Day 66 (1,577 to 1,590 kms)
Today would be a repeat of yesterday. Start the morning with a climb, follow the ridge line for a while, enjoy the native bush and slowly pull into the hut after a long day. The track notes estimate for the day is between 8 and 11 hours, and it took me 9 hours. The recent dry weather means less mud on the trail and faster times.
The morning start was amazing. I was above the clouds which were lingering in the valley below me. I had a cloud free blue sky above me. These are the perfect days to be walking. I had a hill to climb and I wanted to get it done in a single push and get it out of the way. Allowing me to enjoy the views once I got to the top. This strategy worked well. Once at the top I could see the trail ahead of me, and it did not look so bad. This is pretty wild countryside.
My boots and socks were soaked from the dew sitting on the long grasses. The same long grasses that continuously tried to trip me up. I managed to dry out both the boots and the socks during my lunchtime stop. Lunch was at Dracophyllum Hut, a tiny little 2 person hut. It was a good place for lunch, but not sure I would want to stay here. The rainwater tank was low, but enough water for me.
I pushed on to Nichols hut, which was still hours away. The mountain was renetless, either going up or going down, hardly ever going flat. But once below the tree line, the native bush provided some good cover from the sun. I was glad to arrive at Nichols Hut and spent the afternoon just relaxing. I did not really have internet, but the Garmin inReach helped me stay in touch with Caroline.
