Leader: Kate Krawczyk

Well, the joke of the day was “if you want it to rain just get Kate to lead a tramp!”

At the Mount Duppa trip a month ago, it hadn’t rained in a month ... then it rained. This time it hadn’t rained in a month then, lo and behold ... it rained again! Rain was much needed; it didn’t dampen the spirits of the group at all – in fact, it added to the adventure, as I will tell you.

We met at 8:30am at my place on Washbourn Drive in Richmond. (Because of the transport issues of this trip, I figured the easiest way to do it was to drop everyone’s vehicles here, take my vehicles to Marsden Valley, then walk back to Richmond and get a willing tramper to drop me off on the way back into Nelson.) Fortunately, this strategy worked quite well, simplifying what would otherwise be a ‘cross-over’ trip with a car exchange.

We started up the Barnicoat Walkway and Tim reckoned that the most interesting route was directly up the ridgeline instead of the sidle track , which is the most common route! He wasn’t wrong  – the ridgeline had good views and was made very interesting by its incredible steepness. We gained 550 metres in no time at all. The walk along the top of the range was a cruise after that. And the route is fairly well marked and easy to follow.

We had patchy rain on our way up the ridge and it came down pretty steadily while we were crossing the range. We were planning on a tea break at Saxton Hill but no one wanted to sit in the rain. About two-and-a-half hours into the walk the Richmond Hill fire lookout came into view. It was a welcome sight, being a destination and a possible shelter from the weather, all in one.

As the nine of us straggled up to it like wet dogs, a welcoming figure appeared on the balcony. I’m sure he thought it was pretty strange to see a group of nine up there on such a wet day. Nevertheless, he invited us in and told us some great stories while we consumed our lunch. He’d been sheltering in this humble abode for 14–16 days at a time keeping a keen eye out for forest fires. He told us how he pops down to the supermarket every two or three days to top up on supplies and for a bit of fitness and company.

I plan on carrying him up some chocolate biscuits on my next walk up there.

We continued down the hill using the forestry roads to pick up the top of Jimmy Lee Creek and followed the lovely bush tracks right back to Washbourn Drive. The walkways here are so great that we only had to walk on the road for about 50 metres before we were back at my place. And on our way home for a lovely sunny afternoon.

Participants: Kate Krawczyk, Sue Henley, Mike Kirwan, Ron Mailer, Mark Graesser, Arif Methee, Birgit, Balveer Singh and Tim Tyler