97.4 km / 60.5 Miles
Today is the last big day of the trip! And what looks to be the last of the good weather! We have been so lucky weather wise!
I am of course up early – mainly because my bladder woke me up at 5.30! The sun hadn’t risen yet when I wonder outside to the bathroom! Its dark, I couldn’t find my flashlight, I’m wearing socks, I’m hopeful for no snakes or really any animals!
Having survived the early morning toilet run, I decide to stay out of bed, and just make my breakfast and a coffee nice and early. The hut is quiet, and no one is up yet. I watch the sun rise from inside the hut. I’m ready to get going and start my day. About 6.30 people start rising slowly, and I end up hanging out and socializing, realizing the little group that we were was about to disperse and everyone was about to separate. Only 2 of us were going to Pine Valley and most were going to Narcissus – either to catch the afternoon ferry and finish the trail or to stay the night before walking out of getting the ferry the next day. Me, I still had 3 days on the trail. By 8am I say my goodbyes, hoping to meet up with a couple of the people back in Hobart but saying happy trails to everyone else! Today is a easy flat walk to Narcissus for most, and a very similar easy trail for Pine Valley too!
After 5km of a little downhill and then flat and easy walking I get to Pine Valley Junction. I’ve been knocking back the painkillers this morning because my feet are in a pain, and I seemed to have somehow rolled my ankle just the wrong way this morning and it’s throbbing. At the junction, I meet the ranger who had just come up from Pine Valley. She is chirpy and full of chatter! And giving me the ‘you should have a PLB’ lecture, and ‘you should be wearing gaiters’ lecture, and ‘do you know what to do if a snake bites you’. Yes I’m aware of a PLB and its importance, Yes I should have one, yes I’m an idiot for not really considering it before. No I don’t need a pair of gaiters, but yes I need to know more about snake bites and what to do if one bites me. Now a little anxious that a snake is going to bite me, I’m not gonna be able to move, I have no PLB so no one is going to know I need help and I’m going to die a miserable lonely death by snake bite on the Pine Valley trail. Haaaaa.
Thankfully that didn’t happen. But, yes, still considering the PLB. Especially if I’m going to continue doing these sort of adventures. Also need to consider some travel insurance I guess. Because Medicare doesn’t cover as much as I thought!
Back to Pine Valley. The hike down the 4.7km trail was nice. You were in the rainforest! It was awesome and felt like you were in the middle of nowhere… hang on it’s pretty much felt like that for a few days now. The hut was small and dark inside but it was good enough – good enough to sleep in for sure. I wasn’t setting my tent up knowing the rain was coming during the night and in the early hours of the morning! I was sleeping in the hut tonight!
I got to the hut just before 12, made some soup and made a little snack bag for the hike up to Acroplois that I was about to do! The ranger had said the hike would take 5-7 hours. I was hoping it would be more on the 5 hour side for sure! I was out at the start of the trail at 12.15.
The initial climb was hard, and steep. It was 300 metres almost straight up on tree roots – sort of reminded me of the Mount Oakleigh climb. This part took a good 45 minutes. Once up the top and out of the trees you came out onto the plateau with views across to park and the first glimpse of Lake St Clair! The Plateau was about 1km of boardwalk which was nice, before a rocky path leading up the side of Acropolis. About 10 minutes into this part of the trail, it got rockier, and sketchier, and the trail kept disappearing. The markers had either fallen down or been hidden, or you just didn’t see them! But slowly I managed my way up. Some parts were quite a scrabble and a rather large rock almost as tall as me presented it self and I was expected to just pull myself up on it… my upper body strength definitely isn’t improving I can tell you that. Anyway, I get up and then reach the summit at around the 2 hour mark!
WOW! It was amazing up the top – best summit so far. At 1481 Metres High. The rock formations were insane, and you got a birdseye view of the ‘Labyrinth’ You could see more of Lake St Clair, you could see the Burt Nichols Hut (Could also see the helicopters coming in and doing their poo pick ups) This was the perfect view to end my summit and mountain hiking on! I stayed up the top for a good half an hour. Really appreciating the beauty of the park, and how lucky I am to be able to hike up here and be out here in this sort of landscape.
Hiking down was okay, although hard on the knees, I took it pretty easy. The big rock I struggled getting up I was nervous about getting down but was actually a piece of cake! I was glad to be back on the Plateau on the boardwalk ad off the rocks for sure! The wind was really starting to pick up now and the clouds were rolling in! Looks like I made it up in perfect timing. The next 300 metres down were slow, but overall the hike took 4.5 hours, which seemed like a pretty good time. Back at the hut my feet are on fire, my blisters are so painful. I walk a few metres down to the stream to soak them in the cold for a bit and then head back for dinner, and then to chill and journal and draw, before reading a book on my ipod and falling asleep around 9pm. With only 3 of us in the hut (and 1 crazy dude in his tent outside) it was a quiet night here at Pine Valley! Hoping the rain will hold of for a morning trip to the Labyrinth or for a dry walk out of Pine Valley!
