I left Jubble at 6:30, ready for a big day. It was a super big day. I passed through Barry Saddle, which would have been a really lovely place to camp. I found out at the end of the day that Jack had left about 20 minutes before I got there, and at the end of the day, he arrived into camp about 15 minutes before me! The climb up to the Viking was not what I’d expected. There was a lot of very steep rock scrambling and at times as I was hoiking myself up, I felt like I had to lean into the rock so the weight of my backpack wouldn’t pull me off the side of the mountain! It was hard going, and I sweated like a maniac. The top was amazing. I thought to myself that I’m so lucky to see something most people I know will never have the chance to see in real life.
The way down was equally steep. I got down a gully and saw the trusty yellow triangle pointing the way, so knew I was going the right way. But at that point, I went towards the right and got to a really steep drop in the rocks and thought, there’s no way I can get down there. Shit, I can’t get down there. I can’t go back the way I came. I wish I wasn’t doing this bit alone. Then I told myself to stop and think, to go back and look around. I went further right, no way down. As I was going back towards the left, I saw the rope. The Chimney!! I was at The Chimney, and I’d forgotten all about it. It’s this steep drop through a hole in the rocks with a knotted rope hanging down that you can lower yourself down on or pull yourself up if you’re going the other way. I was easily able to get down with my backpack on, and once at the bottom, I felt much calmer! It was super steep, then flattened out a little towards Viking Saddle.
After eating half my lunch, I left Viking Saddle and started climbing up towards the ridgeline. There were so many trees down, and it was insanely slow going and hard work. I was wondering what I’m doing and can I be assed doing this for three more days. I met a dad and two sons hiking a section and one of their bits of advice is that the bush track from Catherine Saddle to Camp Creek doesn’t exist, so I should take Speculation Road instead – thank you!
The view at the top was amazing and made all the climbing worthwhile! It was so fantastic looking back at the Viking and seeing it in a whole new angle. The views were unbelievable, and I loved l seeing the mountains I’ll be climbing tomorrow. From there, a little path hugged the base of the cliff line and was hard walking. It was rocky and steep in sections, lots of ups and downs, bit of bush bashing, and slow. I met a couple of hikers (Justine and Josette) who are doing the trail in sections and recommended camping on Mt Speculation because Camp Creek isn’t that nice.
The little path ended at the base of Mt Despair, which was a very cruisy mountain to ascend. Nothing to despair over there. After a morning of such challenging walking/climbing, it was lovely to stroll along on a gently upwards sloping bush path. The track descended into Catherine Saddle and from there up gently ascending Speculation Road all the way to Camp Creek. I filled up my water bottles along the way from water that was flowing down the middle of the track. As the ladies had forewarned, Camp Creek was not so lovely. A sign told me the walking track to Mt Speculation was only 1km, 30 minutes, so up I went. Before long, I came across an area to camp, and there was Jack! The views are amazing from here, and it was pretty special looking out onto The Viking in one direction and towards the Cross-cut Saw and Mt Howitt where I’ll be walking tomorrow. After a dinner of mashed potatoes, veggies and tofu, I had an early night. I want to be up early for another big day tomorrow.
Kerry's Hikes 