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 past the dam here, choosing not to replenish my water from the stagnant pool. I should have done though, and realistically nothing nasty would have made it past my filter. The day was pretty hot by now (over 30° apparently) and I finished the last of my water right as we paused before the final climb of the hike; about 170m up the side of Tennent.
I know dehydration can sneak up on you, so I was paying close attention to whether my mouth went dry or I stopped sweating. If that had happened I had a plan to quietly slip Rod’s bottle out of the side pocket and empty it before he knew what was happening.
Coming down the other side of the mountain was hot and slow and every step was jarring on the knees and sore feet. But the visitors centre beckons with the promise of cold drinks and ice cream.
And then we’re sitting on the back deck of the visitor’s centre again. I’m sure once my feet stop hurting I’ll get back the enthusiasm for next year’s thru. Right now I’m wondering if maybe I’ve had enough of this whole hiking thing. We have done a couple of really big days though, and that always leaves one questioning one’s life choices.
I’m glad I had this chance to spend some time walking with Rod again. It’s been a timely reminder of what a terrible person he is, and that neither I, nor anyone else, should never share a trail with him.
