Distance: 21kmTime: 7:45Total Distance: 540km Music: The Be Good Tanyas – Out of the Wilderness If you can force your every nerve and sinewTo serve their turn long after they are doneAnd still go on when there is nothing in youExcept the will which says to them, ‘go on’. Rudyard Kipling – If I wake naturally before the dawn, worrying about the boat crossing. Wind and tide can make it...
Distance: 23kmElevation: +700mTime: 8:15Total Distance: 519km Scoparia, scoparia;Nothing could be scarier!I wish my legs were hairierWhen walking through scoparia. Linda Groom A wallaby scampers around camp as I wake up. The birds are chirping. It’s going to be a warm day, and I suspect another tough one. Straight out of camp, it’s mud and dense trackside scrub wet with the morning dew. But then...
Distance: 22kmElevation: +500mTime: 8:00Total Distance: 496km Music: Heilung – Nesso Hiking is not for everyone. Notice the wilderness is mostly empty. Sonja Yoerg A cold morning. My watch claims a low of 4°, 7° at time of writing, but it feels colder. There was scampering last night, and tiny hopping. Perhaps bettongs? Maybe a quoll? The Port Davey track is shrouded in mystery. Some say...
Distance: 28kmElevation: +400mTime: 8:30Total Distance: 474km Music: Heather Nova – Rewild Me [again] Rewild my heart, let me findMy animal parts, the divine. Heather Nova – Rewild Me I wake in the night to the sound of scampering. I lean out of the hammock, ready to smack a possum on the nose, but instead I see a gorgeous little Eastern quoll! It’s gone by the time I get my phone out...
Distance: 13kmElevation: +700m -1300mTime: 7:45Total Distance: 446km Abels: Mt Anne (Total: 9)Music: Darkher – Hung When the wind whips through the skyBlow the land across my eyeThe map is not the territoryThe map is not the territory Ego Likeness I awake in a sea of cloud. No point walking in this, so I make my breakfast and coffee and settle in to wait for it to lift. I sit and read until...
Distance: 14kmElevation: +800mTime: 4:20Total Distance: 433km Before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes. I wake to a cold morning. Feels colder than the 5° my watch tells me it is. The quarry is filled with fog and birdsong. I only have fourteen fairly easy kilometres to walk today. I take my sweet time getting...
Distance: 28kmElevation: +900mTime: 9:40Total Distance: 419kmMusic: Faith and the Muse – Shattered in Aspect It’s time to let goTime to spend some time aloneReconsider what could be doneUnbind the imagination Faith and the Muse – Shattered in Aspect In yesterday’s scrub I lost one of my usb cables; the one connecting the solar panel on top of my pack to the power bank in the top...
Distance: 14kmElevation: +300mTime: 6:00Total Distance: 391km Music: The Devil Makes Three – Forty Days Never follow someone else’s path. Unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost, and you see a path. By all means, you should follow that. Ellen DeGeneres Something large kept banging about in the bush around camp last night. Either Bigfoot, or a ten foot tall wallaby. Though I’m not...
Distance: 31kmElevation: +350mTime: 9:30Total Distance: 377kmMusic: Goanna – Let the Franklin Flow Is there any reason why Tasmania should not be more beautiful on the day we leave it, than on the day we came?… If we can revise our attitudes towards the land under our feet; if we can accept a role of steward and depart from the role of the conqueror, if we can accept that man and nature are...
Distance: 23kmElevation: +500mTime: 6:30Total Distance: 346km Music: The Kill Devil Hills – The Drought I’ll be taking it easy, taking it slowI’m going down the mountain where the river did flow. The Kill Devil Hills – The Drought 5° overnight. It’s supposed to hit 27°. I don’t really feel the need to rush getting out of bed. There’s a nicely appointed camp kitchen, but I prefer...
Distance: 31kmElevation: +300mTime: 7:15Total Distance: 323km Music: Fever Ray – Keep The Streets Empty For Me I’m laying down, eating snow My fur is hot, my tongue is cold On a bed of spider web I think of how to change myself Fever Ray The spot I chose to camp was more sheltered than I’d thought, though the wind ripped and roared through the treetops. I slept warm and...
