71.2 km / 44.2 Miles
Mountain Day!!
It is a clear blue beautiful sky this morning! I am super happy that today is mountain day as the weather has co-operated.
I am awake super early, before the sun is even up. Its 5.50! I head to the hut, make breakfast and coffee and decide to start my day early. There are a few people doodling around in the hut but no one seems ready enough to be leaving yet. With Ossa and Pelion East on the cards today, I wanted to get going! All packed up and ready at 7.40. BAM!
The first 4 km to the junction of both mountains (Pelion Gap) was relatively easy, yet uphill with an elevation gain of 300metres. I arrive at 9.30 secure my pack (from the dreaded currawongs) and leave it at the junction and start the hike up to OSSA!
Mount Ossa
- Tallest mountain in Tasmania
- 1617 Metres High / 5305 feet.
- Part of the Pelion Ranges within Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park.
- Named after Mount Ossa in Greece – following in the theme of classical greek names for mountains set by George Frankland – an early Tasmanian surveyor!
- In 1991 30% of Overland walkers detoured up it… (I wonder how many do now… surely more like 80%)
Surprisingly, the first km or so is boarded and with actual steps, and then it is a well maintained path as you head up and around Mt Doris and down through the saddle leading up to Ossa.
From here the path is less of a path and the start of long scramble. Easy and manageable at first and then with some tricky sections the higher you get up. The scramble up to the ‘fake summit’ is a little difficult but there are markers, and as long as you’re paying attention you will make it up fine. Detouring however makes for some tricky rock climbing (whoops) After the fake summit, you dip down again before the final ascent up to the summit! From the platform below you only see the fake summit as the top, you don’t see the real deal.
Once at the top there was a huge flat open space and a large puddle/little lake (I guess) So green!! And then just to the left was the final path up to the real summit. 1617 metres up on Tasmania’s highest peak!
I spent a good 30 minutes up at the summit, looking out at Pelion East, wondering how my legs were gonna do getting up another mountain. Did I mention the blisters… they are taped up but still incredible painful. Think I’m almost becoming numb to the pain though – especially when I’m moving.
Whilst most people were sitting on the rocks, enjoying lunch, I was jumping around on the rocks, trying to get to the sketchy parts! And hello cell service, I send a few messages and check in with some of my people 🙂 and even get a facetime in and get to share the incredible view I was seeing. We all knew we would get service up the mountain – so everyone was checking in, probably a good point to too, as it was half way through the hike. Good for those in the real world to know we are still alive – we on the other hand are left wondering if corona virus has spread across the globe, and if we are the only survivors.
After a few photos, I start the decent down, mentally preparing myself for another mountain. The way down was way easier and actually okay on the old knees. I reach the platform at 12.30, hang out for a bit, make some soup for lunch, and grab a bag full of snacks to head up mountain number 2. The hiking poles were coming with me this time. My legs were feeling tired!!!
Mount Pelion East was a short and steep up! just 2.4km round trip but up over 300 metres. Ossa was 5.2km round trip with an elevation of 600 metres.
The initial hike up Pelion East again started on a boarded sidewalk and actual steps and quickly turned to just a dirt path headed up. The path was not as well worn as Ossa, but there was a path there and markers to keep people on the same trail. Very easy to wonder off though, and really you could see where you needed to end up from the bottom, so you just headed towards that, and I assume most people would rather just head straight up and not wind around on the ‘path’. The climb was no where near as hard as Ossa, it was actually a lot easier than what it looked from the platform. It wasn’t as daunting for sure. The final summit, at the base of the rock structure was a steep loose scramble up rocks, but it was quick and in just a few minutes you were atop the rocks! You couldn’t go very far as the summit was small. It was cool to be up on the rocks, and see the whole of Ossa, as well as the (again) incredible panoramic views of the National Park.
I mean it when I say, my heart, my mind and my soul were happy. My body was a little sore, but happy inside! ‘Real Life’ really seemed like another world away when you were up here!
There is definitely something about mountain tops that give me something no one or no other place can.
“These mountains that you are carrying, you were only suppose to climb”
The hike down from Pelion East was pretty tough. I was just exhausted at this point, and thinking the heat might be getting to me as well this afternoon. Took me longer than I anticipated to get back down to the platform, but once down there I needed to rest for a bit before the 4km down to Kia Ora. There were still a couple of backpacks at the junction which meant people were still on Ossa. It was 4pm so I was glad to not be last on the trail – I could see this next part of the hike being slow and difficult for my tired body and ripped up blisters!
Yep, the next 4km were miserable. I was physically and mentally drained. It was a super hot day today – and even though I’d been applying sunscreen I was sweating it off just as quick, so I was a little sun burnt 🙁 After Pelion East I was out of water, and just when there is always a stream near by, this time there was nothing for 2km, and that 2km took forever to walk. But a cold stream, refreshing water, was just what I needed – only another 2km to go! I remember a day in Canada where I went hiking 2 mountains in 1 day and I said never again, now I remember why! I was just done. The last 2km was more downhill, with steeper ‘steps’ my backpack was heavy on my back and my body was getting more and more tired. Those last 4km should have taken about 1-1.5 hours but took 2.5!
At Kia Ora I decided to tent again. I wasn’t feeling too sociable and really just wanted some time to myself this evening to relax and recover. I got a platform to myself and a wonderful mountain back drop. I was pretty happy sat by my tent making dinner and then getting an early night- I was asleep before the sun even went down tonight!
4 Summits done! and half way through the Overland 🙂 4 days to go!
