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I left Thredbo at 6:30am and was told at hotel reception that it
was -2C. It was foggy outside but following the Merritts Spur Track
up from Thredbo to the top of the chairlift, I was soon above the
cloud and warm enough. The climb was steep with big steps in places
and was a test for my knees with the heavy pack. I took it slowly
and steadily and enjoyed the early morning views over the
cloud-filled valleys. From the top of the chairlift, it was easy
walking along a metal pathway (to protect the alpine vegetation from
heavy foot traffic) for the 6km to Mt Kosciusko and I had the place
to myself. It was sunny and still - perfect.
The official AAWT doesn't go to the top of Kosciusko (2228m) but
I dropped my pack at the track junction and walked the 1km to the
top. There were already a couple of day hikers there, but they left
soon afterwards and I had the highest mountain in Australia to
myself. By the time I returned to my pack there were lots of hikers
on their way to the top (having taken the chairlift up from Thredbo
once it started operating).
From Kosciusko I followed the Main Range northwards and had
superb views in every direction on a sunny day. The track kept high
on The Great Divide and I stopped on Carruthers Peak (2145m) for a
panoramic lunch at noon. From there the track was less defined but,
being well above the tree-line, it was easy enough to work out the
route from the topology. Later in the day, the navigation became
harder, but I never got lost. I decided to push on to White Rivers
Hut, even though it was going to be a long day. It would get me past
the higher ground in case there was fog in the morning, and it would
save me putting up my tent.
The last high section was across The Rolling Ground where there
were no tracks and just rocky outcrops on an otherwise featureless
alpine landscape. It would be easy to get lost, especially in foul
weather. It was starting to get dark when I finally found the track
down to the Hut which I reached at 6:00pm.
There were some National Parks workers there, rebuilding the Hut
(which was unusable), along with two northbound AAWT hikers, Rob and
Jill. I put up my tent in a less than ideal spot in the dark and
then cooked and ate my dinner by their fire while we all chatted.
The workers had a generator right next to my tent, so it wasn't a
very quiet night!
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