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Journal: |
I slept on the table in the shelter last night which saved
putting up the tent and packing it wet in the morning, but the
wooden table was hard and I didn't sleep as well, so I think it will
be back in the tent tonight.
I got up at 6:30am on a very
cold morning and was hiking by 8:30am. It was very overcast
and everything was wet, but it wasn't actually raining. After
a couple of hundred metres of foot trail, I emerged on a forest road
that showed how close I had been to civilisation last night. A
kilometre or two away, on the other side of Jounama Pondage, was the
pretty alpine village of Talbingo, dotted with autumnal colour.
However, close as it seemed, it was eight kilometres by road to get
there, so I wasn't that close as a hiker.
The next 10km was a
detour from the official Hume & Hovell route which was closed
because of a landslip. Warwick Hull, the trail coordinator,
had told me in Tumut that it was one of the prettiest sections,
following the route of a very old tourist road from Talbingo to
Buddong Falls and that work was underway to reopen it. I'll
have to come back. The detour followed a little-used forest
road that climbed and followed a forested ridge. It was quite
pretty eucalypt forest and, apart from having to negotiate my way
around a number of huge puddles bordered by blackberries, and a very
steep and long final climb, it was quite a pleasant walk. As
is my early morning habit I listened to various current affairs
programs on the radio as I walked. The presenter of ABC Radio
National's "Life Matters" program between 9am and 10am each morning,
is Natasha Mitchell who, as the daughter of friends at the time
(since lost touch), was someone we knew and occasionally babysat as
a 10yo, 30 years ago. I haven't seen her since, but she was
pretty smart then and has gone onto bigger and better things.
At the end of the detour, I reached the Buddong Falls Picnic
Area in light rain and feeling quite cold because of the elevation I
had gained in the last 10km. I found the signage surrounding
the detour a little confusing but, with the help of my GPS, worked
out the most likely route which was proved correct. For the next
few kilometres, the route followed foot trails and old firetrails
that overlooked the continuous rocky cascades of the rushing Buddong
Creek in the forested valley below to reach Buddong Hut. The
Hut looked the same vintage as many of the cattleman's huts on the
alpine High Plains, but was in poor repair, probably because it was
accessible by forest road. There had been goldmining in the
area many years ago and that may have led to the building of the
hut.
Despite the cold (now around 1200m altitude) and
occasional showers, I found the next 10km of trail some of the most
attractive so far. It was a well-marked foot-trail most of the
way crossing a high alpine plateau populated with snow gums and a
tussocky undergrowth. It was easy walking and evidence of
brumbies (wild horses) was abundant in large piles along the track.
Probably one of the reasons it was well-worn. I didn't see any
brumbies, but imagined I occasionally heard the sound of hooves or a
distant snort. There were some fresh tracks, so they were
definitely around. I kept moving briskly to generate some
warmth as I walked and toyed with the idea of stopping and adding
some layers, but survived OK.
Soon after 4pm I emerged on the
shore of the very pretty Paddy's River Dam, a beautiful alpine lake,
and followed its shoreline around to the Campsite. I quickly
set up camp, had a wash, and cooked some dinner wearing pretty much
all of the clothing I'm carrying. After dinner I updated my
diary and prepared for what is going to be a very cold night.
I am booked into a motel in Tumbarumba tomorrow night but have a
longish day (28km) before I reach the road down which I'll have to
find a ride to town.
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