What do you do on a rest day?
Well, climb a hill of course, albeit without a pack.
I left just after Eigle, before 9 am, to visit Newton Range Bivvy.
The track has been recently cut, to a high standard at least the bushline, and the start in the creek is well marked.
One thing: you get up quickly.
It was still relatively clear, and I had great views of the hut and Styx Saddle, etc. But I could see clouds gathering at the peaks, and by the time I hit the scrub line it proved useful to have a navigation device. I thought it worthwhile to track my progress on my phone, just so I could later work out where to get back to the ridge to meet the track once again.
Glad I did that as visibility plummeted, and it’s otherwise hard to work out what precise ridge I needed when I could hardly see 10 m in the fog.
The bivvy is a little hard to find, as it’s not visible from the ridge, tucked against the bank. A GPS is useful.
I couldn’t stick around for very long, as being wet quickly chilled. I just waited for a lull in the raindrops, and back down I trudged.
Man, it seemed steep on the way down. No views to be had, the track seemed more obvious. Well, once back at the scrub line.
I really needed to warm up once back in the hut.
Yesterday I was killing flies and sandflies in the warm hut. Today it was rain streaming down.
Harman Hut is the next stop.
It would be great if the rain did.
A guide to the night’s accommodation: Grassy Flats Hut
