This is the third and final part of my Australian Alps Expedition blog. Section 4 and Post-Expedition will be covered in this blog. Pre-Expedition and Section 1 was covered in Part 1 and Part 2 covered Section 2 and 3. As in Part 2 thanks to Tessa (@Mowgli_tesla) for some of the photos and videos.
Section 4
Start: Dead Horse Gap
Finish: Dead Horse Gap
Days: 6
Distance: 93km
Route Overview: We headed out along the Cascade Trail down to Carters Hut. From there we followed Cowombat Trail down to Cowombat Flat and the Victorian border. We returned to Dead Horse Gap the same way.
It rained for pretty much all of our rest day. Tessa also received a message from the Environmental Officer at Thredbo who then came up and chatted to us about the impacts of the climate on the resort and what they were doing. I also got the news that my Pop had fallen and broken his hip requiring surgery. Then later Wendy joined us for dinner. Wendy was joining for the Victorian sections as Tessa and I couldn’t go into Victoria due to Covid and would turn around at the border. Angela would be leaving this section as she had to head back to uni.
Mum came to pick us up and take us up to Dead Horse Gap where she had dropped Angela off. We said goodbye to Mum and Angela as they would be heading back to QLD. After all the rain I was pleasantly surprised we were able to put our snowshoes on from the start. However the river and creeks were up after all the rain. The bridges across the Thredbo River and Cascades Creek both had the water lapping over them but thankfully we could still cross without getting wet. Just before getting to Cascades Creek there was rainbow right in front of us.
The next day I received the news that Pop’s surgery had gone well which was great to hear. The weather had also cleared. Tessa and I left our snowshoes and some stuff we wouldn’t need stashed in the hut as we were going to be coming back. We continued on down the fire trail which I actually enjoyed with the bush around us. There were also some fungi that I stopped to take some photos of with my micro lens which I hadn’t used yet. I was hoping to try and take some photos of snowflakes but that didn’t happen. I then almost left my walking poles behind and had to go back and get them.
As we headed down towards the border there were heaps of streams coming off the Pilot that looked nice. I planned to take some photos of them on our way back through. We also got a patch of reception so did another recording for the radio interview. While walking we also talked with T and Wendy about what Tessa and I could post on the expedition page while they continued the expedition in Victoria to be able to get more engagement on the page. We got down to Cowombat Flat and the border in good time so had some spare time in the afternoon. I went for a wander around and took some photos of the creeks and the Murray River (more of a creek here) and the views.
We woke to a very frosty morning and waved T and Wendy off across the Murray River before Tessa and I headed back towards Dead Horse Gap. Along the way we stopped several times to take photos of the water coming of the Pilot. We also had the pumpkin soup I had made and dehydrated. It rehydrated really well which we were both happy about. That night when I went to the toilet I noticed a big and clear moon halo. It was the biggest and clearest one I had seen and took some photos of it.
The last bit back to Cascades Hut was a slog. Both Tessa and I were pretty drained from the expedition both physically and emotionally. We vented all our frustrations we had during the expedition so hopefully we could leave the negatives from the expedition behind. We also talked about all the food we would eat when we got back. I was hanging out for a milo, sweet potato fries, Ribena, kangaroo steak and chocolate.
We eventually got back to Cascades Hut were Tessa’s parents were waiting for us. Unfortunately they found the hut in a mess when they arrived. After we had left a few days ago someone had come and used up all the wood that was in the hut and hadn’t replaced it, the outside fire was still slightly warm and had left rubbish everywhere. Tessa’s parents had cleaned up the rubbish and we all helped collect firewood to restock the hut. Thankfully though, they had brought a bunch of goodies for us. We had enchiladas for dinner followed by hot chocolates, marshmallows, biscuits and chocolate. Tessa and I had a great last night of the expedition.
The goodies kept coming on the final day chocolate after breakfast and lollies after a lunch Tessa’s parents made for us. The snow had melted a bit from when we walked in so couldn’t put our snowshoes on until about halfway up to Bob’s Ridge. But we had great views from the top before heading down to Dead Horse Gap. As we were finishing Tessa’s Dad took a hilarious video of us and surprised us by jumping out of the bushes. We then waited at Dead Horse Gap while Tessa’s Dad got his car. There were heaps of people there and also heaps of rubbish most of it being tags from brand new snow clothing. It was disappointing to see it lying everywhere so Tessa and I picked some of it up while waiting.
