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The night seemed long, sleeping on the floor of the hut, but
eventually 5:30am arrived and I got up and quietly packed up and
breakfasted. It had started raining in the early hours and was still
raining steadily when I left at 7am after a chat with one of my
fellow campers. The clouds were low and the rain looked set in,
though forecast to clear in the afternoon.
The trail climbed through temperate forest to Murray Gap before
descending into Cotter Valley. I was wet and a bit cold, but the
damp forest made a pleasant contrast to the dry plains of yesterday.
The pleasantness ended on the long climb to Cotter Gap that was
mostly on single-track overgrown with sopping wet vegetation. Not
quite as bad as back in Victoria, but pretty bad. Soon I was very
wet and quite cold. Having to ford the swollen Cotter River, giving
me wet boots and socks didn't help my mood. I was ready for it to be
over. However, there was no alternative to moving briskly to keep
warm, and I made reasonable time, passing through the small alpine
valley at Cotter Gap and then beginning the descent to the Orroral
Valley.
Soon after lunch, I reached a gravel road and knew the wet
undergrowth was behind me. My mood lifted as the occasional rays of
sun made it through the cloud. The picturesque Orroral Valley,
bordered by craggy ridges, had once been grazing land but was now
the home of many grey kangaroos. I had my afternoon break by the
Orroral River with 8km to go to Honeysuckle Creek (the site of a
dismantled space tracking station), that started with an ascent I
dreaded. The climb is part of the Deep Space Mountain Marathon
course and I still had vivid memories of my struggle up the climb a
snowy November a couple of years ago. It wasn't any easier this
time, but I just kept plugging away and eventually made it to the
National Park Campground soon after 5pm.
I have just 16km to go to the end of the AAWT from here and
should be there by noon tomorrow. Looking forward to it, though
enjoyed my peaceful last evening setting up camp and eating by the
light of a setting sun.
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