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Journal: |
I slept well and, having decided there was no rush to leave early
after a long day yesterday and a short day in prospect, had set the
alarm for 7am. I managed to set off the smoke alarm while
toasting my now mould-free bread but it didn't seem to attract any
attention and I knocked the alarm off the ceiling with my trekking
pole and removed the battery (all replaced before I left).
I
departed the Tavern around 8:30am, having to climb over a wire fence
to get out because the entrance gate had been locked. The
roofers were at work (they were from Albury, my final destination,
and were driving back this afternoon to spend the weekend at
home.....they suggested last night that I jump in the back of their
ute (pickup) and give the walking a miss), but none of the tavern
personnel were about.
It was yet another beautiful morning
and I'm starting to suspect I'm going to pay a price for all of this
good weather later in the trip. I retraced my steps through
the hamlet of Wee Jasper and followed a H&H sign that directed me
past the town dump where a couple of guys were at work. They
were the last people I saw all day, apart from a couple of cars in
the distance on a road I crossed.
Once past the dump I began
the climb to a ridge in the Wee Jasper Nature Reserve that was
described in the trail guide as hard, but I didn't find it too bad.
It was just a steady climb on a dusty, and occasionally rocky, foot
trail in the cool morning air with the sun shining on my back (not
that I could feel it because of my pack). The forest was
eucalypt and scrubby bushes (sclerophyll) and pleasing to the eye,
but very dry. The ridge provided good views back to the
Goodradigbee Valley I had hiked along yesterday and Wee Jasper and,
in the other direction, the forested peak of Mt Wee Jasper (1121m)
that I would shortly be climbing.
At the highest point on the
ridge, where I had good mobile phone coverage, I took an early break
to check my email and post my diary. The air was still and the
temperature just right. It would have been easy to stretch out
and read a book or have a nap. However, even though I had a
short distance for the day, I knew I would be slow because of the
steady climbs and descents and couldn't afford to loiter for too
long.
I descended along the foot trail to the next valley
which was farmland at its base and followed the H&H markers across
some fields, over a minor road, and then up the lower slopes of Mt
Wee Jasper. The climb was steady, slow and sweaty as the day
warmed, but not too bad. At the lower elevations it was
scrubby and dry eucalypt forest again, but higher up the forest
became greener, the undergrowth primarily ferns, and the trail often
grassy as it climbed through the higher sub-alpine valleys.
Eventually I reached the summit of Mt Wee Jasper, but was
disappointed to find that the forest obscured most of the views.
There were a couple of benches there and I sat and had my lunch in
the grassy clearing. Soon I was joined by a dark-coloured
wallaby with a joey that occasionally stuck its head out of her
pouch and sampled the vegetation. I was surprised how unafraid
it seemed because there would have been few visitors to this peak.
I checked the log book there and hikers only came through every week
or so. Anyway, it was nice to sit and eat and observe the
wallaby hopping around and grazing just a couple of metres away.
After lunch, the trail descended steadily through a mix of
silent eucalypt forest and pine plantations and around 3:30pm I
reached the Log Bridge Creek Campsite in a narrow valley and quickly
set up camp. By 4pm the sun had gone and the temperature
dropped quickly. The adjacent stream has very cold and
slightly murky water, though it should be fine to drink at this
elevation. I washed myself and some clothes and updated my
diary before eating dinner. I toyed with the idea of lighting
a fire, but in the end couldn't be bothered. It's very cosy in
my sleeping bag and I'll head there after dinner and listen to the
Geelong vs Essendon AFL game on my radio.
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