Distance: 19kmElevation: +300mTime: 5:40Total Distance: 292km Music: Heilung – Krigsgaldr # Alexander Pearce did nothing wrong. Toby Back on the same bus I caught two weeks ago. Toby jokes that I’ll pop back up in Derwent Bridge like respawning at my last save point in a video game. ♥️♥️🤍 I realise I’ve been really bad at taking photos while in Hobart...
Distance: a few km?Music: The Be Good Tanyas – Waiting Around to Die Under the bludgeonings of chanceMy head is bloody, but unbowed. William Earnest Henley – Invictus The helicopter hovers a foot off the ground, disgorges two blokes with trauma bags, then files off again to circle. They do some cursory checks, note that I’m cogent and walking, grab my bag, and brief me on getting into...
Distance: 9kmElevation: +800mTime: 10:00Total Distance: 273km Abels: Slatters Peak, King William II (Total: 8)Music: Spectacular Spectacular – Let’s Fly Away Never tell me the odds. Han Solo I wake with a mixture of emotions. Trepidation, intimidation, determination… awe. I have one task today. Walk. The weather is perfect. I still have three beautiful days ahead, and the 40mm of rain has...
Distance: 25kmElevation: +1000mTime: 9:50Total Distance: 264 km Abels: King William I (Total: 6)Music: Puscifer – The Green Valley No direction but to follow what you know No direction but to trust the final destination Puscifer – The Green Valley It’s an odd thing to do, when you think about it. Here’s how you do it. You plot out a course from start to finish, fill a bag with...
Somewhere today around Mount King William I I’m crossing paths with one of Tasmania’s most underrated and hungriest bushwalkers. But to talk about him, we need some context. A deceptively short 60km east-south-east of here lies the tiny, redundant prison of Sarah Island, nestled in Macquarie Harbour. Today it’s an out-of-the-way tourist destination. I haven’t been, but the pictures look lovely...
Distance: 7kmElevation: +3mTotal Distance: 239km Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Abraham Lincoln I don’t sleep too well on the mattress in the Bumlin Drunkhouse, though I’m glad that I have the three-bunk room to myself. I don’t understand how you people sleep on mattresses. Is it a masochism thing? I enjoy the novelty of eating my muesli from a bowl and my coffee from a mug in...
Distance: 17kmElevation: +200mTime: 5:30Total Distance: 232km Music: Heather Nova – Walk This World I want you to come, walk this world with me. Heather Nova I drag my feet getting ready. I don’t have to hurry. My check-in isn’t until 3:00 and it’s only about 16km. I savour my coffee. More goodbyes. I’m alone walking through wet scrub again on a muddy trail. I try to moderate my walking...
Distance: 18kmElevation: +700mTime: 6:45Total Distance: 215km Abels: The Acropolis (Total: 5)Music: Guilhem Desq – Le Chateau Magique There’s no such thing as shitty weather. Only shitty attitude. Anon I wake in the early hours of the night to the sound of the wind roaring through the tree tops above. Down on the first floor is quite sheltered from the wind, which comes in lulls and mighty...
Distance: 23kmElevation: +600mTime: 8hrsTotal Distance: 197kmMusic: The Gathering – Your Troubles are Over The steps I takeWill pave the road ahead of meI will walkI will walk The Gathering – Your Troubles Are Over There’s an air of parting ways over breakfast. It seems the bubble is breaking up, with some going the 9km to Burt Nichols hut, and others all the way to Narcissus. I’m...
Distance: 14kmElevation: +850mTime: 6:50Total Distance: 174km Abels: Mount Ossa (Total: 4)Music: Goanna – Solid Rock How do you know if somebody’s doing a Tassie Traverse? Wait five minutes: they’ll work it into the conversation. Four degrees overnight, and I wake to a blanket of fog over the plain and Mount Oakleigh looking resplendent in the breaking dawn. With only 14km and 800vm to do...
Distance: 25kmElevation: +900mTime: 7:30Total Distance: 160km Abels: Mount Oakleigh (total: 3)Music: The Steals – Stay in Silence Walking is how the body measures itself against the earth. Rebecca Solnit I suspect I’ve found myself in what’s known as a bubble. A bunch of people who aren’t walking together, but are doing the same walk at the same time. Almost everyone who was at the hut...
Distance: 25kmElevation: +1200m -1000mTime: 8:45Total Distance: 135km Abels: 1 (Total: 2)Music: The Devil Makes Three – Tow …and I stare up to that mountain that I know I’ve got to climb.The Devil Makes Three – Tow I fight off a couple of possum incursions during the night, but the enemy is successfully routed and flees. The zip bird is back. And one with the dawn chorus that sings...
