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Published: January 26th 2017
Mt Cooke Summit Views
Complete with smoke haze from DPAW burnsDay 8
Mt Cooke to Nerang- 13.4km
Today is all about a big hill, guns and smoke.
Big Hill Mt Cooke (582m ASL)- a very good climb through the butter gums and up the rocky path in perfect weather, get to the top in 45-50 mins despite my full pack weight. The views from the top are superb- pine tree forest, regular forest, farmland, mine site, etc. What is even more impressive is firstly, the smoke haze to the north and secondly, the extensive boulder collection scattered randomly across the ridge of Mt Cooke. Spent about an hour up here taking it all in, refuelling (food) and taking photos. Pam and Doug and then Mel arrive at various intervals - more photos are taken. Final goodbyes are said. The last bushfire is very much in evidence up here but the regrowth is coming along well. So well, in fact, that I manage to get a tiny bit turned around but right myself quickly ie re-emerge at the spot I started, then I manage to miss the big boulder cave (that the Bibb Track guide book details it at the 3.6km mark) yet again- how can I possibly
miss this for the 3rd time- the boulder is described as massive and just off the track- despite this, I can't find the cave. There's always a next time I guess! Anyway...I think the guidebook comes into its own once I hit the granite rock descent- it is very helpful in its instruction to follow the rock cairns carefully to the left (south east) versus heading for the very visible trail straight ahead (an unrelated dirt track). I pick my way over the massive granite slab. I'm in luck, the rock is not overly slippery and visibility is excellent. One of the girls End to Ending ahead of me (Jodi) has detailed in the Mt Cooke red book a very sad and sorry account of getting completely lost on the mountain in the late afternoon due to poor visibility- she ultimately has to turn back to Mt Cooke shelter for a second night. To make matters worse she completely stacked it on the rock twisting her ankle- it gets lethally slippery when wet.
From here it's another damn powerline road.
Guns After the powerline road I take a very hard left hand turn, which was fine, but
Summit Box
Sort of like a geocache then the Waugal signs become ambiguous (to me). I had also been following someones footsteps and pole marks but they have disappeared and I actually feel that I have just gone around in a big circle. Am I back tracking? Who knows? I admit I am slightly worried. At this point the gunshots start. I am more worried.
In the next 5 minutes there are 30 individual shots and 3 lots of 8 rapid fire shots.
And I might be lost.
I have no idea where these shots are coming from, or what is being shot at, and they probably have no idea I am walking in the bush. My pace quickens somewhat. I have visions of bullets lodging in my backpack, or worse- in me. I have NO phone reception and a VERY basic stripped down first aid kit. Could I treat my own bullet wound? Well, I could but what if I get shot in the head? Or the chest? Or the femoral artery? My imagination runs wild- you get the idea... I'm virtually running (actually sort of lolloping in a forward direction with backpack swinging wildly) by this stage and decide to consult the
map - based on my times I'm thinking I have probably walked about 11kms. With that, as if by magic, reference tree 80/2 suddenly pops out at me.
28 minutes later (at 13:38) I arrive at Nerang. The shelter is full of packs, sleeping bags, clothes- it looks busy. I'm undecided about staying but the next camp is another 4 hours away and by then it will be dark. AND I'm starving. Turns out there are only 3 people here (Patrick and Ruby, and Jens) and they are very friendly and they make room for me- I'm staying.
Smoke Recharge with half a litre of tea and some lunch. Today's lunch is ryvitas (slightly crumbly) and those triangles of processed cow cheese in foil. Devour a bag of trail mix (brazil nuts/coconut shavings/dried apricots) and then these dehydrated yoghurt circles that I have made- each circle is about a spoon of greek yoghurt and blended frozen raspberries splatted and spread onto a sheet of baking paper and dehydrated till pliable (soooo delicious). Enough on the food. Have a very restful afternoon. Ruby is reading. Patrick is a serial fire lighter and has been collecting grass tree wood
and resin and is fashioning a bowl (this is the 3rd of a 3 piece bowl set he's making for his mum!). They are both in theatre arts. Jens is a serial walker, it helps with his health issues, he is an incredibly resilient fellow- very impressive.
Late afternoon a smoke haze starts coming over the campsite (and not from Patrick's fire), then a massive smoke cloud is visible off in the distance- the sort that changes the colour of the light. We have one of those "what would you do if you were caught in a fire" discussions. It appears to be stationary, we don't think it's going to be a problem for us. Then it just recedes.
Impressions of Nerang Shelter Another hut razed by the 2003 bush fires and rebuilt, the shelter is set opposite a creek and has a really nice feel to it - the creek is dry now, I'd like to come back in spring, I think it would feel like a different place again. Lots of grass trees- the resin is really fragrant when heated up over the fire Body assessment- feeling really great Total people seen for the day - apart from the invisible shooters, just the 3 End to Enders at camp all heading south
****** HIDEOUSLY BEHIND IN WRITING THIS BLOG UP- SORRY!!!!!!
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