On Saturday 20th December 2008 I went to the Launceston Transit Centre early in the morning to catch the Tassielink bus to Cradle Mountain. There were heaps of other bushwalkers and hikers already waiting.
With stops in Devonport and Sheffield we arrived at the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre around 11.15am. It was a really nice bus ride with a friendly driver and I tried to make myself realise that there’s no going back from now on, I still wasn’t sure if it’s a good idea to walk 80km through the wilderness with such a heavy backpack.
At the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre I joined the line to collect my Overland Track pass and then I needed to decide whether to take the shuttle bus to Ronny Creek or walk the 7.5km down to the start of the track. Tough decision, I came here to walk, not to take shuttle buses, but in the end I took the shuttle. I simply realised that it would be a very long walk to the first hut anyway, even if I take the shuttle. So I didn’t want to push too hard on the first day already.
At Ronny Creek I sat down for a while to have some lunch and at around 12pm I finally registered at the walkers log book and started the long walk. The weather was great and I felt totally excited, I didn’t really know what to expect.
After a few minutes I thought about returning, because my pack was so heavy I couldn’t think of carrying it around the mountains for 80km or more. But I’m not someone who gives up very quickly and I remembered my cycling trip where something similar happened, and in the end I made it. So I went on.
Before I even reached Crater Lake I needed to fill up my water bottle. I thought (like a few others) there were water supplies at Ronny Creek but there wasn’t (except the creek), so I needed to fill up at a small creek on the way. That was my first ‘wilderness water’ but I wasn’t sure if it actually was a good idea so near to the park boundaries.
Then I passed Crater Lake and climbed up Marions Lookout. Fantastic view from on top of there and maybe it was the view and the silence that gave me more courage to move on, somehow it really felt good with the heavy backpack now. Shortly after Marions Lookout I made the first experience with a mud hole and was glad I invested in a pair of gaiters before I left Hobart.
Around 3.30pm I arrived at Kitchen Hut and it was fantastic sunny weather now. A group of people just left the hut to climb to the top of Cradle Mountain, which would take around 2hours return. I had planned to do this on the second day, but with sunshine until 9pm I decided it would be good to climb up now, because you never know how the weather will be the next day.
So I left my pack in the hut and only took valuables and water bottle with me. Big mistake, I didn’t have a daypack and the climb turned out to be some dangerous rock climbing like I experienced earlier that year in Freycinet when I climbed up Mount Amos. You really need both hands free to do it but even with leaving my bottle on the track I thought about returning halfways, it seemed a bit too dangerous.
For some reason I didn’t return, suppressed the panic and made it to the top, where I met Marc, a nice dutch guy who I would meet again at the end of the trip (see day 7). It was really beautiful up there, fantastic panorama view, absolutely worth the climb but it’s probably better not to climb alone.
I took some photos and after maybe half an hour I noticed the group that climbed up before me was about to leave, so I decided to leave as well, to be able to climb down with other people and not alone – just in case.
Around 5.30pm I reached Kitchen Hut and met Marc again, I had some snacks and after telling him that I would walk an alternative route and not to Waterfall Valley like all the folks, I went on to walk Face Track around Cradle Mountain.
It turned out to be a really difficult track to walk with a heavy backpack, if I had known that in advance I wouldn’t have walked that way. And there was no possibility to fill up my bottle, so after a while I ran out of water, and I was so tired by now I almost broke down. I think I was close to dehydrating because the sun was still shining hot.
I was really glad to see the ranger hut after a while, the hut was marked on my map at the junction to Lake Rodway Track. And even better, there was some water, although not from a flowing creek. Somehow I managed to stumble down to the hut, by now I almost didn’t feel my legs anymore. There I filled my bottle but I was a bit concerned about the water quality from this little tarn, so I decided to throw in one of my water treatment pills. Unfortunately it takes 30 minutes until the water is ready, so I needed to wait.
I didn’t want to wait until it’s ready, so I simply decided to move on in the meantime, still 1-2 hours to walk to Scott Kilvert Hut. At least there was shadow behind Cradle Mountain. I almost can’t remember how I managed to reach Scott Kilvert Hut, I never felt such a pain in my legs before, I was so tired I only stumbled along the track trying not to fall down. I was drinking water from a creek because my water treatment pill still wasn’t ready. It was the real ‘wilderness survival experience’, and it was so late already that I was sure to be the only person left on the tracks around.
Around 8pm I reached Scott Kilvert Hut after 8 hours of walking on the first day. There were only 3 people in the hut, a nice Australian couple that only did a 2 day trip and a nice American that told a lot of stories later that night. They couldn’t believe their eyes how tired I was, I think I needed to sit down for at least 15 minutes before I was able to make any more movements. It was a really shocking experience on the first day, I’m not sure if I ever felt so tired before.
But hey, I had enough food supplies, I could simply spend a whole day at Scott Kilvert Hut and relax before I walk on. And that is what I decided to.
The hut itself was very nice, it’s a two story building and you can sleep on the second floor. As there were only 3 people when I arrived (and two arrived late at night) it was a very quiet night. I can absolutely recommend staying the first night at Scott Kilvert Hut, 99% of all Overland Track people don’t seem to know this hut, so you can easily extend your trip by one night and the scenery around there is really great.