Distance: 3kmElevation: +90mTime:0:35Total Distance: 110km Canberra’s a great city. What other capital is within walking distance of the ski fields? Me, after walking 250km from Thredbo to Tharwa I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of rustling. It’s rustlers! I lean out of my hammock and find two campground possums (a larger, less timid species of possum than the usual ones) snuffling...
Distance: 14kmElevation: +500m -500mTime:5:15Total Distance: 107km Hike your own hike (H.Y.O.H.) It rained overnight, and I wake to a dark and dank forest barely illuminated by overcast skies. I dawdle, taking time to wring every ounce of pleasure out of my coffee. After only a short walk though, the clouds lift and the sun filters through and turns the wet forest to a sparkling fairy realm. I...
Distance: 28kmElevation: +1500m -1100mTime: 11:30Total Distance: 93km Abels: 1Music: Tom Waits – Long Way Home Forgive me pretty baby but I always take the long way home. Tom Waits – Long Way Home I wake before the dawn and listen to the sounds on the night-bush. There’s a bird I don’t recognise, and something moving around at ground level making a cry like a pencilcase zipper being...
Distance: 13kmElevation: +800m -600mTime: 8hrTotal Distance: 65kmMusic: Simon and Garfunkel – El Condor Pasa “There’s always a sunrise and always a sunset and it’s up to you to choose to be there for it. Put yourself in the way of beauty.” Cheryl Strayed’s mother. And Cheryl Stayed. And me. A beautiful warm night with the sound of the river rushing by. Today will be shorter...
Distance: 27kmElevation: +700m -650m Time: 10:00Total Distance: 52km Music: Evi Vine – I Am The Waves Keep following the lonely rivers song Go the distance A yearning to belong Found in silence With the movement of the tide Evi Vine – I Am The Waves The wind died down and after reading for a bit to the sound of kookaburras and the creek, I was out like a light. The morning is still...
Distance: 25kmElevation: +1200m -1200mTime: 8:15Music: Heather Nova – Rewild Me I’m over the hate and I’m over the gate and I’m gone. Like a fox in the meadow, no-one on my trail, I’m gone. Heather Nova – Rewild Me I start my walk on the beach, instead of at the PCT’s official start point near the local rubbish tip. Penguin is a charming, sleepy seaside town. At least, it is...
It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s a hell of a lot easier than walking. The Be Good Tanyas – Light Enough to Travel [New feature: sometimes I’ll put a song here. If you don’t like it, please read quietly in uncomfortable silence punctuated only by the sound of clearing your throat.] What was the question again?– George Mallory I jump onto one last club hike before...
…it is well known that a vital ingredient of success is not knowing that what you’re attempting can’t be done.― Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites 29/12/2025:I developed an ingrown/infected toe nail during the club Thredbo > Tharwa walk earlier in the month. Surprisingly, it wasn’t much of an impediment to hiking, but I really wanted to get it sorted and I was kinda...
Distance: 7.7kmElevation: +259m -499mTime: 2:22Total Distance: 241km We made a lot of birds very unhappy.-Inga, cryptically We’d agreed on a 7:00am start to beat the heat. We’re all ready to go by 6:45. It’s not that we wanted the walk to be over; I think we all would gladly have gone another week. It’s just that by now we were a well-oiled machine built for the simple...
Distance: 20.3kmElevation: +504m -552mTime: 6:15Total Distance: 234.1km Upwards and upwards… I’m sitting on the grass at five minutes to seven with my cook kit still spread out in front of me, when it suddenly dawns on me that the troops are going to be ready to go at seven despite the previous night’s agreement, and I’ve still got stuff to do. So I hastily smear on some sunscreen and brush my...
Distance: 22.7kmElevation: +427m -1017mTime: 7:00Total Distance: 213.8km I could eat a whole BBQ chicken. – Inga Tastes like cayenne pepper Back in the ACT we descend along a track that frequently crosses boggy ground east of the saddle. Down to Cotter Flat. Somebody has built a pair of small rock weirs that are doing a good job of raising the level of the crossing. The day is warm. Really warm...
