We awoke to the hustle and bustle around the hut. The first question was to look outside and find out how the weather looked. So far, so good, as it was lightly overcast with a few wispy clouds around. It was convenient to be able to cook and get ready in the hut as the ground was still rather moist. Everything was nowhere near dry at this point inside the hut, though, as too many soggy bodies had tramped into the quarters. While packing I noticed that on the side, my shirt was blood stained. I found the wound and it was very small. I did not know it then, but it was another leech wound. We got ourselves going quick and eventually I had to put back on the wet boots. The trail climbed quickly and this, we knew, would be our last big ascent of the trip. The trail conditions were much better today, but trail construction still made it slow going. I had a little bout with stomach issues that slowed us down and it allowed the school group to pass us.
We were able to enjoy the hiking a bit more on this day, because luckily as a late addition to my backpack before leaving Devonport, I threw in Jacqueline's tennis shoes. She wore these on this day, which alleviated the pressure from her uncomfortable hiking boots. I dropped the gaiters also, because they just seemed superfluous. The rainforest was very nice as we enjoyed the trees and the creeks flowing through.
Rather quickly, we popped out on the saddle where we found our school group getting ready for the side track up Mt. Ossa. We did not spend much time getting ready as the Camelback pack that I carried on the outside made side trips very easy. We took a few snapshots of Mt. Pelion West and Mt. Ossa, then hit the trail. Jacqueline was determined this time and I could see it in her stride. She was almost running up this trail she was going so quick. I guess dropping all of that weight can help you get yourself going. The trail was nice at first with lots of flowers, both big and small. Then we hit the boulder field.
This is where I wondered if Jacqueline would make it. Almost immediately, it became steep. The difference this time was that there was never a point where it became too much for her. Sure, her 5'1" body has more problems with big boulders than my 6'1" frame, but she never let that get to her. She just kept going and soon we were scrambling out of the worst stuff. Sure, it was easier than Cradle Mountain as nothing ever got over third class, but it still was not easy.
We dropped a bit and then climbed back up some less steep boulders. We had to do a bit of trail finding on our own as there was still snow at this elevation and it just happened to be covering the trail. We picked our way around and made it up to a nearly flat top. The views were amazing and we only had a small way to travel to get to the top. The top of Mt. Ossa was so flat, though, that it was hard to tell where the actual top of the mountain stood.
When we got to the end of the trail, it looked as if a pillar on the far side was the top. After negotiating a lot of obstacles (the largest one being my wife yelling at me for taking the risk to go over there) I could see from the base of that pillar, that the top was where Jacqueline was standing. So we both made the summit of the highest mountain in Tasmania, Mt. Ossa and I was proud of how determined my wife was to make that summit. The scramble down proved an easier task than Jacqueline thought it would. It was great to see the other people we knew from the hut still making their way up. We really were lucky as we had most of that trail to ourselves on the ascent. We were able to just enjoy the view of other mountains, lakes, and even a waterfall. We made it back to our gear thankful that the currawongs (raven-like birds) had not ripped open our packs. Talking to another hiker, we found out that some others had not been so lucky and this gentleman had fought off the currawongs as they were ripping into someon
e's pack. He also showed us one and told us about the leeches which is where the epiphany occurred to me and I indeed was not a hemophiliac. We tried to enjoy our lunch, but at this point we were getting worried. Two gripes about Tasmania is: 1) no bagels 2) no summer sausage. We tried these Turkish Pide Rolls as substitutes for bagels and some pre-cooked turkey breast. Both seemed like they were already near their last days. We had no choice and we ate them anyway, but with much less enjoyment than a delicious bagel, cheese, and summer sausage meal that has fueled so many sojourns. From here, the trail just went downhill mostly.
A lot of the trail was boardwalk at this point, which made me believe that the boardwalk gets put in at some really random spots rather than where it is needed the most. We finally made our goal of Kia Ora and with no time to spare as I believe my lunch got to me. It was around three in the afternoon and we debated what we should do. I was feeling a bit queasy and a lot of our stuff needed to dry out. We finally convinced ourselves to just stay at Kia Ora for the night. So we put the tent up and it did not take but a few minutes for it to dry out. We got lucky with the weather again as this was a day where we could have used good weather and we got it. Kia Ora had some nice waterfalls so we went to check them out. We did not take the plunge and go swimming like others that were camping did. Since we could hear them from our camp spot when they jumped in, we figured that we made the right decision. Instead we got to relax and hang everything up to dry, have another dinner of rice and tuna, then get some nice sleep and dream about what the next day on the trail had to offer.
