Today is my favourite day so far. Both Jack and I got up early to watch the sun rise and head off early for another big day on the trail. The sun rise was stunning. The valleys we looked down on were filled with clouds, and just the tops of The Viking and Crosscut Saw were sticking above them. Then, the sun rose above the clouds. So beautiful. I was on the track by 6:30, heading straight up to the summit of Mt Speculation. The views were amazing – theme of the day. From Mt Speculation, I went down to Horrible Gap and then up Mt Buggery (neither of which were as bad as the names implied). The track up Mt Buggery was steep but easy to follow, and I was at the summit in 25 minutes.
Fron there, I followed the ridgeline (which I love!) up and over the Crosscut Saw, looking back the way I’ve come and looking toward what’s yet to come. The Peak Finder app Jack put me on to its so fantastic in that country where all you can see 360 degrees around you are mountains. The view of The Viking was stunning – in fact, I watched it all day changing shape as I circled around it at the top of the world. Jack had suggested visiting Vallejo Gantner hut to check it out and collect water. Because we hadn’t camped at Camp Creek, we weren’t able to get extra water this morning, and my two litres weren’t enough for the day. In the section down to the hut, I passed so many hikers out for a few days, and once I saw the hut, which is accessible from a carpark just a short hike away, I totally understood why. It’s a really unique, beautiful hut with lots of grass areas around for tents. It also has one of the most amazing views I’ve seen from any toilet!
Jack arrived shortly after, and after a bit of a chill, we filled out water up at Macallister Spring and headed off together. I really enjoyed walking with Jack for a while. He’s a really interesting, interested guy and super lovely. He also walks a bit faster than me, so I went up to Mt Howitt from the hut quicker than I otherwise would have! At the summit of Mt Howitt, Jack stopped for lunch, and I continued. Next mountain on the list was Big Hill, which the track went around, not over (i don’t think the views would have been as good from the top as the others). There were loads of hikers out and about and by the time I’d chatted to a few groups, Jack had caught up to me again. On the way to Mt Magdala, we passed Hells Window with an amazing view down into Howqua River Valley. I loved the summit of Mt Magdala – more amazing views in all the directions!
Fron there, we descended down a spur and then climbed up to King Billy 1. Originally Jack was going to go all the way to Chesters Yard with me, but saw an amazing campsite that was too good to walk past, so we parted ways after what had been a thoroughly enjoyable few hours of chatting. As I headed towards Kimg Billy 2, the last peak before the descent to Chesters Yard, the trail disappeared. It was super hard to keep sight of and very difficult to follow. I was concerned it would stay like that, and I wouldn’t get to camp before dark. My watch was estimating my ETA at 6:20, but that kept getting later as I was so slow getting over King Billy 2 and down the other side. Much to my delight, at the bottom, the trail joined a management track, which was super easy walking all the way to Chesters Yard. I had Chesters Yard all to myself and found a spot for my tent (I really hoped the tuft of grass right next to my tent was not a snake home!). I collected water, made dinner (chicken stock, miso paste, rehydrated black beans, rice, mushrooms, and spinach – so delish), and got into my tent. Tomorrow is going to be another big day – the book says it could take 13 hours!
Kerry's Hikes 