We then headed home with a detour to Burger Biz in Jindabyne where I got a Milo milkshake and sweet potato fries. We also had heaps of snacks in the car. They then dropped me off in Canberra and we said our goodbyes.
Post-Expedition
371.2km Total distance covered
12 Summits over 2000m
29 Total Days
26 Days Walking/Snowshoeing
3 Rest Days
About the same time that Tessa and I returned the Victorian Covid restrictions changed which meant the expedition would have to pause. T and Wendy made it to Glen Wills. I had my half way drop at Glen Wills so T posted that back to me and I posted their stuff that was left at my place. We also did our daily posts on social media that we had been doing throughout the expedition. I then had a post ready to go for one of sponsors and had some others in the works on the environment. However when I went onto the page to post I found my role had changed and I could no longer post things. T had changed all of our roles without any prior notice or discussion. We later got a message from T basically saying our participation ceased at the Victorian border. We were upset by this as we had discussed about posting things on the last section while they were in Victoria and now T had changed this without prior notice or discussion.
My expedition journal from the expedition that I would write in each night and used to write this blog. Thanks to Outward Bound for the notebook and the buff that I used over my clothes dry bag as a pillow.
I was also planning to do a slideshow about the expedition for my work colleagues at Outward Bound who was also a sponsor. This was met with a response from T saying they are managing the sponsors and not to break the agreements as they were responsible for them. From what I could tell of what T had shared with us Australian Geographic had first magazine rights which we couldn’t break. The sponsorship document hadn’t been updated since before Australian Geographic came on board so it was difficult to see what the issue was and T didn’t give any more clarification. After several more messages from T around the issue of the leadership and safety which was first brought up at the start on Section 3 they removed themselves from the group chat. T also sent messages directly to Tessa and me about how they felt we undermined their leadership, safety decisions and didn’t respect them. The times when we stepped in T was not in a physical or mental state to be making sound decisions and we had grave concerns for all our safety including theirs. This led to a breakdown in communication and Tessa, Angela and I removed ourselves from anything to do with T and the rest of the expedition. The main reason for this was we had several safety concerns and from what we could gather our concerns weren’t been taken seriously and not enough was going to be changed to make it safer. We didn’t want to be part of something that from what we could tell wasn’t been done safely.
One of our safety concerns was the food issue. Over the four weeks Tessa had lost 10kg. I lost 8kg over the expedition and lost a further 6kg afterwards as I struggled to maintain my weight. Angela joined for 2 weeks and had lost about 3kg. If that rate of weight loss continued Tessa had major concerns including if the rate of loss continued for her it could have led to hospitalisation. We don’t know how much weight T lost but given the way they were feeling they weren't getting enough food. There weren’t enough macro or micro nutrients provided and enough food between drops. There also seemed to be a lack of route planning which also affected the food planning. The food we had from Campers Pantry and Feed the Hike tasted great. There just wasn't the right mix and enough of all the food we had. T also seemed to lack knowledge in some areas such as crossing creeks/rivers safely, map reading and navigation plus other areas. From what I know Wendy left when they had to stop due to the Victorian Covid restrictions. T then had another women join them for the next section which they did after the Covid restrictions lifted in Victoria. However I don’t believe they finished the expedition and T removed herself and all the expedition from social media as they needed a break.
While it may seem a lot of the issues that arose pre, during and post the expedition fall back on T I understand they were under a lot of a stress from the expedition and other personal matters. This can and did lead to poor decision making. I tried to and would have helped more with all aspects of the expedition if I was given the tools and opportunity to. I hope T is getting the rest and support they need and deserve and can get back to having safe adventures.
While there were many aspects of the expedition that didn’t go to plan and the aftermath was negative I’m still glad I joined for the first half of the expedition. My highlights were the Main Range especially our camp just before Carruthers, the last night at Cascades Hut with Tessa’s parents and the varying views of Jagungal especially from Grey Mares Hut. Angela and I are now planning on doing the Australian Alps Walking Track in winter on skis.
Angela and I trying out our new skis we plan to do the Australian Alps Walking Track with.
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