Day 9: Rumpffs Flat to Lazarini Spur 18/04/22 20.5km 7hrs 5

As usual we were up at 6 and I headed off around 7:30 after savoury oats and tea. It started raining during the night and pretty much didn’t stop for the whole day. I spent the first 2 hours 15 minutes climbing 4.6kms up a steep 4WD track that was slippery and muddy from the rain. At one point I had so much mud on my shoes they were noticeably heavier! Often I had to really concentrate to not slip down the hill. Five cars passed me heading up and they must have been wondering what I was doing. I was too. Jubbie had a great idea to take an umbrella and that made it way more pleasant than it otherwise would have been. I kept myself plodding up the hill by counting my steps til the next flat section. Each time I got to that little flat section, I’d look up and see a whole lot more hill ahead. Tough walk. But what was a pleasant surprise was that the hill finished at 4.6kms – I’d expected it to end at 5.4kms, so that almost 1km of flat track was an absolute welcome bonus! Just after I came out on the main road Jubble drove along so we stopped for tea and coffee and a Jubbie bar.

There were lots of kms of dirt road walking today. With the umbrella it was kind of pleasant. The country is beautiful there and it was all misty. It was cold though at 10 degrees. There is a section of a few kms where the path goes off the main road onto one of the old logging trails which has been maintained as a walking path. Well, it was very overgrown (thankfully not too much blackberry) and very wet. My feet were drenched and cold as were my pants from all the wet vegetation. I missed a turn and ended up doing about 1km more than necessary. It was walking along that off-road section that made me decide I was done. It was cold and wet and the rain was due to hang around for days. If we didn’t have a deadline to get back for my new job, we could have taken a break then returned. But I do have a deadline and this was no longer fun. My decision was cemented when I finally reached Jubble that afternoon. He was sitting at the back of the car under a tarp looking miserable. He definitely hadn’t had a fun day in the rain. If I was doing this walk for charity or with others, I would have continued. But it was no longer the fun holiday for either of us it was meant to be.

What was nice was briefly joining up with the Australian Alps Walking Track – hello old friend! After coming back into the dirt road, I had about 5kms to walk so I powered along as fast as I could. I had decided if Jubble was there to meet me I’d happily forgo that 5kms, but like a good support crew, he patiently waited for me at the end. Three cars slowed to make sure I was ok which was lovely. By the time I got to Jubble one of my hands had gone numb and I didn’t get the strength back in it for hours. Jubble was very happy to call it quits and head to our friends in Paynesville early. After a quick stop in Licola we headed towards Sale to a meal in a restaurant, a real shower and a bed! What a lovely trip we’ve had. Victorian alps, I’m sure we’ll be back.