Today was really lovely and really stressful too. I headed off from camp along Ritchies Road and then White Timber Spur Track North, a rugged 4WD track. It was super chilly and I spent the morning hiking in my warm jacket and beanie. Later Jubbie told me it was 3 degrees! I spent almost a couple of hours on overgrown 4WD track before it turned into a little goat track following a rocky spur. Thank goodness for the occasional MMWT sign because it definitely didn’t feel like a path! I zig zagged my way steeply to the bottom when I arrived at the junction of Twentyfive Mile Creek and Thirty Mile Creek. After taking some time to work out which was the one I needed to walk across, I plunged into today’s first crossing.
From then on the walk followed along Thirty Mile Creek and then Crooked River for the rest of day, sometimes right down low next to the water, but often way up high looking over the valley. It was really lovely, but very slow walking. The path was built on the side of a very steep hill and was pretty narrow with plenty of areas you needed to be careful on to not slide down. In many places there wasn’t much to catch you if you did slip off the track.
When I got to the next river crossing, I lost the track. I didn’t realise I was at the point I needed to cross and kept looking for the track. I can officially tell you, I do not like blackberries! I was caught in them trying to work out where the track was. I went along a way, back tracked, tried to go up higher. I was thinking I might not find the track and I’d run out of time to get to camp even if I did find the track. The walk had been way slower than I’d imagined. Finally I worked out where I was, saw a little pink ribbon hanging from a tree on the other side behind some blackberries, and knew that I needed to cross the river (Crooked River) straight into the blackberry patch on the other side. Luckily the patch was a small one and I was able to pull and push my way through it.
From there I was thankfully able to make good progress. I walked the remaining ~8km as fast as I could on the path that followed Crooked River to Bulltown, my destination. It was an easy path to follow, usually staying up quite high, sometimes descending towards the water towards the dreaded blackberries. I kept calculating how long it would take me to arrive and I thought I’d get there before dark. Jubble was messaging me, very worried I wasn’t going to make it and there was nothing he could do. I’m so grateful the path down towards Bulltown was a gentle slope that I could stride down. I’m also grateful I had a beautiful sunny day – if it had been overcast and misty like yesterday visibility would have been tough.
I got to my next crossing and was so anxious about getting to camp before dark I forgot to take a photo of it! In my wet runners I jogged along the 4WD track to the final river crossing where there was a very relieved Jubble waiting on the other side. There was only just enough light to see where I was putting my feet! Camp Jubbie was close by and Jub had excelled himself with his various tarps. Dinner was Singapore noodles which was soooooo good. I was exhausted by then. All my arms and legs were covered in blackberry bush scratches. In bed my woolen pants were scratchy against my scratches! Fingers crossed for no more blackberries!
Kerry's Hikes 