I tried really hard to get to Low Saddle and Jubbie today, but I just couldn’t make it. But that’s the end of the day… After not getting much sleep, I was off at 7am. The management trail continued to near the base of Mt Clear. Well, that was a steep mountain! The first 80% was super steep and hard work, but then it came to this gorgeous section of snow gums and a gentle stroll towards the summit. After Mt Clear came Square Top where I lost the track near the summit and spent time bush bashing to find it again. Once I had it again, I was definitely not letting it go. The regrowth was out of control, and there were loads of trees down. Better to stick with the track! Coming down off Square Top, i met a guy who was very wary about Mt McDonald and me making my way down there late in the day. He said the track was hard to follow, and it was very steep. That’s when I started getting nervous I wasn’t going to make it to Jubble, and I knew I wasn’t carrying enough water to camp if I did have a go and didn’t make it down Mt McDonald.
After Square Top came High Cone, then The Nobbs. My legs were tired today, maybe because of the big day of climbing yesterday. I was confused by my map coming off High Cone and went the wrong way down a 4wd track for maybe 500m, so had to go back up the track again to work out the right path! When I reached Nobbs Track, a 4wd track, I was really concerned I wasn’t going to make Low Saddle in the daylight I had left. I had just enough water to get me there and just enough daylight and mobile charge if everything went perfectly and I didn’t lose the track, but no contingency. So I made the call to camp for the night. I found a spot to camp right near the start of the trail to Mt McDonald, then walked about 1km down the 4wd track to find water. Lucky it’s rained so much lately, and I didn’t have to walk further to find it. I found a little stream of water running along the side of the road, and at one point, there was just enough of an angle to fill my bottle. Then I slogged back up the track to the campsite. It was lovely getting in relatively early, setting my tent up so it could dry out, taking my shoes off, and just chilling. Unfortunately, there are ants everywhere, and the flies, including March flies, were relentless. So I lay in my tent for a while until one of the baffles on my air mattress broke, so one side is normal, and the other is all puffed up. This will be an interesting sleep tonight! Jack arrived awhile later, and after a chat, he continued up the path to find a flatter campsite. I had dinner, sorted everything out, and was in bed before 7pm. As soon as the sun went off my solar charger, there was no point staying up any longer. My battery pack is flat, so fingers crossed I have enough battery to get me to Low Saddle tomorrow!
Kerry's Hikes 