After 4 flights over 3 days, we arrived Tasmania with only one major hiccup, a Costco-size bottle of tequila broken in our luggage. Good thing it was not with our clothes.
Brooke and Cal picked us up at the airport in Devonport and we checked into an AirBnB for the night. The next morning, we headed out to Cradle Mountain National Park and picked up our permits for the Overland Track.
We spent the next day canyoneering in Dove Canyon which involved jumping off several waterfalls and sliding down an unusual granite shoot.
The Overland Track is a 5 day hike through the highlands of Tasmania. Each night you camp on wood platforms outside group huts. All though this is a very popular traverse, permits are limited.
During the hiking days, we found lots of solitude. Our nights were very social filled with conversations of our daily adventures.
Day 1
The trek starts out on boardwalks over Tasmania tundra which is impossible to hike through.
We quickly started to climb. Today we would gain a 1/3 of our elevation for the entire 5 day trek. Soon we passed Crater Lake (I wonder how many lakes named “Crater” there are in the world?)
Once we gained the ridge, we had views galore.
We took a long break, called a “smoko” in Australia, then headed up the most difficult section of the track. There were chains installed to aid in the hiking.
Once we finished this section, it was a short distance to Marion’s Landing, an iconic view point of Tasmania’s best known mountain, Cradle Mountain.
We sat down to enjoy lunch and a view just as one of Tasmania’s thunderstorms decided to roll through. The wind was wicked followed by the largest rain drops.
We quickly pulled out our pack covers and rain jackets. We were smart to keep these close to the top of our packs the rest of the trip.
Within a half hour, the rain had stopped, the sun was out, and we had reached our first side trip. Our goal was to climb Cradle Mountain. This was also the goal for a hundred other people on day trips from the Visitor Center.
The climb was mostly a hike on a well beaten path until you get within 50 feet of the sky line then it becomes a boulder scramble.
After the sky line was reached, we had to scramble across the ridge line for about 30 minutes until we reached the high point. It was hard to believe that an hour ago, we all had our rain gear on.
After a long summit stay, Jim and I decided to venture back to our full packs. We still had a long ways to go today.
Brooke and Cal had left the summit before us so we were surprised to meet up with them just minutes after we headed down. Brooke had twisted her ankle. Oh Crap!
Jim pulled out the trouble kit (we had it with us this time). I proceeded to tape up Brooke’s ankle. Gotta love KT Tape. Back went on her boot. It was tender to stand on but it could bear weight. Now to get down.
Luckily, the rocks were very solid and large so we took the steepest route we could find and just slide on our butts and lowered ourselves with our arms. It worked quite well.
We decided our best course was to camp immediately so Brooke could get off her foot. We wouldn’t know how bad the ankle was until morning. There just happened to be a couple of tarns at the base of the mountain. Jim and I scooted around until we found suitable camping. Not easy in the Tasmania tundra.
Brooke had a swim in the tarn then elevated her foot and enjoyed a couple of mountain margaritas. There is nothing they can’t cure.
Our camp spot was absolutely breathtaking. We had Cradle Mountain above us ….
… and Barns Bluff in the distance.
In the morning, Brooke’s ankle felt ok to hike on. She had successfully kept the swelling down. The plan would be for her to hike for a couple of hours and then we would access our camping options. Jim and I decided to take the day and climb Barns Bluff.
The hike across the high lands under Cradle Mountain was delightful. When we reached the ridge leading to Barns Bluff, we encountered this amazing emergency shelter. Based on the plaque, we guessed it was designed for the Antarctica by the Australian Government.
Barns Bluff, like all the other high points in the area, is made of columnar basalt which creates these vertical columns of rock. The high points were above the glaciers when they came through and leveled everything else out.
The climb of Barns Bluff was mostly boardwalk to the base of the peak then boulder fields followed by some class 2-3 scrambling. The route was convoluted so we were glad to find lots of carins including a few key arrows etched in the rock. Without all the route help, Jim and I could have turned this climb into an epic.
The views from the summit were fabulous. I always like seeing the terrain from a high view point.
We hooked up with Cal and Brooke at Waterfall Hut. Brooke’s ankle was holding together so we opted to head to the next hut and try to get back on schedule.
As we headed down the trail, I came across the largest snake I had ever seen including the snakes at the zoo. I screamed and froze. Luckily the snakes here really have no interest in us. Their defense is to slither away unlike our rattlesnakes.
When we returned to civilization and WiFi, we identified the snake as a Tiger Snake. The most deadly in Australia. Here is a picture I got off the internet. I was to petrified at the time to take my own photo.
As we hiked over the high plain, the Tasmania weather changed again and started to rain which continued until 8am the next day.
As we started to hike the next morning, we were treated to some of my favorite scenery, the clouds lifting across the plains.
The day gave way to high humidity which made the hiking tiresome and the leaches happy.
At the hut that night, we all compared leach encounters. The bites didn’t hurt or swell just bleed a lot. Definitely not as scary as I had thought before the trip. If they weren’t so disgusting, you might call them cute.
By this point in the trek, our group of strangers was bonding. Tonight we all enjoyed the sunset from the helipad.
In the morning, we all headed out for Pelion Gap. The best view on the trek for non-climbers.
As I hiked along the river bank, I encountered a group of wallabies. Much less scary than the Tiger Snake.
At the gap, Jim and I dropped our backpacks, loaded our summit packs, and head off to climb Mt Ossa, the tallest peak in Tasmania.
The climb was delightful. Definitely the easiest of the three we climbed, except for the summit block. My guess is Jim was 1 in 100 that actually go to the true summit. I stayed back and took pictures.
After Pelion Gap, it was a day and half trek over the plains out to Lake St Clair.
We had a stop at Bert Nichols hut built in 1910.
We stop at the last hut to check out with the ranger and have a group photo.
Then it was a big push across the suspension bridge, …
And out to Lake St Clair for a dip in the lake and one more night of camping.
In the morning, we all walked out to the jetty to catch the water taxi.
The water taxi dropped us off at the Lake St Clair Visitor Center marking the end of the Overland Track and fresh burgers.
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