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pencil pines
the mist added a rich quality to the scene on to the backpacking part On Tuesday we bid farewell to the couple from Brisbane ("pronounced like Trashbin" the man told me), and Jamie and I headed into the Walls of Jerusalem National Park with two guides all to ourselves. This was my favorite part of our 2 weeks in "Tassie". I think I could live the rest of my life in the backcountry. We saw several logging trucks and at least one hydropower dam on the way from one national park to the other. Eventually the pavement gave way to gravel and we bounced along a while longer. No roads into The Walls; you have to walk.
Nick gave us each a little bit of food to carry, but most of the necessities went into his pack. I couldn't even lift it. He adjusted the configuration of our backpacks, which I had never learned about, and we headed up a steep trail, Nick wearing only hiking shoes (not boots) and a knee brace. No, it wasn't steep like Cradle, but it was pretty strenuous due to packs with all the gear we would need for three (possibly cold) nights.
It was a pretty walk though, and Nick rattled off the names of
cushion plants
delicate, mounded green creatures of the high altitudes many plants for me (great excuse to stop and catch your breath). He also kept feeding us chocolate. I've never eaten so much chocolate in my life. Didn't realize Cadbury's is Australian. Anyway, Anne finally zoomed on ahead of us and went to set up camp. My legs were still sore from the Cradle climb, and even Jamie was moving a little slow. And yes, it's going to be dark by 5:30 again.
So we packed the last hour or so using our headlamps. Would have been tough with flashlights, especially since we each had at least one walking stick to help us along. For me, used to backpacking in North America, the novelty of backpacking in the dark yet not having to be aware of bears, was quite striking.
After a little over three hours we arrived at our "hardened" campsite, which means there are platforms for tents and cooking, and an outhouse, so people don't mash up too much of the terrain. (They've also put in miles of boardwalk trails to protect the vegetation.) We were so hungry, I think I ate about 10 cookies before dinner. But there we were, settled in for three nights.
wallabies
like small kangaroos Except for our fuel bottle catching on fire, and briefly igniting some of the drought-stricken vegetation, the rest of the evening was relaxing. (That was actually way too scary - I thought we were going to die in a bush fire.)
During an excursion to the outhouse in the middle of the night Jamie saw a huge wombat on the boardwalk.
The next day we awoke to a heavy mist. Having arrived in the dark and now waking in a cloud, we still couldn't see where we were, couldn't make out the formations the park is named for. But we had a nice hike that day anyway, the landscape shrouded in muffled mystery. Since there were only two of us, Nick and Ann even took us off track to see some special pencil pine areas, telling us to "fan out" so we wouldn't beat a path. They also showed us some lasting footprints on cushion plants, driving home the fact that we should go out of our way not to step on one.
We saw several wallabies, but no wombats. By then, Jamie had decided, "You know how some people take names like Running Deer or Crouching
mini high altitude vegetion
not sure what I've got here, but this is through the macro lens Bear? Well I'm sleeping wombat." She really wanted to get one on video.
That night we went to bed really early; what do you do when it gets dark at 5:30 and you're camping? We got lots of sleep. And when we awoke, it was sunny. You could see the mountains, the massive rock formations, and our impressive setting at Herod's Gate.
"We'll bag three peaks today," Nick told us. I put nutella and peanut butter on my bread when I heard that. Getting up Mt. Jerusalem was fairly easy with just a day pack. It was a bit cold and windy up there, but so nice to have a clear day and see the incredible views. It's been a while since I've seen that much open land in one stretch.
King Solomon's throne was a bit harder, but some determined trail workers had managed to evoke a stairway out of the narrow rocky shaft that leads up to the top. Every so often Nick would say "edelweiss", but other than that, not many plants on the stone.
The original plan was to walk along the ridge from King Solomon's throne back toward our camp (and
King Solomon's Throne
when the weather cleared on the second day, we finally got to see where we were! crest another summit on the way, King David's Peak), but by mid-afternoon there were ominous clouds in the distance. Explaining that the steep rock surfaces would be dangerous when wet, Nick and Ann took us back down the narrow "stairway" we had climbed.
We did get a third peak, however, not too high.
The next morning we awoke to a steady downpour.
"The good thing about it raining today," I announced, "is that it makes it easier to leave. If it were a beautiful day, you'd never get me out of here."
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