Distance: 18.1kmElevation: +680m -380mTime: 5:20Total Distance: 191.1km An absolutely gorgeous morning. The kangaroos were grazing and the foxes were sneaking. When I went to bed I briefly thought “this car campers yapping away is annoying” then immediately fell asleep. But the early rising hikers have the campsite to themselves. Swiper, no swiping! The walk out of Blue Waterholes climbs steadily...
Distance: 22.2kmElevation: +193m -361mTime: 6:00Total Distance: 173km What’s brown and sticky? A stick. The thermometer dangling from my pack says the temperature fell to -2° this morning. I vaguely recall somebody saying that black sallees grow on the edge of frost hollows. There was frost. I roused myself from the snuggly warm cocoon of my hammock to go and light a fire in case anybody had...
Distance: 22.8kmElevation: +314m -318mTime: 7:00Total Distance: 151.1km The sky was the colour of Television, tuned to a dead channel. – Neuromancer We set out under a grey sky with the promise of sunshine ahead on our longest day so far. About 22km to Hainsworth hut. The group flies along when given a decent track to walk on, and the first half of the day was this. Good morning, how are you? The...
Distance: 21.78kmElevation: +396m -464mTime: 6:17Total Distance: 128.3km Looks like the storm is passing to both sides and we should be in the clear. – Robyn Another beautiful morning, though the previous night’s rain and the total lack of wind made for a lot of condensation, even in the hammock, which usually resists it owing to the large amount of airflow. Today is resupply day, and our packs...
Distance: 16.5kmElevation: +420m -460mTime: 5:40Total Distance: 106.5km Distant thunder rumble Rumble hungry like the beast Tuplelo bound Nick Cave – Tupelo From Happys Hut’ we cut straight up to the track. With how popular this shortcut is, I felt sure we’d find a footpad, but no such luck. We began seeing the first real sign of horse activity so far, and the flies also became a menace. Leek...
Distance: 17.7kmElevation: +250m -290mTime: 6:15Total Distance: 90km Happiness is mandatory Woke to a hut shrouded in fog. Today will be our last serious bit of off track walking. Scott is nursing a strained leg muscle and has elected to do a road walk instead and meet us at Happys Hut. Blue sky despite a dire forecast The rest of us made our way across button grass to Boobee Hut. The walking...
Distance: 17.6kmElevation: +430m -680mTime: 8:20Total Distance: 72.3km Mary had a little clock She swallowed it one day. She took a dose of epsom salts To pass the time away… A lovely night at a surprisingly good campsite, especially since the wind died down finally. There was dew overnight and I hadn’t bothered to put the tarp up, so I woke up to a damp outer shell on my quilt, but it soon dried...
Distance: 19.7kmElevation: +486m -348mTime: 8hrsTotal Distance: 54.7km Keep rolling, rolling, rolling on (your ankles) A beautiful sunrise to start the day, with my customary coffee from the hammock. As leader, I can choose what time we start walking each day and 8am has been feeling very comfortable. We started with an easy walk on dirt road up to Schlink pass, and then to the hut known...
Distance: 17kmElevation: +474m -794mTime: 7hrsTotal Distance: 35km What do you call one eyed, three legged donkey playing jazz on the piano? A plinky plonky honky tonky winky wonky donkey. The campsite near The Sentinel is really nice and quite well sheltered. The temperature dropped to about 3° overnight and there was some wind, but I was snug in my cocoon. The others slept well too, or whatever...
Distance: 18kmElevation: +810 -430Time: 6:45Total Distance: 18km Gonna get my hands dirty; Nothin good ever came from clean. Tori Forsyth – Black bird Not even smelly yet Here I am again. Walking on the AAWT for the third December in a row. This time I’ve got four others with me from the Canberra Bushwalking Club who were foolish enough to come along. After a quick coffee stop in Jindabyne...
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a conversion to kilometres.” — Anon In the month or so that it took for me to recover from hiking the Australian Alps Walking Track, two things came to me. The first was the rapid return of all the weight I’d lost. The second was the realisation that I wanted to do something like that again. I considered a lot of possible walks, from WA’s...
26.62km +793m -1085 The climb from Orroral valley to the Orroral ridge can best be described as ‘400 vertical meters of fucking bullshit’. And then the road winds down to Honeysuckle Creek tracking station. It’s a beautiful shaded campground, with only 16km left to the visitors centre Past Booroomba rocks, and Mt Tennent comes into view. Down through the thick regrowth to Bushfold flats. I walked...
