Posted by There was not a lot going on today, feeling more like a commute from one place to another than anything else, entirely on management vehicle only tracks all day.
Still, it was a big day distance wise, started with an uphill rise from the power station at the bottom of the valley rising a couple of metres over a few kilometres. Undulating track all day past a series of mountain huts.
First was Whites River Hut. I’m sure I’d been there before on a cross country ski trip many years ago and although only 300m off track I considered it too off track to pop in for a look.
Shortly after passing Whites River Hut and climbing another gradual uphill, Schlink Pass came into view, the ground flattening a little and offering views down into a new valley along Dicky Cooper Creek. Cloud hung low in places covering the tops of nearby peaks. By now I was in the ‘Wilderness Zone’ and along the way many signs were posted of an upcoming aerial cull in the area. I’m fairly sure the AAWT would remain open but I had until the end of tomorrow to exit the area before the cull would commence. This was incentive enough to aim big for the day and get close to a 40km day. My mission was O’Keefes hut by the end of the day and exit out the cull area tomorrow.
It felt warm and humid and I was working for the kilometres throughout the morning, drinking more water than usual, always keep an eye on how much I was carrying and where the next source could be found. Without a travel thermometer I had way of telling how hot it was but sticky and yuck.
The road walking was becoming a real chore and motivation is always low on road bashes, regardless the kilometres had to be walked to get from one place to the next. I had the tunes plugged into my ears to coax me along.
Schlink Hut or the Schlink Hilton as it’s know came and went. This looked to be a modern type of hut more akin to workers accomodation and I didn’t drop in for a look. It just didn’t have that rustic charm that other mountain huts have.
After a couple of hours the AAWT finally veered of a well manicured vehicle track onto more of a bush track. It was great to get off the hard packed vehicle track but still I was following another road. This type of walking, although easy, doesn’t really appeal to me. The lack of photos taken through the day is testament to my mood. Nothing really caught my eye through the first half of the morning.
Around 5 kilometres in on the bush track I did pass Valentine Hut and called in for a morning tea break. Given the name, the hut is themed around Valentine’s painted ruby red with a series of love hearts above the windows. It was a fabulous little hut with two rooms and would have made for a great place to stay for the night but I was on a mission and kept moving, way too early in the day to pull up stumps.
From Valentine’s it was another 7km to Grey Mare Hut with several river crossings along the way. My aim was to reach Grey Mare for lunch.
The first river to cross was the Geehi River. On approaching the crossing point with the track it looked like it would be a shoes off afar but always on the lookout for a dry foot crossing I scouted the river and found sufficient rocks 20m down allowing me to jump from one to the other and keeping my shoes dry.
It wouldn’t be the same case for the next river to follow, Back Flat Creek, wide and devoid if any rocks, it would be shoes off to keep them dry. Knee deep through the icy waters, across the other side I made a snap decision to take an early lunch while my feet dried. The sun was out and the wind up so it was also the perfect time to drag my tent out from the pack and dry it as well. The wide valley was an open plain of snow grass so it wouldn’t take ling to have everything dried out in the open.
I pressed on. Before reaching Grey Mare Hut I had to cross the Back Flat Creek several more times, shoes off in a couple of spots and finding rocks or a narrow enough channel in others to get across with dry feet.
My next goal would be towards Mount Jagungal and all going well I was keen to climb it given it is so close to the track. Jagungal had been on my bucket list for years. However, as I first caught glimpses of the mountain the humid air had the top clouded in, and the closer I approached the thicker it became. I kept an eye on it and committed to climb it if it cleared but it just never did. By the time I was at the base, the cloud had extended down from the top to cover the track I was on forming a thick fog. Without a view, the pay off just wasn’t there to expend the energy in reaching the top and I didn’t want to climb it just for the same of ‘bagging the peak’. This was ok as I meant I would have to return on a future trip to climb it at some point in the future. Having now seen the terrain, perhaps a bike packing trip to save the distance that would have be covered on foot.
It was getting late in the day with another 5km to go before reaching O’Keefes Hut. With tired feet I was certainly looking forward to getting there, having been on vehicle tracks all day.
Approaching the hut around 18:30 I saw several tents set up, which meant people and I was looking forward to some company. From memory there was Warren, Mary and Harry, all out for a weekend circuit trip to Jagungal. I asked if everyone was sleeping in their tents tonight and the answer was yes. That was great as it meant I could stay inside the hut. By the time I got there, the low cloud and fog had deteriorated into a fine mist of rain and it was sure to be a wet night in a tent.
Harry had the fire going and we shared stories of our travels while cooking dinner in the warmth of the hut. O’Keefes was a 3 room affair with its own dining room, complete with a dining table and chairs. The original hut burnt down in the 2003 fires and has been rebuilt, the walls decorated in old newspapers from the 1940’s war period protected behind perspex. It was one of the most well equipped huts I had ever come across with a rodent proof cage storing a dining set, pots and pans and some emergency food. Obviously a well loved and cared for hut.
I was expecting the crew to stay up for a while and enjoy the efforts of their fire making but they soon left me to it, retreating to their tents for the evening and the fire to myself. I hadn’t collected any wood so didn’t stoke it any but it sure was good to lay down in my bed in the adjacent room with the warmth radiating out. It would make for a peaceful nights sleep after close to a 40km day.
Mick Beckers 