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During the night some people turned up on the other side of the
river and were walking around the construction site (the bridge is
being worked on) by torchlight. Later I heard a couple of gun shots.
However, no-one came near me. I had a good night's sleep and got up
at 7 AM to a very dewy and damp camp. Lots of condensation in the
tent. I didn't hurry my packing and left at 9 AM.
The first 6 km was along quiet rural roads, the first and only
time that the AAWT passes through a "settled" area. I enjoyed the
easy walking. Then it was back onto faint foot trails as I climbed
over a hill then made a long slow descent on a narrow difficult
hillside path to Morass Creek, which lived up to its name. It was
dirtyish water (came from farmland), quite wide and very marshy with
multiple channels. I could not be bothered changing into my running
shoes and gradually worked my way across the channels. The water was
knee deep and flowing and my boots and socks got wet. On the other
side I scrambled up the bank and climbed away from the valley on
another faint trail through scrubby forest. However a little higher
up it became open forest and grassy underfoot and quite pleasant
walking.
I crossed the Corryong-Benambra Road and began a steady climb up
onto the Beloka Range. It was mostly gum forest with some scrub and
occasionally rocky outcrops. The forest obscured views and nearer
the top the route followed an overgrown firetrail. However, it
wasn't as bad as past days and my pace was reasonable. I had lunch
in a saddle about 1:30 PM, knowing I only had another 10 kilometers
to go. Soon after, I joined a clear fire trail and the rest of the
afternoon was spent following cleared fire trails higher and higher
along the Beloka Range.
Just before 5 PM I reach the Johnnies Track Junction where I had
hidden my next food dump. I didn't find it first go, which was a
little concerning, but found it easily on the second go with my GPS.
I then had a drawn-out evening meal along with my treats and
definitely over-ate. I was in bed soon after 8 PM.
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