31.96km +1058m -1343m Another cold morning. Eagle eyed readers may notice a pattern emerging. The gear I brought is proving to be just enough to keep me comfortable, but only barely. Lesson: do not underestimate overnight temperatures in the Australian alps, even in summer. Even on a short trip. It’s warming up quick, and we’ve got a short sharp climb in our future. Instead of the typical route...
15.4km +286m -318m A little chilly again this morning. We had a cheery little fire to warm up while having breakfast and packing up. We initially headed up the road towards the ruins of Haines hut before cutting across country towards Blue Waterholes. The plain is porous limestone and all the water disappears into the ground, only to pop out again elsewhere. We joined the Nichols Gorge circuit...
25.6km +530m -617m Feeling somewhat refreshed after twelve hours in the hammock. A beautiful, if somewhat misty and damp dawn. It was a nice enough walk along the Port Phillip trail (though I think we’re some distance from Port Phillip) and mosquito creek trail. The weather is perfect for walking. After Ghost Gully campground the trail becomes less open and the forest provides nice shade. Rod had...
16.7km +393m -419m Another cold morning, though not as bad as the one before. I was packed up and twiddling my thumbs while I waited for Rod to get his shit together. The first few kilometres were unremarkable, though the sky was clear and blue and the temperature quickly climbed to a very pleasant mildness. Open plains and rolling hills and the occasional copse of snow gums. It’s a long walk...
25km +545m -793m It was not six degrees last night. I don’t know what it was, but it was frosty in the morning. In light of that, I think I did a decent job of not being especially cold during the night. Having my cold weather quilt might have been nice though. A beautiful dawn, and we were walking by not long after 7. This flat worm looks mighty round. It didn’t take long before we made it back...
10.94km +377m -170m Got driven out to Kiandra by Tim (thanks bro!) and started walking south. It’s good to be back on the track. The wind is strong but not annoyingly so, and just cool enough to counter the warming effect of hiking. Rod, who you may remember from such adventures as “the time two idiots walked a stupid distance mostly together” decided he loved the AAWT so much he’s doing the ⅔ of...
I’ve created two routes for the AAWT that can be loaded into one’s GPS app of choice; one that describes the route more or less along official lines and the other that captures all the side trips suggested by Chapman. I’ve also finished re-doing my GPS waypoints for the walk (all 399 of them!), based on my own experience from last year and Chapman’s notes. This includes...
Coros watch: 777.16km +31,594m -32,096m GaiaGPS: 761.2km +33,673m -33,404m (including Hotham hitchhike and Thredbo chairlift) It’s simple really. You put one foot in front of the other. As much as possible, you make sure your body has the food and water it needs to keep doing that day after day. You protect the body from injury and disaster so that it can keep doing it. You do this until you...
16.52km +336m -803m A clear, mild night with the stars all shining bright, and the moon didn’t rise until late, and a chorus of birdsong to bring in the morning. Some friendly campers loaned me a phone charging cable last night, averting disaster. Mount Tennent, the last peak on the walk (we go over the saddle) beyond which lies the visitors centre and their freezer of assorted ice creams. The...
38.33km +1390m -1777m Two paths diverged in the woods, and I took the one with the clearly defined trail markers and cairns, because the other one is like, probably a wombat trail and goes through blackberries or some shit. I woke at 3:30 to climb Mount Bimberi by moonlight and head lamp. The track is fairly indistinct in the dark, and the rocky footpad doesn’t make for the easiest walking, but I...
33.31km +884m -736m Another foggy morning. Things are starting to look familiar. Starting to look suspiciously like the old tramping grounds. And once the fog burned away, the first real day of clear skies and sun that I can remember in forever. I decided that even though I won’t do my planned loop, I will do an out-and-back to check out Blue Waterholes since the weather is so nice. It adds an...
29.86km +544m -578m The sun is out! Photo by Rod We tried crossing the Murrumbidgee at the regular spot, but quickly decided nahfuckthis. We walked upstream a few hundred meters to these rapids: Which we tried to cross, but quickly decided it wasn’t worth dying for. Fuck you for making me get my boots wet for nothing, you overgrown creek We diverted across country to the Snowy hwy, then down Long...
27.34km +536m -781m Just a short walk to Kiandra. We decided to cut across country and shave 3km or so off the distance back to the trail. Resupply at Kiandra. Being the last one through has its perks: Thanks Ron and Jimmy for all the uneaten treats! Also in the hut last night were hikers Cameron and Jane from Dunedin in NZ. Jane is doing the AAWT southbound and her husband Cameron is supporting...
