June 14 2021

Days km: 29.9km
Total km:  112.3km

Slept well and got a nice early start as the plan was to do 30km today. I underestimated the trail though, perhaps lulled into a false sense of security by how flat it was yesterday.

The walk to the first shelter, Monadknocks, was fairly easy, though there was a steep climb just before the shelter. I arrived at the same time as a small bushwalking group. All English expats and we chatted about ‘home’ for a bit. It was a nice shelter, but it was freezing and for the first time during the day I had to dig out my fleece.

After Monadknocks the trail got tougher, with a climb up and down Mt Cuthbert and then straight onto Mt Vincent. The sun was out for both the climbs, but as soon as I reached the top the clouds came out and I was pelted with rain. So no views for me. There were lots of rocks on the climbs, much like the Sydney section of the Great North Walk. It kinda sucked. I hate that bloody section of the GNW.

After Mt Vincent the trail levelled out somewhat and I passed the 100km mark in the trail. Nice.
As the light started to fade I was startled by an Emu jumping out of the bush and sprinting across the track. I honestly thought it was a dinosaur for a second.

I reached the campsite before 6pm and it sounded like there was a huge crowd there and it dawned on me that this was a group shelter, and the one for hikers was another 500m down the trail. It was honestly the longest 500m I have ever done (so far).

It was full dark by the time I reached the shelter. There were two ladies already there, they were nice enough but I could tell they were not impressed I turned up in the dark.

It was a tough day and I was glad to lie down.