kilometres. Here they sheltered in a really tiny hut or slept on a pristine white beach with the mosquitos.
The Plumber had a mate and they were installing a new water tank. After that they will build more duckboards or improve other facilities. The older guy is a Tasmanian who works on these project in Summer and goes to Queensland for winter as his fingers wont work in the snow!! The other, younger guy is a Tasmanian who lives in New Zealand but works in the Park in the summer. When you use a water tank or a toilet or a duckboard or whatever you sometimes forget that someone had to expend effort to put them there. Reminds me of my brother Michael who was a Parks Ranger in W.A for many years and had to organise and perform the maintenance work in order for people to be able to enjoy their experience in the wilderness.
I chattered over tea with some delightful German young people who spoke much better English than my German. As long term back packers they are required to do 84 days of service in the country and had worked around Manjimup (near the Bibbulmun track) and Albany (home town in teenage years). I had been to some of the places near their homes in Germany so there was a lot of lovely sharing. I shared around my coffee grounds, my left over Parmesan cheese, some tea bags and a few other treasures. The guy who took the coffee had a restless night as I had done when I drank my lovely plunger coffee – it took a while to make the connection.
Sleep was difficult as my bursitis bothered until my G.P’s magic pills gave relief and I slept until the light appeared in the window.
Everyone else was busy at daybreak getting ready to walk the last 17 ks. I had to pack and be ready by 9.45am for the Ferryman.
The trip down Lake St Clair was a magnificent conclusion and gift. The day was still, the sky blue with a few scudding clouds. The mountain backdrops were full of magnificent dolerite majesty carving their rough shapes in the skyline and all around the blue of the lake. Truly impressive and gifting to the human spirit.
I hunted for the platypus x2 near the jetty but they did not come. Apparently they are monogamous but live apart from each other, the mother caring for the young.
The Ferryman dropped off some people where I got on and they then walked back to the start or headed north back along the track to Pine Valley. At Echo Point we dropped off more daywalkers and then finished the journey into Lake St Clair Visitors Centre. I signed off the track and then had a beautiful warm shower.
Since 11am we have seen the drifting in of the walkers from our day and have shared our stories and enthusiasm. While grumbles are present the sense of elation and accomplishment abounds. No doubt the joy will transcend the pain and it will become nothing less than a highly treasured memory. The restaurant does a roaring trade in diverse food and ales and freshly squeezed iced orange juice.
My bus comes at 7.30pm to take me to Hobart to meet Ruth. We will spend the weekend in Hobart and return to Melbourne on Monday.
Thanks you for joining me on this journey. I sense that many of you have found it helpful in the insights into a wilderness experience.
Incomplete Trails, Meaningful Communities. 