46.53km +1248m -1227m 14hrs The infant Tumut river I got mobile reception this morning received fantastic news from home: Henry Kissinger, the Forest Gump of war crimes, has finally released his talloned grasp on mortality and fucked off to hell. Celebrating the death of another human may make me ghoulish, but I’ll never be callously-responsible-for-the-deaths-of-millions ghoulish. Swings and...
22.31km +630m -833m 4am: A hut rat stole all my toilet paper in the night. I will have to improvise until Kiandra. 5am: It rained through the night again. We have to decide whether to attempt crossing the Valentine and then possibly other swollen creeks further north for 12km of slow, wet walking, or go back 4km to Valentines hut (also slow wet walking) and rejoin the official AAWT as it follows...
The rain started lightly around 8pm last night. Shortly before midnight it ramped up to downpour levels and the wind kicked in. It settled in like that and stayed that way until after sunrise. Around 9am it eased back into a steady shower with occasional gusts and made every indication that it plans to continue with variations on this theme for most of the day. We’ve pretty much resigned...
25.22km +874m -923m A terrible night’s sleep on the ground. Rose at 4am as planned just as the full moon set behind the ridge. Still an hour or so until sunrise. Breakfast by headlamp light. Stars shining through patches of dark cloud and the twin black crags of mounts Anton and Anderson, and a smear of brightening red on the horizon like a threat of violence. Photo by Rod Photo by Rod Photo by...
21.92km +720m -814m Waiting around for the post office and chairlift to open at a leisurely 9am when we’ve both been ready to walk since 7. I’m feeling like I may have eaten a little too much over the last two days. Up the chairlift! At this point I have to make an apology for the way today’s post goes. The last time I was up here I was ten, and frankly I was blown away by the splendour today. So...
So far: 515.82km +24,432m -23,624 Did some boot maintenance. I’ve got a whole day to kill and not a lot to fill it with. The Lowas have developed two small holes in the leather on one foot, probably from rubbing on the eyelet or laces. And all waxed up: I use a wax of my own making, consisting of beeswax, mink oil, clove oil and cedarwood oil. I’m not sure I’d buy Lowas again. They’ve been fine...
Hotham > Thredbo: 262.92km +10,115m -10,474m I woke up at 5am out of pure habit. Another day for maintenance and organisation. Goodbye to the terrible softdrink bottles I’ve been using since Hotham to filter my water, hello to a new Platypus bladder. I’ll have to be gentle with this one, and when I get home look into a better replacement. With all the crinkles and creases, I think capacity has...
16.37km +505m -585m It blew a gale all night again, worse by far than last night. I was worried the tarp would pull free of its stakes, but it never did. Fifteen fairly easy kilometres into Thredbo today. South Ram’s Head in the middle there, marking the start of the main range. Finally, after days of boring walking, some nice views and aspects. Even though the last few days have been shortish...
19.16km +718m -504m Horses were very close to camp when I woke up. A bit intimidating. I heard them neighing and when I looked, they were about 20 metres away. A few km into the walk, I decided to detour and check out Tin Mine falls. Rod saw the indistinct track and decided to continue to Cascade Hut, presumably anxious to secure the best campsite and lay claim to the tin of spam he heard was on...
17.9km +592m -517 Not a long day today: about 16km to Tin Mine Huts. A very foggy start. It would not have been a good day for climbing The Pilot, even if I were in the mood for it. Saw some horses, then some deer: Then some more horses; possibly a stallion, mare and foal, grazing on the path we were walking down. We also heard the helicopter not far off and the sound of rifle shots as they...
23.01km +975m -734m My pants no longer stay up by themselves. I’ve had to fashion a belt from a piece of cord. 21km to Cowombat Flat today and the VIC/NSW border. Rain last night and more rain forecast today. I’ve heard from southbound walkers that the cowombats are numerous and in their mating season at the moment and care must be taken. Right after leaving camp, the creek needs to be forded. In...
16.65km +735m -889m Lots of noises in the night. An angry possum went down one of my trees and up the other, then played Marco Polo with another possum for half an hour. Something big and grunty stomped around some distance away. They said I’d lose weight on this walk, but this is ridiculous! We had to walk quietly through the middle of the school kids’ tents since they were between us and the...
