Day 9 - Wreck Beach

Date: 18/12

Well they weren't kidding. The trail did get a lot more challenging today, and I did some damage to my Snickers supply at dinner.

As usual, my early start meant a lot of kangaroos:

Roos in the Mist

How many roos can you see?

At one point, I felt like I was back in Tennessee on the AT.

Déjà vu

The original roos.

Most of the walking was steep descents and then steep ascents. The rewards were non-stop though. Every point I climbed over offered stunning coastal views, and every descent yielded beautiful rainforest like growth and beaches.

Some of the wildlife was exciting, in the sense that I almost stepped on what appeared to be a mulga snake, which is odd because they aren't typical this far south. Just another Queenslander escaping the humidity for a holiday on the south coast I guess. Still, nothing gets your heart pumping faster than one of Australia's native people-killers rearing up into a strike position. I looked into its eyes and there was nothing but darkness there. I guess I backed off far enough to make it happy though, since it eventually just slithered its little soul-less self across the path and out of (my) harm's way.

"Please don't kill me please don't kill me please don't kill me"
(looking closer, I think it's an Eastern Brown)

There were also some more benign encounters.

The rest of the day was less eventful. I managed to hit Wreck Beach just after low tide which meant I could explore it a bit. The ruined anchors and machinery from destroyed ships are a nice reminder of why I don't fuck with the ocean. I made sure to get past any narrow bits long before the tides rolled in and made camp around 5pm.

Pretty sure this one didn't actually land like this.

I swear I'm not just downloading Google Images.

Devil's Kitchen Campground should be renamed Dunnyview, because the toilet block has an absolutely stunning view. If there had been a decent sunset, this is where I would have come to see it. Sadly the clouds ruined my sunset once again, but not before I snapped some beautiful shots of Wreck Beach in the golden light.

'Waiter, could you seat me near a window?"

"Will this do?"

Once again, looking away from the sunset paid off.

Final day tomorrow, which means both the 12 Apostles, and a meal that isn't made of wraps or ramen. To the finish!

Day 6 - Great Ocean Walk

Date: 15/12

Melbourne was a bit of a break from the countryside, involving a lot of eating and drinking and trying not to get washed away in the rains. Yesterday I made my way to Apollo Bay and organized myself for the walk. All of that is to say that you didn't miss much.

This morning I finally set out on the Great Ocean Walk. The forecast was for a lot of rainy weather, clearing a bit in the afternoon.

Rain meant I didn't want to take my camera out so it was a (largely) camera free day, which is too bad since the first few kms produced a seal on the beaches around Marengo. I've seen seals before, but I've never been 20m from one just lounging on a rock. After that the walk entered the forests, which were pretty, but in the unphotogenic way that characterizes grey wet days in the forest. I met a few hikers, including a large, supported tour group that is camping with me for the first three nights.

This guy hung out eating in the trees on our campground.

But the highlight of the day, no doubt, was seeing my very first, second, third, fourth, and fifth koalas in the wild! This included one misty silhouette of a koala high in the trees grunting at the other koalas around, and one mother with her joey on her back.

I can finally check koala off the list of Australian wildlife to see.

I had to do 22km today, and wasn't sure how long that would take. Between that and the rains, it was a pretty business-like day of hiking and I found myself at camp around 1pm. This was way too much time to spend at camp, so from now on I'll be taking it much easier. Fortunately there were a number of koala around to stare at for ridiculous amounts of time, much to the amusement of the Aussies who are used to them.

Anyone know what this is? Angler fish? Puffer fish?

Camp was nice and near a beach (which produced this puffer? angler? fish), but pretty foggy. An earlier campsite had not had any suitable trees for hanging a hammock, so I was a bit worried that I had set myself up for a very uncomfortable few nights. Fortunately, this campground had lots of spots for hammocks and so it was all good.

Since I'd decided to carry my heavier camera gear, I had also decided not to bring a stove or pots in order to save space and weight. This means that all of my dinners will consist of wraps with cheese and sausage*, or peanut butter and granola. Under normal circumstances, this would be fine, but tonight it seemed a bit underwhelming next to the tour group's catered dinner of sausage curry stew.

But even a boring meal can't ruin the feeling of sitting on a beach watching the surf come in while I write this.

* I would really have preferred tuna, but it's hard to find the soft foil packets of tuna in Australia. This also means I won't be revisiting Blueberry Crisp's preferred meal of a tuna and peanut butter wrap. Stop making that face. It's much tastier than you think.

Day 124 - Spaghetti In My Shoe (2/11/2016)

There was spaghetti in my shoe this morning. We're still confused about a) where the spaghetti came from, b) how it got in my shoe, and c) what it means.

I think it's a miracle of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Others have blamed squirrels. I guess we'll never know.

Other than my Pastafarian baptism, today was marked by laundry, all you can eat Chinese buffet, friendly Virginians in Pearisburg, and a lot of laughter.

I also finally made it to some mailed treats from my colleagues in Sydney. We stuffed our faces with Tim Tams, Anzac biscuits, and other assorted deliciousness. Thanks so much, friends down under.

Start: Rice Field Shelter 

End: Docs Knob Shelter 

Distance: 15.7 miles

Finish Date: Dec 1-10 (based on recent mileage)

[Ed. Note 2020-10-26: Four years later, Blueberry and Flatlander have admitted that they were the squirrels.]

Day 118 - (27/10/2016)

Another early start this morning, with Flatlander and I hitting the trail at 7. Nothing really remarkable to note. More beautiful autumn hiking, and some nice views. Near the end of our day we ran into a friendly couple who were out watching for hawks. They gave us water, pretzels, goldfish, and grapes and we had a good chat. Blueberry Crisp (a hiker from Québec City) caught up to us, and we all three made our way to the shelter.

Tomorrow we head into Townville for showers and laundry at the fire hall , then on to Daleville for resupply and BBQ!

Start: tentsite

End: Wilson Shelter 

Distance: 23.9 miles

Day 116 - Dog Days of Autumn (25/10/2016)

Coldest morning to date. Temperatures dropped to 2 Celsius, which would have been colder at elevation. The wind didn't help. Between that and the start of an illness (a cold, of course), it was a slow start. And an odd one.

Around a half hour into my walk, I saw a motionless lump in the middle of the trail. Now, the trail here was narrow, and with a steep ascent on my left, and a steep drop on the right. I thought maybe someone had dropped a piece of gear. Until it lifted its head and i realized it was a dog! Clearly a family pet, since it had both a collar with a bell on it, and either a bark collar, or an invisible fence collar. In any case, I tried to get her to come to me but she was very wary and immediately started down the trail. She'd go up a but, stop and look back, then when I got too close she'd move on again. Eventually I lost her at a fork in the road where I think she took the side trail.

Too bad. I'd built up a little fantasy where her owners didn't want her back, so I had her join me all the way to Springer. In any case, I hope her family finds her soon.

The day ended in Glasgow, VA when I (and 3 other hikers) waited over two hours for a hitch into town. It turned out there was a nice town-provided shelter with power and a hot shower. That and the chance to have some wine and play gin rummy was enough to keep me in place.

Start: near Saltlog Gap

End: Glasgow VA

Distance: 8 miles