Hitchhiking

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I was cold last night, but the camp looks good in the morning sun. I don’t need to start too early, but the 1^st 7.5 km today are uphill all the way to the Eight Mile Gap (1150m) and I want to do this before the day gets too hot.

The walk is a steady climb but not too steep so I find I can keep walking without needing too many breaks. It takes me about 3 hours to the gap where I stop to rest and check to see if I have phone reception. While I’m sending my messages 2 couples arrive in 4wds towing caravans. I talk to one couple, they are off to Refrigerator Gap and are volunteers for the Oscar 100 event that is on this weekend.

From now it is all downhill. Though there are some shortcuts marked on the map I don’t see them and stick to the road. After about another hour I stop to have my lunch where the creek from the pass crosses the track. While I’m sitting here 2 cars come up from Sheepyard Flat and both stop to check I am OK. The lady in the 1^st car is camped near the Jamieson River, the 2^nd vehicle is a couple staying in Mansfield who are out for a sightseeing drive. They ask me about the road and where it goes. I tell them it goes into the Upper Jamieson Valley which is very scenic but there is nothing much to see. They then decide to turn around so I ask them if I can have a lift down to the Howqua River and they are happy to oblige. They drop me at Davon's Flat, a fine looking and almost empty camping spot by the Howqua River. It even has a toilet. I’m there my 2pm so have plenty of time to soak my feet in the river before dinner.

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