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Journal: |
It was very cold when I got up at 6am, having woken a number of
times during the night with the cold. There was heavy condensation
in the tent, and a heavy frost on the outside. Once I was up and
outside the tent, the condensation inside turned to ice. As I packed
up and breakfasted, the other residents got up and did the same, and
we chatted as we prepared for the new day. By the time I got around
to packing my tent, it was pretty much frozen solid and I had a lot
of trouble getting the ice off and out of it before packing it,
getting very cold hands in the process. I bade my fellow campers
farewell and headed off soon after 8am in bright sunshine though I
was still wearing warm gear.
After about an hour, I needed to strip down to shorts and t-shirt
because of the warmth. Most of the day was then spent traversing the
Jagungal Wilderness Area on old, now unused, 4WD tracks. The route
followed alpine streams through alpine meadows, frequently forded
the streams (which were often a challenge to cross without getting
wet), and climbed over low passes or sidled around mountains. I
seemed to have it to myself and relished the isolation, wilderness,
and perfect weather.
I had decided to try and get to Mackays Hut, which would make it
my longest day yet. Doing that would put me on track to get to the
end a day earlier than planned. I wasn't getting particularly tired
walking, the weather was great, and it seemed sensible to make
maximum use of the daylight available given that the days are
getting shorter. At lunch I laid out my tent and sleeping bag to
dry. The tent was still full of ice! However, as usual, it
dried quickly and my afternoon's walking passed the same way as the
morning as I skirted the imposing Mt Jagungal.
At 4:30pm I passed O'Keefe Hut and found some workers there
installing a new environmental toilet amongst other things. I
decided to stick to my plan and carry on even though I still had
some way to go. I ended up walking into almost total darkness by the
time I reached Mackays Hut at 6:45pm. It was empty and reasonably
good though, annoyingly, it was now too dark outside to work out
where the nearest water source was. Instead, I had to backtrack
about 300m to where I knew there was a stream. Not far, I know, but
irksome at the end of a long day. Knowing I was saving a day, and
being very hungry, I ate two main courses for dinner. It was a very
clear and brilliantly starlit night outside. Probably going to be
cold again. I'll wear extra clothes tonight. Went to bed around 9pm.
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