After a pretty decent night’s sleep, I headed off towards Valentines Hut, which would be a 28km day. The morning was lovely walking along easy tracks with a couple of pretty big hills. I saw puddles on the track with tadpoles, the first snake of my hike (lucky it was just a baby) and loads of flowers.
One group of bike riders from last night was heading the same direction as me, going to Grey Mares Hut for the evening. They caught up with me just as I arrived at O’Keefe’s Hut. This is a great hut. The walls are lined with old newspaper clippings, there’s furniture and a pot belly stove. After another quick chat with the guts, I was off again. I love this next section walking around Mt Jagungal. It changes shape as you walk around it, and I love walking towards it, then around, then finally away, and looking back to see yet another different aspect.
There was lots of big open plain walking today which was great, because along the way I’d decided if I could get to Schlink Hut or Whites River Hut today, I could have a go at getting to Thredbo tomorrow afternoon. The plains let you walk fast and I also love the open spaces.
There were a lot of water crossings today, particularly on Valentines Trail. None difficult, but just enough to get your feet wet after they’ve just dried off. Last time I did this trail, I changed shoes to keep my hiking boots dry. This time, I just ploughed straight in wearing my trail runners which dry pretty quickly.
After passing Grey Mare Hut there were a couple of huge hills, the first in particular just seemed like it would never end. But they always do. I remembered that this country starts to get really mountainous from this point. I got to Valentines Hut around 4:30pm and met a through hiker who’d just walked in from Guthega and was enjoying dinner in the sun. This hut is super cute and is amazing they were able to save it from the bushfires when everything around it burnt.
With about three hours of daylight left, I decided to push on. The next section was very hilly and really tough after already having walked almost 30km. But I knew when I got to Schlink’s trail, which is a big, wide gravel trail that I could make it to Whites River Hut. I powered along the trail and was so happy to arrive at Whites River! Again, I was starving. There was one other camper there, camped well away from the hut, so I’ve no idea who they were. After delicious homemade mashed potatoes that rehydrated really well and some dehydrated tofu, I was in bed and ready for sleep after having hiked more than 40km in very hilly country. I’m going to have a crack at getting all the way to Dead Horse Gap tomorrow, with a lure of shower and bed at Thredbo tomorrow night. My clothes are all salty from sweat and I’m dreaming of a shower!
Kerry's Hikes 