This morning, I set off at 6am, keen to set myself up for getting to Stronachs Campsite some 30km+ away. It was forecast to be in the 30s, and there would be some steep climbs. I’d only been going less than half an hour when I saw a black snake stretched out on the road, having a little rest. She didn’t seem to mind me going past, and I was glad there was enough space to get past without having to ask her to move. The first few kms were on a vehicle track, gently descending and lovely for a stroll. The trail then went onto a bush track and descended steeply down to Red Jacket, the remains of an interesting old mining town.
Fron Red Jacket to Blue Jacket, the dirt vehicle road followed the river and was such nice walking in the shade surrounded by tall trees.
That changed abruptly at Blue Jacket, where I turned on to Casper Creek Track, a ridiculously steep 4WD track that just went straight up the side of a mountain. It was hot and very hard work getting up there. Nothing fun or pleasant about that section. Once at the top, I continued along Casper Creek Track for several kms drifting up and down until I left it for Easton Track, a very wide management trail (I wonder if it also serves as a fire break) that went all the way down to Thomson River, first climbing Mt Easton and Little Easton. There were some super steep sections on the way down, the kind that make you slip if you’re not careful.
At Thomson River campsite, I met Adrian, a through hiker who started his northbound walk three days ago. He looked very settled into that campsite and didn’t look like he was going anywhere. He’d been swimming in the river and having a lovely relax. Coming out onto Jordan Divide Road, I meet Issy, another through hiker who also started three days ago and whose mum is supporting her like Jubble has been sorting me (if her mum is half as good as support crew as Jubbie, she’ll be very lucky). I met Jubbie, who’d been fishing at Thomson River Dam. He is so lovely – he’d gone down there to meet me just in case today was too hot for me to do the second part to Stronachs Campsite. After a powerade and a little rest, I headed off again.
I had been thinking a couple of days ago that I’ve had several highlights this trip, but not really any lowlights. That changed this afternoon. It was just a slog. After a couple of kms on a flat road, the trail went on to Trig Point Track, a super steep 4WD track that went straight up a mountain. It was so steep in parts that if I stepped on dirt instead of finding a buried rock to step on, I’d slip back down. It was brutal, and I had no energy. Every step was a struggle. And the hill just seemed to go forever. I wasn’t hungry but forced myself to eat the banana Jubbie had given me at the last stop, and that’s what got me up that stinking hill. All I wanted to do was lie down.
So the good things were that the section from the dam to Stronachs Campsite was only 9km, and there’s something great psychologically about having less than 10km to go. Also, after the stupidly steep hill, the track flattened out to a much kinder uphill, so even though pretty much the whole 10km was uphill, that last part of road walking was fairly pleasant. It was also good that it wasn’t quite as hot as forecast.
I passed through some areas devastated by logging before leaving that easy road walk to go onto a bush path. I really didn’t want to leave the road. I only had 2km to go, and I just wanted it over. I felt terrible and needed to lie down. At the start of that bush path, there was a huge tree down that I had to climb over. I really hoped the whole thing wasn’t going to be like that! And luckily, it was not. It looked like it had been cleared recently, and for that, I was so grateful. That final 2km seemed to go very slowly. Finally, I reached the road and our campsite where Jubbie and Jack were hanging out. We chatted, ate snacks, I drank more powerade, we had camp showers, then had a delicious Chef Jublé chickpea curry for dinner. By the time all that was done, I felt much better and ready for a big sleep.
Kerry's Hikes 