We awoke to the hustle and bustle around the hut. The first question was to look outside and find out how the weather looked. So far, so good, as it was lightly overcast with a few wispy clouds around. It was convenient to be able to cook and get ready in the hut as the ground was still rather moist. Everything was nowhere near dry at this point inside the hut, though, as too many soggy bodies had tramped into the quarters. While packing I noticed that on the side, my shirt was blood stained. I found the wound and it was very small. I did not know it then, but it was another leech wound. We got ourselves going quick and eventually I had to put back on the wet boots. The trail climbed quickly and this, we knew, would be our last big ascent of the trip. The trail conditions were much better today, but trail construction still made it slow going. I had a little bout with stomach issues that slowed us down and it allowed the school group to pass us. 
We were able to enjoy the hiking a bit more on this day, because luckily as a late addition to my backpack before leaving Devonport, I threw in Jacqueline's tennis shoes. She wore these on this day, which alleviated the pressure from her uncomfortable hiking boots. I dropped the gaiters also, because they just seemed superfluous. The rainforest was very nice as we enjoyed the trees and the creeks flowing through. 
Rather quickly, we popped out on the saddle where we found our school group getting ready for the side track up Mt. Ossa. We did not spend much time getting ready as the Camelback pack that I carried on the outside made side trips very easy. We took a few snapshots of Mt. Pelion West and Mt. Ossa, then hit the trail. Jacqueline was determined this time and I could see it in her stride. She was almost running up this trail she was going so quick. I guess dropping all of that weight can help you get yourself going. The trail was nice at first with lots of flowers, both big and small. Then we hit the boulder field. 
This is where I wondered if Jacqueline would make it. Almost immediately, it became steep. The difference this time was that there was never a point where it became too much for her. Sure, her 5'1" body has more problems with big boulders than my 6'1" frame, but she never let that get to her. She just kept going and soon we were scrambling out of the worst stuff. Sure, it was easier than Cradle Mountain as nothing ever got over third class, but it still was not easy.
We dropped a bit and then climbed back up some less steep boulders. We had to do a bit of trail finding on our own as there was still snow at this elevation and it just happened to be covering the trail. We picked our way around and made it up to a nearly flat top. The views were amazing and we only had a small way to travel to get to the top. The top of Mt. Ossa was so flat, though, that it was hard to tell where the actual top of the mountain stood. 
When we got to the end of the trail, it looked as if a pillar on the far side was the top. After negotiating a lot of obstacles (the largest one being my wife yelling at me for taking the risk to go over there) I could see from the base of that pillar, that the top was where Jacqueline was standing. So we both made the summit of the highest mountain in Tasmania, Mt. Ossa and I was proud of how determined my wife was to make that summit. The scramble down proved an easier task than Jacqueline thought it would. It was great to see the other people we knew from the hut still making their way up. We really were lucky as we had most of that trail to ourselves on the ascent. We were able to just enjoy the view of other mountains, lakes, and even a waterfall. We made it back to our gear thankful that the currawongs (raven-like birds) had not ripped open our packs. Talking to another hiker, we found out that some others had not been so lucky and this gentleman had fought off the currawongs as they were ripping into someon
e's pack. He also showed us one and told us about the leeches which is where the epiphany occurred to me and I indeed was not a hemophiliac. We tried to enjoy our lunch, but at this point we were getting worried. Two gripes about Tasmania is: 1) no bagels 2) no summer sausage. We tried these Turkish Pide Rolls as substitutes for bagels and some pre-cooked turkey breast. Both seemed like they were already near their last days. We had no choice and we ate them anyway, but with much less enjoyment than a delicious bagel, cheese, and summer sausage meal that has fueled so many sojourns. From here, the trail just went downhill mostly. 
A lot of the trail was boardwalk at this point, which made me believe that the boardwalk gets put in at some really random spots rather than where it is needed the most. We finally made our goal of Kia Ora and with no time to spare as I believe my lunch got to me. It was around three in the afternoon and we debated what we should do. I was feeling a bit queasy and a lot of our stuff needed to dry out. We finally convinced ourselves to just stay at Kia Ora for the night. So we put the tent up and it did not take but a few minutes for it to dry out. We got lucky with the weather again as this was a day where we could have used good weather and we got it. Kia Ora had some nice waterfalls so we went to check them out. We did not take the plunge and go swimming like others that were camping did. Since we could hear them from our camp spot when they jumped in, we figured that we made the right decision. Instead we got to relax and hang everything up to dry, have another dinner of rice and tuna, then get some nice sleep and dream about what the next day on the trail had to offer. 
1 comment:
I really want to go back!
Jacqueline
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