Most people that do the Overland Track do it during the booking season from September to May and not many do it over winter. Some of those that have or attempted to do it in winter say there is a reason that you don’t need to book over winter, so why did Angela and I want to do it in winter? One of the main reasons was to prepare us a bit for the Australian Alps Walking Track next winter and the track wouldn’t be as crowded.
This is Part 1 of our Overland Track blog covering the first half of the trip. Part 2 is here which covers the last half of the trip. There is also a video here.
Compared to the Larapinta Trail last year we found the logistics a bit harder this time as we didn’t have a friend nearby that could drop us at one end or stay with. We decided to drive down to Tasmania taking the Spirit of Tasmania and left our car at Lake St Clair. From there we got transport with Wild Island Adventure around to Cradle Mountain where we had booked accommodation. However with the weather the week prior our original accommodation cancelled due to power outages days before we were leaving. So I managed to get us accommodation at Waldheim Cabins which I think actually worked out better for us.
Food was pretty straight forward as usual with the main differences this time checking it was ok to take it into Tasmania. The main thing was as long as it’s cooked and not fresh. We had plenty of food from previous trips and work that was either already dehydrated/freeze-dried or dehydrated ourselves. This was going to be the most number of days food we had ever carried. This along with extra winter gear would make our packs close to or the heaviest packs we had ever carried especially at the start. We also needed some extra gear for this trip such as another pair of snowshoes which we were hoping to borrow from a friend however wasn't able to get them to us in time. Since we weren't able to get them we hired a pair for Mont for Angela which ended up been the same ones as I've got. We also brought some microspikes and yak traxs for icy and snowy sections but wasn't enought for snowshoes. It would be the frist time using them and great way to try them especially if we use them on the AAWT next year.
Day 1
Waldheim Cabins to Waterfall Valley Hut
Distance: 10.4km
After packing our packs and doing the last of the clean up of our cabin we left before 8am. After signing the log book we headed out and it wasn’t long before we saw our first wombat. We continued on up passed Crater Falls were we stopped while I took some photos. From there we headed up to Crater Lake and passed the boat shed. The weather was cloudy and foggy and cleared occasionally and we glimpsed some great views across the lake and saw some waterfalls on the other side of the lake. From there the track become steeper and at times rock scrambled which was helped with a chain in places up to Marions Lookout. We stopped there for some morning tea but didn’t have much of a view as it was still cloudy and didn’t really clear much while we were there.
After passing lots of patches of snow all morning there was finally enough to put our snowshoes on just after Marions Lookout. I could also see what I believe was ski tracks just along from where we put our snowshoes on. We snowshoed all the way to Kitchen Hut where we had an early lunch. The weather hadn’t improved so decided not to do any of the side trips today. Just as we were leaving some people doing a day trip arrived and also some others that had also started the Overland Track today. As we continued on we saw another wombat and passed the emergency bubble as it started raining lightly. After the Barn Bluff turn off the snow started to thin as we started heading down towards Waterfall Valley Hut. It wasn’t long before we took our snowshoes off which was then closely followed by putting our micro spikes and yak traxs on. This was the first time we had used them and they helped a lot with grip on the snow and ice on the track down to Waterfall Valley Hut. We were soon heading down through some more vegetation and also saw some rocks which had smaller rocks within them. The cloud cleared for a bit and finally had some sunshine come through. Just before arriving at the hut we saw our third wombat for the day. After arriving at the hut we had a look around at the numerous streams and also had a peek at the old hut. There were two others at the hut that night and had the heater going so it was nice and warm when we got there. They were doing a multi-day trip just around Cradle Mountain. We then set up and cooked up some spaghetti bolognese for dinner.
Day 2
Waterfall Valley Hut to Windermere Hut
Distance: 10km
We left early morning and put our micro spikes/ yak traxs on soon after. Later in the morning one of Angela’s yak traxs came off and the other soon after. We had a bit more of a fiddle with the strap that didn’t seem to fit properly when we had put them on before the trip to see how they fitted. The yak traxs had seemed to fit but the strap didn’t. We tried a different way that just seemed to work and worked for the rest of the trip. Luckily I was behind when they came off so noticed straight away.
The weather was still similar to yesterday but decided to do the Lake Will side trip. As we headed out to Lake Will the snow became more constant again and after potholing a bit we put our snowshoes back on. It was hard to following the track at times as the snow covered the boards and if you stepped just to the side of the boards the snow would collapse underneath you would slip to the side. We made it to the lake for an early lunch. On the way back to the main trail we decided not to put our snowshoes back on as we had already broken the trail and the snow was now getting really slushy. We made it back to the main trail in good time and continued onto Windermere Hut. There were a few more gaps in the clouds in the afternoon which allowed us to see more of the distant mountains. It was then quite windy as we passed Lake Windermere just before getting to the hut by mid-afternoon. A new hut is being built which we also passed before getting to the current hut. After getting to the hut we changed into some dry clothes and turned the heater on to dry our damp clothes. Two others arrived later in the after on their way back to Cradle Mountain after being out for a few days.
Day 3
Windermere Hut to New Pelion Hut
Distance: 17.8km
We left at about our usual time in the morning and the weather was still the usual cloud, wind and drizzle. The Forth Gorge Lookout had a great view of even more clouds. Some of the little lakes that are usually next to the track had burst their banks onto the tracks so had some fun getting through and around them. We had a quick morning tea break amongst some shrubs that blocked a little bit of the wind. The track then started heading down towards Frog Flats through some more vegetation and plenty of fast flowing streams with the bigger ones having bridges over them thankfully. We stopped for lunch next to some of them and took some photos. As we emerged from the forest onto Frog Flats the cloud had cleared a bit and we some views up to Mt Ossa.
We then headed up towards New Pelion Hut and detoured to Old Pelion Hut where we had afternoon tea. After arriving at New Pelion Hut we did our usual turning on the heater and drying our outer layers. Just as we were about to eat dinner a group arrived from the Arm River Track and they used the other side of the hut.
Day 4
New Pelion Hut to Kia Ora Hut
Distance: 11.5km
Again it was the usual morning weather but the cloud cleared a little and we got to see some of the cliffs on the edge of Mt Oakleigh. The morning was mostly uphill getting up to Pelion Gap. Along the way we saw a few wallabies and lots of creeks cascading down with one that had a lot of water and heard it well before we got to it. We put our snowshoes back on just before getting to Pelion Gap where we stopped for morning tea. While we had morning tea another person came through from Kia Ora Hut and stopped briefly for a snack before continuing on down to New Pelion Hut.
We decided to try and summit Pelion East as the weather was slightly better than it had been and it was the closer of it and Mt Ossa. We continued up on snowshoes but then took them off once it became rockier. As we got close to the summit and the last rock scramble section which was wet and slippery we decided not to go further and headed back down. The clouds cleared at times and got some great views across to Mt Ossa. We also got the first reception we had since Kitchen Hut so sent a photo to some family and friends. When we got back to our packs some currawongs had managed to get into the brain of our packs and hooked out some of our snacks. We had clipped them up as we knew they were a problem and they somehow managed to open them a couple of centimetres to get to the food. After some lunch we continued on snowshoes down towards Kia Ora Hut. As the snow got patchier we again took our snowshoes off for the last time of the trip and made good time down to the hut. The weather improved throughout the day and we had great views of the mountains around from the hut although it did rain a bit more after arriving at the hut.
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