26.75km +643m -1132m Dawn comes early up on Johnny’s Top. So do the flies. I could get used to this coffee-from-the-hammock thing There is no track for a good latter part of the walk down to Buenba creek from Johnnie’s Top. There is the odd trail marker or pink ribbon, but little to suggest a trail between them. The creek itself is lovely. Walking along it is a pain in the arse. The ground is...
25.29km +1632m -566m Coffee from the hammock on a foggy morning. Macropods! Ahh, the good old 585 model. Shame about the axle problems that plagued it. We got honked at by a deer. It sounded like an angry Mac truck in heat. Morass creek (more-arse). Don’t drink the water here. I had my towel threaded through my shoulder strap loops and it must have got hooked on a branch while we were bush...
21.72km +859m -1519m Bloody chilly overnight. Nobody told me the alps would be cold. And while we’re on the topic, what’s with all these bloody mountains, I’d like to know? Something stumbled on my camp around midnight. Sounded like something large and bipedal heavily stomping up from the old gold town. It was either a yowie or a small wallaby. I’ll make for Taylor’s Crossing today. A fairly easy...
29.22km +1255m -1877m Passed a very pleasant night in Cleve Cole. Cut some firewood for the hut in the afternoon for lack of anything better to do, then had a merry little fire to warm the old stones. Seems to be shaping up to be a nice day. I’m tempted to detour to Howman’s Falls, but I’m vaguely considering making for the disappeared ghost town of Sunnyside, which would be a longish day on its...
23.3km +1083m -1014m It’s a bright clear morning, if a bit frosty. I’m going to do the Bogong loop, and probably finish up at Cleve Cole Hut. Rod is heading north across the Big River crossing and then around to Big River Saddle, so we’re parting ways for now. It’s a bitter parting, as neither of us feel the other pulled their weight collecting firewood yesterday, and Rod chose to spend the night...
18.45km +325m -307m Rod’s plan for the day was to head for the crossing of Big River, while I would take the side road towards an upstream crossing of the same river and do Mount Bogong tomorrow. Wallace’s Hut Wallace’s first attempt at a hut And then it started pissing down; cold, hard and sideways. We were both pretty wet before long, and getting cold, so we decided to head for Roper’s Hut...
25.1km +793m -830m Are you a horse? Yay or nay? Rod I did some foot maintenance before leaving. The entire soles of my feet are starting to callous up. Called into The General for one last delicious latte. I’m going to miss their food. Mt Feathertop I wonder why they call it that? Farewell Mt Hotham, you were lovely. Thank fuck, I’m back on walking tracks. Derrick Hut And I thought this was...
252.9km +14,317m -13,194m On the insanity that is Hammock Camping: The hammock itself is a single layer gathered-end from Dream Hammock; my second one from the company and I highly recommend them. The infinite customisation they offer can be daunting for the newbie, and they’re not the cheapest, but in my opinion well worth it. Their fit and finish is without equal. To scrimp on weight, mine is...
A day for going over gear, repacking food, and making adjustments. I waxed my boots, patched the hole in my food bag, decided which food to pack and which to leave, and did innumerable little chores for the section ahead. I went through everything and tried to find stuff I could send home. I cut another strap off my backpack that hasn’t been used. I’m heavily tossing up whether to send my...
22km +1155m -826m The road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began Now far ahead the road has gone And I must follow, if I can Pursuing it with weary feet Until it meets some larger way Where many paths and errands meet And whither then, I cannot say Tolkien Back to some nice views and off fire trails for a bit. I’m really not in the mood. Looks like gold diggings I’ve been curious...
25.61km +1684 -1499 Huge storm last night. Just as it was starting a possum came down one of the trees I was hanging from and made angry noises at me. But the hammock weathered both the storm and possum. My first fuel bottle finally ran out. Considering I’d budgeted three to Hotham and I’m nearly there, that’s pretty good. Ron said he nearly used a whole one before Rumpff. I guess a windshield...
25.68km +1780 -2372 The view from the toilet at vmumble gmumble hut. No storm overnight. Hopefully I’ll be as lucky again tonight. Crosscut Viking Rod was dead weight so I left him on the approach to Crosscut and continued on alone. (This is terrible storytelling; you should never have two characters with easily confused names, such as Rod and Ron.) Rod disappearing in my dust Storms forecast for...
