I decided to make today a pretty cruisy day and save the big uphill to Johnnies Top for tomorrow. I set out from the corner of Mt Hope Road and Buckwong Track around 9:30, heading into the bush alongside the road. There was supposed to be a foot track for 2km that ran through the bush kind of beside the road. After about 200m of bush bashing I decided that wasn’t for me today and climbed back onto the road for the 2km.
Jub met me at that point with my backpack in his car and I again headed off into the bush, this time following a lovely, well defined bush track for 5km. The track crossed another car accessible road, so Jub met me for morning tea – a big cup of tea and a Jubbie Bar (the new official name for Chef Jublé’s plant based Anzac bikkies).
We found someone’s used food drop hidden in the bush with a note saying help yourself to anything inside and they’d be back to collect the tub mid January. It made me so grateful that, because of Jub’s support, I didn’t need to arrange those for myself. I also reminded myself how dirty the Jubbie-mobile is every time I got something out of the boot.
From there it was a flat 5km along a valley. At points it narrowed right down so you felt the walls were closing in and at others broadened right out so you couldn’t see the sides. There was no defined track, you just walked along the valley until you hit the start of a spur and tomorrow’s 800m ascent up to Johnnies Top. I saw a dead horse and dead deer today in the valley. I’m in state park where hunting is legal so I wonder if they were shot.
The first location I picked for my camp looked great until I tried to move a dead log and disturbed a bull ant nest. Interesting to watch but not my ideal neighbours. So I picked up my tent (thank goodness for free standing tents!) and relocated.
The March flies kept me company today. Unlike my hiking buddy flies, these ones bite! They’re pretty amazing looking with their huge green eyes and built in straw.
I had the last of my favourite backpacking dinners – alas, all the dried mushies are gone – and was in bed before the sun went down. There’s not much to explore here. The trees are so dense if I wandered far I reckon I’d struggle to find my tent again!
Kerry's Hikes 