Date: Wednesday, 7 April 2011
Kilometres: 37.6 AAWT
Total kilometers: 516.5 AAWT
Animals: birds
People: Two hikers and about ten
electricity and National Parks tradesmen
Weather: Very cold early, sunny
and mild later
Campsite: Mackays Hut
Camp location:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=-36.08894,+148.46422
Pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/byrnesinoz/AAWT2011Day2306April?authkey=Gv1sRgCKi1hM2UoJ3dtgE
It was very cold when I got up at
6am, having woken a number of times during the night
with the cold. There was heavy condensation in the
tent, and a heavy frost on the outside. Once I was
up and outside the tent, the condensation inside
turned to ice. As I packed up and breakfasted, the
other residents got up and did the same, and we
chatted as we prepared for the new day. By the time
I got around to packing my tent, it was pretty much
frozen solid and I had a lot of trouble getting the
ice off and out of it before packing it, getting
very cold hands in the process. I bade my fellow
campers farewell and headed off soon after 8am in
bright sunshine though I was still wearing warm
gear. After about an hour, I needed to strip down to
shorts and t-shirt because of the warmth. Most of
the day was then spent traversing the Jagungal
Wilderness Area on old, now unused, 4WD tracks. The
route followed alpine streams through alpine
meadows, frequently forded the streams (which were
often a challenge to cross without getting wet), and
climbed over low passes or sidled around mountains.
I seemed to have it to myself and relished the
isolation, wilderness, and perfect weather. I had
decided to try and get to Mackays Hut, which would
make it my longest day yet. Doing that would put me
on track to get to the end a day earlier than
planned. I wasn't getting particularly tired
walking, the weather was great, and it seemed
sensible to make maximum use of the daylight
available given that the days are getting shorter.
At lunch I laid out my tent and sleeping bag to dry.
The tent was still full of ice! However, as usual,
it dried quickly and my afternoon's walking passed
the same way as the morning as I skirted the
imposing Mt Jagungal. At 4:30pm I passed O'Keefe Hut
and found some workers there installing a new
environmental toilet amongst other things. I decided
to stick to my plan and carry on even though I still
had some way to go. I ended up walking into almost
total darkness by the time I reached Mackays Hut at
6:45pm. It was empty and reasonably good though,
annoyingly, it was now too dark outside to work out
where the nearest water source was. Instead, I had
to backtrack about 300m to where I knew there was a
stream. Not far, I know, but irksome at the end of a
long day. Knowing I was saving a day, and being very
hungry, I ate two main courses for dinner. It was a
very clear and brilliantly starlit night outside.
Probably going to be cold again. I'll wear extra
clothes tonight. Went to bed around 9pm.
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