Yesterday I arrived home from a three day hike through part of the Australian Alps, looking as red as a ruby from a silly case of sunburn, but feeling amazingly full of life and possibility. Gosh darn it, hiking is fun!
I’ve always wanted to do an overnight or longer trek, but have always hesitated for two reasons:
- Because I haven’t bought all the kit myself yet; and
- Because I’m a little nervous about going out into the bush on my own.
An old friend of mine came to the rescue recently though, and provided me with a lend of both his kit, and his company. Not only this, he took all the hassle out of planning the trip by doing it all himself – what a star!
So, on Thursday after work I set out for Harrietville, a little town in Victoria near the base of the Alps, and after a delightful dinner in nearby Bright, we set off on Friday morning for our three day, 35km hike.
Day one saw us climb from about 500m above sea level, up to the second highest peak in Victoria – Mount Feathertop – at around 1922m above sea level. The views were spectacular – especially seeing the contrast between the burnt, dead trees remaining after the 2003 fires, and the new, green growth sprouting up all around them.
Day two was a relatively easy 10km trek across the Razorback towards Mt Hotham and the Diamantina Hut, with amazing panoramic views and endless sunshine.
Our third day saw us wake up to roaring winds and sub zero temperatures. After waiting it out for an hour or so in the tent, we got up, quickly packed the tent away, and rambled off down the mountain-side to get out of the reach of the misty gusts that were doing their best to push us sideways as we walked.
13km of mostly down-hill trekking on the Bon Accord Spur saw us traverse through some beautiful scenery – native flowers, greenery, rushing creeks, babbling springs – just gorgeous really.
I had an absolutely brilliant time, and can’t wait for my next opportunity to get out and do a good overnight or multi-day hike.
