Advertisement
Published: April 21st 2017
Edit Blog Post
Day 11
White Horse Hills Shelter to Mt Wells Shelter 16km
Wake up to a kangaroo passing. A short days hiking ahead. An easy breaky around the campfire with my new best friends before they send me off with extra teabags and coffee sachets. I head off at 08:36 on the trail heading up hill and am struck with the realisation that my pack is feeling very comfortable on the up hill- another degree of trail fitness has been achieved I think. The actual walk up hill is superb- lots of rocks, big boulders and granite outcrops. Superb configurations. Other random observations
- golden wattle
- several species of fungi
- overcast skies
- 09:27, 2.3 km in, there are the most incredible views from the granite dome of the southern summit of WHH- almost 360 degrees, lots of rock pools.
- hmm- which way down? The guidebook makes mention of rock cairns but there seem to lots of them, some are scattered and there is no really obvious direction. The compass comes out to determine a westerly descent
- track marker
- emu poo full of red zamia seeds
10:37-
Leaving Camp
Back into the forest time for a cuppa. One of the benefits of sitting in silence in the bush is that you see things (real things- not imaginary things!). This morning I am fortunate enough to see an emu with 2 chicks! Then another emu- very cool. Continuing on I reach an old concrete water tank and a dilapidated lean to, complete with a toilet roll. I don't hang around. Walk on for another half an hour or so before finding a good lunch log. Lots of fungi, lots of birds. The cloudy sky gets cloudier as I start the ascent of Mt Wells and the rain comes down. At 13:55 I reach the Mt Wells hut and fire tower in the rain, sweating and hot. It quickly becomes blustery and cold.
Mt Wells is an interesting spot. It's so totally different to any other spot on the Bibb track. There is actually a hut up here which was used as sleeping quarters by the old fire tower keepers. Mount Wells, being the highest point in the area, was used as a fire lookout for the surrounding timber milling region. The original structures were rebuilt in 1962 (after a fire!) and later renovated
by the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) and a Karnet Prison crew in 1997 for Bibb Track walkers. The hut provides a good respite from the howling wind up here and I take the opportunity to have an indoors wash after sweeping the hut out. The hut consists of a large room with a sleeping platform and a smaller room attached with a couple of tables and chairs, an adjacent third little room has a single size sleeping platform. Inside the bigger room there's also an old wood stove (no longer in operation) and openable glass windows. Cleaned up and warmed up I spend the rest of the afternoon exploring, going up and down the tower looking at the panoramic views, and just generally sitting outside relaxing (until the ground shakes - which I assume is an explosion from the nearby mining operation).
Enjoy a weak fire (really windy and it starts raining again) and a solo dinner- you know that orange cheese sachet that comes with Kraft Macaroni cheese? Well, added to rehydrated spag bol, it tastes extremely good. Finished with two mint dessert biscuits and a coffee and I'm a very happy camper.
I
spend my first night of the walk sleeping indoors. Sleep quite soundly actually (after hiding the axe that is hanging up outside).
Impressions of Mt Wells Hut - It's a very orderly place, a pathway to the loo and a garden of sorts has been constructed by the BTF volunteers and the robins and new holland honeyeaters seem to love it. The new hollands in particular- they zip in and out of the bushes for most of the time I'm there. There's 4G reception. You can hear the mining operations droning on. Body assessment- zero issues Total people seen for the day - 0
Advertisement
Tot: 0.282s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 23; qc: 140; dbt: 0.1059s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb