Keeping an eye on weather and the track

Welcome to Melbourne's winter!  The cold and wet has settled in for the season and I find myself accessing how this will effect Tim and I as we complete the Australian Alps Walking Track in November.

This week has been a real drenching, we have received a months worth of rain in the last day or two and flooding is scattered through some of the areas near the track.  You can see below that heavy rains have come through near Mt Baw Baw, Dinner Plain & Omeo, all areas we will be in or close to in November.  

On a positive note, if we have a wet winter the 3 litres each of fresh water both Tim & I will need everyday will become much easier to source!

On the downside, Tim & I have seen the destruction that flood can cause to bush areas.  The water may drain through but the rubbish it leaves makes life difficult.  When we camped at Black River (night 4 on our schedule) we could see up stream the massive log jams that clogged the area from the last flood.  Contractors have cleared from the camp down stream about 500m so that access is easier for the AAWT hikers but north of there is still jammed today.  I hope this fresh down pour doesn't flood the area with trees once more.

We recently read in a 4X4 magazine as well on Bush Victorias website ( thanks to Allan Gamble for letting us know about the article) that there has been significant clearing done in the areas we got bogged in last year.  Tim & I are both very excited to see what the place looks like now that its been cleared up.  Hopefully this winters weather doesn't destroy the area too much.

I also notice today that track legend John Chapman has updated his website with new track conditions.

See notes below as taken from John Chapman's site.  These notes work in with his trail book which can be purchased at http://www.osp.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&keyword=australian+alps&search_in_description=1&categories_id=&manufacturers_id=&pfrom=&pto=&dfrom=&dto=

Anyone who wants to follow us while we are the trail can see through this book what we are experiencing day in and day out.

Current Track Conditions

It can be difficult to keep this up-to-date as storm damage and scrub regrowth from fires is unpredictable and also rangers and others may clear tracks without telling anyone else about it. This will be a summary of the latest I have heard about the condition of parts of the track and also planned track clearings.
Note - these changes all effect track times, if it has been cleared then expect to take less time and if a section is currently ovegrown expect it to take much longer. Its impossible to update track times as conditions keep changing and its hard enough just finding out what has recently changed.
Mt Baw Baw plateau - most of the plateau has been recently cleared of scrub by both volunteers and park staff, its now better than the photo on page 49.
Black River to Licola Road - was badly effected in 2006 fires and has been recently cleared by park staff.
Mt Sunday - the old vehicle track from the summit to Low Saddle has been cleared by park staff
Catherine Saddle to Barry Saddle - currently lots of treefall and VERY DENSE low regrowth scrub. Park staff have recently cleared and marked much of it but they expect more treefall and regrowth so dont expect the work to have made walking easy, at least you now should eb able to follow the track.
Barry Saddle to Harry Shepherds Track - burnt in 2003 fires, old track currently scrubby.
Van Damme Track to East Riley Road - burnt in 2003 fires, overgrown with some treefall - slow going, improved recently but expect to take longer.
Mt Bogong - burnt in 2003 fires, Duane and T-Spur have both been recently cleared, they have been cleared several times since the 2003 fire but keep overgrowing, this is a problem in many of the fire effected areas.
Mt Wills to Omeo Highway - burnt in 2003 fires, cleared and marked in January 2012 by volunteers
Omeo Highway to Gill Creek - page 128 - has been cleared and currently fairly easy.
Buenba Hut Site to Dead Horse Creek (page 140 to 146) was cleared and remarked in 2011, some by volunteers and some by contractors, should be fairly easy to follow for a few years.
Volunteer track clearings - Bushwalking Victoria organises voluntary clearing of many tracks including the AAWT. In recent years they (we often participate ourselves) have cleared Deadhorse Creek, Thomson River area, Baw Baw Plateau and Mt Will. Its mainly the same dozen people who come along and we really do need more to participate. Instead of complaining about overgrown tracks, why not assist to
Next track clearing for volunteers -2 clearings held in 2011/12 summer, one on Baw Baw Plateau to do a final cleanup, the other was at Mt Wills to reduce re-growth from 2003 fires, next clearings not yet announced.

Day 4 - Mt Skene then Hitch hiked to Jamieson

So the final instalment of our 4 day adventure was going to be less eventful than the 3 days already travelled.  Wake up, climb from Rumpff Saddle along the Barkly Jeep Track to the Jamieson-Licola Rd and just keep walking till about 3pm when our ride come past.

Tim & I were both keen to get started in the morning for a couple reasons.  We had eaten 3.5 days worth of food so our packs were a couple kilo lighter than when we started, so that was pretty exciting.  We were going to see our wives and kids, so that was also very exciting.

We set out about 8am with a real energy to see the end of the trail.  We started our day with a 400m ascent out of Rumpff Saddle, over 2-3 km or so.  We didn't really mind it, we knew it was the only challenge for the day so we got stuck into it.  From Rumpff Saddle to Mt Skene is a wonderful summit of Ghost gum swept hill sides.  As we near the the Jamieson-Licola Road we can hear a car coming up the track.

We meet Bernie, Warwick and Dave who have been hiking together for 30 years and are coming back to do the final stages of the AAWT from Rumpff Saddle to Walhalla.  They had done the balance a couple years ago but fell short of Walhalla on their end to end attempt so have come back to finish the job.

They have been hiking through this area for years mind you and had done these sections previously.  When we spoke of our ordeal from yesterday, of black river and the 7hrs of bush bashing, Bernie's comment was that it was the hardest section of track he had done in his 30 years on the trails.

In hind sight this made both Tim & I feel good.  It reassured us that as a Team we could take on the AAWT end to end, and enjoy it.  As we left & the guys drove off, Bernie stopped and yelled out that he had a pecan danish .... with 20 kilos on my back I still broke the Olympic 100m dash record getting that danish out of his hands before he finished his sentence.  Ahhh, fresh food.

The next 5 hours are walked along the gravel road.  We had 2 or 3 vehicles go past us in the opposite direction.... oh how we were hoping someone would be coming our way.  We walked past a hunter that had about 6 hounds in the back of his truck, and a nice buck on his roof.  He was waiting for his last dog to come home.  He was parked there as his dog was trained to return to the stop he left the car.  We then had 3 dirt bikes pass us.  How our hearts raced when we heard then, hoping they were cars but as they came around the corners we were disappointed.  There were 2 topics that had Tim & I walking at about 5km per hour (up from about 3km previously), TGIF restaurant and our wives and kids.  About 1 hour into this combined conversation we got the map out and Tim noticed we had knocked off some major kilometers.

Finally at 2pm, 3 four wheel drives drove past.  The first 2 went on past but the last vehicle stopped.  New Zealand John drove us down to Jamieson and let us off at the Brewery bridge.  If was nice to get out of the direct sun and the look of the Thompson River was too good to pass up.

Shortly after having a pie from the local milk bar, Kaziah came past and gave us stinky fellas a ride home..... she was lucky she didn't smell us before the river dip!

Hiking Hygiene

So lets make a quick list of everything you use at home to keep yourself squeaky clean and looking/smelling good and hygienic.

  

Some of us do not require a brush or comb by default!

• Shampoo/conditioners
• Face wash
• Moisturiser
• Toothpaste
• Floss
• Mouthwash
• Shaver
• Shaving cream
• Body wash/soap
• Antiperspirant/deodorant 
• Hand wash/sanitizer 
• Toenail clippers
• Hand Nail clippers
• Emery board 
• Nose hair trimmer/ tweezers
• Flannel for washing
• Toilet paper 
• Q tips/ ear buds
• Brush/ combs
• Hair dryers/ curler
• Cologne/ perfume

So lets get real about what that would weigh.  Even if you used your shampoo as a body wash, face wash, moisturiser, shaving cream, hand wash/sanitizer you are still carrying some real weight!

When Tim & I head out for our 40 days in the Australian Alps we want to be carrying around 42kilos combined so we need to be really mindful of how much pack weight we are willing to allocate to hygiene.

We are hoping to have a river bath every couple of days when the opportunity presents itself but to be honest we are going to smell.  We will have one change of clothes for each weather type ( hot or cold) so even if we are smelling like fresh mountain water from the river, our clothes are going to be putrid.  After the first week Tim & I won't probably be able to smell ourselves anymore, the only way we will really know how bad we smell is by the speed in which all manner of living creature tried to flee our presents in the bush.

Lets cross off the easy to eliminate from the above list....remembering I have no hair & Tim will be getting a good trim before leaving.  Lets remove shampoo/conditioner, face wash, moisturiser, mouthwash, shaver and shaving cream, toe and hand nail clippers, emery board, nose hair trimmers, Q tips, brush/comb, hair dryer or curler and cologne.  Those were easy, no real sacrifices made..... but now we start having to think a little deeper.

Flannel is light weight and can be stuffed into almost any air gap in the pack but surely using my hand to scrub up in the river will do, Okay lets drop the flannel.

Floss is small, light weight and crucial to keeping my dentist happy..... but based on the idea that we will have 1 rest day on day 11 our wives and kids, we will let them bring the hygienic extras and forgo good dental hygiene on the trail.

Antiperspirant/deodorant is not small but it is light, it may make that first 20 minutes of every morning bearable..... but of course the lovely fragrance emitted by these products will disappear 20 minutes down the trail so it really isn't going to effect our overall sanity...... its out!

Lets move onto the keepers then.  Toothpaste & toothbrush and body wash/soap, have both made the final 4 with very little surprises there but lets talk about the hand sanitizer.... necessary?  A small bottle is going to be one of my luxury inclusions in my pack.  I have read a number of article from various sources who have been through these areas and some have found the water made them sick, some found that if they drank the water after washing their hands the water was fine.... expecting the individuals got sick from the germs on their hands not the water source.  Its a easy insurance policy I think.  Nothing will be more shattering then getting into the trip and having to pull out and go home due to illness.

So item number 4 on my list of hygiene must brings...... of course toilet paper.  I am not as hard core as the guys in the below video clip!  I do however believe I will use some of their tips to reduce the amount of paper I will bring.

I will not be scrapping my ass with a rock, or bark, or a fern.  We are roughing it but some things I am happy to add pack weight for.  A small travel pack of inter-folding toilet paper will not break my back.  That being said I am converted to the outdoor baday, great idea and highly hygienic.

I'll be interested in everyones comments of further hygiene tips while on the trail, so please make comments in the field provided below.

Day 2 - Hills, Views & an Alpine Tiger Snake

We started our day a little wet as mentioned in 'Come on Honey its only a 2 hour drive!" Tim had his powdered milk & 4 WheatBix and I got stuck into 2 hot cinnamon and brown sugar oatmeal.  We packed up and were on our way by 8am.  There was little point hanging around camp with the sun rising at 6:30am and well, we were damp so it wasn't that relaxing anyways.

I must say though that despite all the nights drama's we both seemed to get an okay sleep.  I found packing on this morning to be exciting.  We were about to do our first full day hiking together and really get stuck into the Australian Alps walking Track, very exciting.  I knew we would be climbing first thing this morning as track notes from John Chapman's book indicated so I really wanted my pack to be compact and packed well.  I still couldn't fit my tent inside so it was still tied to my pack, I hope to resolve this before our end to end adventure.



We made good time out of Red Jacket and headed North/east towards Mt Victor and then onto Mount Singleton.  We took a couple a breaks along the way to test out our morning snacks which included Mixed nuts and a dehydrated fruit mix of Kiwi, Banana, Strawberries, and Apples.  We will definitely continue to bring those items on the main trip.  The fruit is so light and full of energy, I'd bring less mixed nuts next time mind you as they are heavy and dry, salty so it really made me thirsty.
On our way we passed the Historical Survey sign which everyone gets a photo with, too bad some desecrated the original behind it on the tree.  The climb from Red Jacket to Mt Singleton was a healthy mix of visible walking tracks and gravel roads with a couple 4x4 tracks thrown in to give some relief to the feet.

As we approached the summit of Mt Singleton the locals must have heard we were coming an they sent out the welcome party.  He was a 3 foot Alpine Tiger snake and as we were talking away I just didn't see it there and as I was stepping down with my right foot, on a small incline I just saw it.  I hadn't the time to stop myself from stepping down, but thankfully missed stepping on its tail by about a inch!  With 23.1kilos on my back I jumped like a wild man with rabies about 3 feet off the ground and yelled out "SNAKE!"... "TIM SNAKE!"  

We avoided this little fella with Tim having to do some bush bashing to get around him as he wasn't moving.  Ends up being lucky for tim as the trail hairpins about 100 metres up the trail and comes out on the open field where Tim was standing anyways.....should have followed.  Sounded like a nice place to have lunch, so we took out the offcuts of under floor insulation we had brought to give some comfort between us and the grass and chowed down.  We had about 60grams of Pepperini Salami, 60grams of American (orange) cheddar cheese with an assortment of crackers.  Doesn't sound like much but what a pick me up.  In the bush, hiking, mostly with my mouth open.... huffing and puffing up the hills, your taste buds are stale so the taste of salami, cheese and crackers is so exciting.  Its a real energy hit and motivator.  I'm gonna need to try different crackers on the big hike as these ones weren't my thing!

We made or way for a couple km's along Mt Selma Rd until it had a road closed sign so had to take an alternate route along Champion Spur Track.  Its an old Jeep track which took us from an altitude of about 1200m down to about 500m.  There came a time where Tim and I were just thinking the fastest way to camp would be to just fall.  let gravity do its thing.

Looking back up at Tim

It will all be worth wild at the bottom as Black River, our destination for camp tonight is at the bottom which we reached around 5pm.  We just need to cross the river, find the track, find the camp site.  It took us about 45-55 minutes to find our way 300m down the river and confirm the track entry on that side of the river.  We kept jumping in the river, dressed in our jocks, finding the river was too deep not to get our packs wet, bush bash till we could get to shallow water again, jump back in and repeat!  Bush bashing in my jocks was not very exciting..... some deep cuts in places we won't mention.  

Now we have been climbing for about 10 minutes and Tim says "this doesn't look flat enough for a camp site, you sure its on this side of the river"  I proceeded to get John Chapman's book out which we had not looked at for a while and figured out the camp is back past where we arrived at the river....tears..... almost, more jocks only bush bashing through the scrub and river which was easier as we were on the trail longer this time.  Back in the camp.  Set up tents at about 7:30pm and had a great bath in the Black River.  Ate dinner and were in bed at 9pm.  What a day, without checking my notes it was about 21km not including our 2km of searching for the river exit.

Our camp site on Black River