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We woke up in the new year to a heavy mist. So misty you could almost call it rain,
but not quite. Still, everything was starting to get a bit wet, so we decided to
head to the hut to eat breakfast. We lugged over our bear canister and stove and
had breakfast.
As we took down our wet tent and packed our backpacks in the mist, I fretted a bit
as I saw other groups starting off on the trail ahead of us. I knew we had a long
day of hiking ahead of us, and almost everyone was surely headed to Pelion Hut
today. We'd definitely want to stay in the hut tonight, so I wanted to be sure
we got there before it was filled.
We were one of the last to get started, around 9:40am. The trail starts off mostly
on boards. We had our pack covers on, but I hadn't bothered to put on my rain pants
yet. It still wasn't really raining. But as we hiked over exposed terrain with the
wind blowing the mist sideways onto our legs, I began to regret that decision.
Flowering scoparia in the mist
Bundled up against the mist
On the bright side, we did start passing people. After passing through a long
open plain, we reached the intersection for the Forth Valley Lookout. There was
no reason to stop since there was nothing to see - everything was completely overcast
and visibility was getting worse by the minute. We were very glad to finally reach the
forest, where we found a couple taking a break to put on their rain gear as
well. They were also doing the track in 6 days like us, and we'd see them at the end.
A break in the forest
After putting on our rain pants, it of course didn't really rain. The forest protected
us from the winds and the mist. Much of the next part of the trail remained in
forest, first climbing up, then down. We passed the group of 6, then stopped for
a lunch break in the forest.
Hiking through the forest
Hiking in the fog
Flowering scoparia
More fog and eucalyptus
Double planks
We continued to play leapfrog with the group of 6, continuing our descent down to Frog
Flats. We finally exited the forest. The weather was better now to the point that I
took off my jacket and put on sunscreen (though still kept the pack cover and rain
pants). The trail follows a lot of wooden planks in open forest, then passes the
Old Pelion Hut. We decided not to stop here for now, continuing on another 10-15
minutes to reach the new Pelion Hut.
Frog Flats
Double planks through the forest
The Pelion Hut is the biggest on the Overland Track. It comfortably sleeps 36, in 6 separate
areas of 6 bunks each. We got one of the more private ones (some of the rooms have an open
door to another room). We needn't have worried about getting bunks, as we were one of the
first ones there. Only two ladies and the group of 6 beat us to the hut.
Inside Pelion Hut
We spread out our tent outside to let it dry in the wind. Then we did the short side trip
back to Old Pelion Hut. Note, the hike to Pelion Hut was 9.6 miles in 5 hours, 41 minutes,
with 1220 feet of
climbing and 1770 feet of descent. The numbers listed for this day include the 1.7 mile
side trip to Old Pelion Hut (47 minutes, about 140 feet of climbing).
We backtracked on the trail to the intersection, then walked another 5 or so minutes
to the old hut. It was built in 1916 and is now for emergency use only. There's not much
to see, though there are some old log books there if you have time to read some of the
entries. There are also some nice views of the surrounding area on the way to/from the
hut.
Eucalyptus near the Old Pelion Hut
Old Pelion Hut
Buttongrass plains in between the old and new huts
Duckboard near Old Pelion Hut
Mount Oakleigh
Mount Oakleigh
Mount Oakleigh
Mount Oakleigh
After we returned to the hut, we had dinner. Then it started to rain. Our tent, which had
almost dried out, become wet again. We packed it away.
Gerard and Therese decided to
camp in their tent tonight, but they did come to the hut for dinner. Since Gerard had
done the Overland Track years ago, we asked him for some advice. Originally, we
had planned to hike to Kia Ora tomorrow, then Narcissus Hut the next night before hiking
all the way out on the final day. Jared looked at the map and thought it would be
better if we hiked to Windy Ridge tomorrow, then Echo Point the next day. As it happened,
Gerard had been to both places and thought that was a good idea. He said if we stopped
at Kia Ora, we'd be there by lunch. Though some people would do side trips before Kia Ora,
that wasn't our plan. The Echo Point hut did not look inviting to say the least, but he
said he camped in a tent there without a problem. He did warn us that we might see
tiger snakes on the trail after Echo Point, though he said they would scurry away from us.
Tiger snakes are potentially fatal, though, so we'd be careful. In any case, after
our discussion we decided we would follow Jared's plan.
As I was filtering water after dinner, I saw a wallaby near the rainwater tank outside.
I told others about the wallaby as I rushed inside the hut to get my camera. Later,
we saw its baby wallaby nearby.
Baby wallaby
Baby wallaby
Just before bed I went to the toilet and got a big surprise. At the bottom of the pit
was...a rat. Someone it had gotten in there (I'm still not sure how, since it's sealed
as far as I know), and I'm pretty sure it couldn't get out. (No way it could climb up.)
Even so, I couldn't stomach using that toilet, so I used the other one.
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