25.2km +1611m -1375m Distant thunder rumbles, rumbles hungry like the beast, Tupelo bound. Sage? Rod was walking slower than I needed to be going, so I left him behind and pressed on up Mount Clear. Many of these names will pop up later Spooky! The day has cleared up, but there’s more weather on the way later. King Billy one and two. I’m about to pass over or around the two King Billy mountains...
18.05km +1432m -1013 I’ll have to be more careful with my phone usage. Uploading blog posts with poor reception in particular is a big battery drain, so I’ll ration those out or wait until I get to Hotham. When we awoke there was a third tent in the campsite. Neither of us heard him get in at the late hour of 8pm. He’d left Walhalla at 3pm the same day I started. He’s trying for Chester’s Yards...
20.5km +745m -1144m Had a nice sleep in and reorganised my food from the comfort of my sleeping bag. Onwards! Into the wild… (grey?) yonder! I’m beginning on the section that includes Mount Buggery, Crosscut Saw and The Viking. There should be some amazing views assuming it’s not all cloud. Oh no! Not my vehicle! I told you water wasn’t going to be a problem. A better warning than the sign. Swim...
30.1km +1565m -1421m Farewell, Bob’s Hut, you creepy fucker. I’m going to head to Black River, and then make a decision whether to strike out for Rumpff Saddle or leave it as a short day. A cold start. I wonder if the clouds will pass as they did yesterday? The blackberries have taken Australia. We merely live here at their whim. Usnea? I hardly know ‘er! I am informed that the track down to...
24.07km +1709m -1045m I do miss my hobbit hole. Why did I ever get it into my head to go on an adventure? The Hobbit (poorly paraphrased) I put my still-damp clean clothes in my hammock’s underquilt before retiring last night. This morning they are perfectly dry. A tantalising glimpse of sunlight, but I can’t tell if it’s coming or going. I am ashamed to say that I then wished the cloud would...
28.54km +666m -1658m (Edit: sorry if you got this in your emails. I just realised it didn’t come over in the migration and had to do it manually) Morning: things are looking up. The fog that blanketed everything all of yesterday lifted overnight, and this morning the sun is rising bright and clear through the snow gums. Chapman’s book gives the 25km to Thompson River as taking 12 hours, but...
19.95km +1492m -368m I’m just going outside, and I may be some time… Lawrence Oates [The original version of this post got lost in the shitty reception out here somewhere somehow. Here’s an artist’s recreation:] The 1500m climb was accurate. And don’t call me Shirley! Tyers River. You will not find more leech-infested hive of bloodsuckers. Some weird proto-snail Silly lyrebird...
13.2km +478m -473m “When guys in camouflage pants and hunting hats sat around in the Four Aces Diner talking about fearsome things done out-of-doors, I would no longer have to feel like such a cupcake. I wanted a little of that swagger that comes with being able to gaze at a far horizon through eyes of chipped granite and say with a slow, manly sniff, “Yeah, I’ve shit in the woods.” A Walk in the...
Too late now to sweat the petty things… The train pulls out of Kingston station in Canberra. Blackberry bushes, graffiti, and saplings pushing up between the rusting rails of a disused line. I’ve chosen it over flying for a number of reasons. Partly a distaste for the pseudo-fascist theatre of airport security, party a distrust of baggage handlers, and partly the unlikely romance of diesel and...
…and I’m freaking out, man! The wind blew unrelentingly all through the night. I stayed warm without issue, which reassured me that my gear is trail worthy and ready to go, but the ceaseless bluster made sleep difficult and patchy. I was surprised not to hear the crash of trees falling in the night. There was little time for pleasantry in the pre-dawn light; tents and bellies were hastily packed...
A chilly night with a full moon lighting up the clearing and a foggy morning filled with birdsong. I’d say it probably dipped down to near freezing, but I was plenty cozy in my down quilts, which is reassuring. I’m starting to think this might be a cold walk and in my mind I’m cramming extra warm clothes into an already full pack. Doug and I had a hurried breakfast and quickly packed up in order...
This morning I leave for three days and 1700km of driving around the alps, hiding food caches in the bush. I’m beginning to get the feeling that it might be too late for second-guessing. I’ve teamed up with two other solo hikers to do our food drops together and share the fuel costs. Ron gave me his caches last week (with all the trepidation of a man handing over his beloved first born) and set...
