Double phwoar this morning with minus six degrees on the thermometer. But with my lesson learnt from the previous morning I had brought my boots and water bottle inside the tent and they were only a little bit frozen. The snow had iced over nicely and walking was slow but easy as I picked my way from highland lake to lake. The eucalyptus trees up here are snow gums. There are also pencil pines, deciduous beech, pandani (sometimes called grass trees) and lots of other alpine plants. Many of these species do not grow at lower altitudes.
Cirque 2 Sea Day 7 : 07-08-2016
Double Phwoar
There were a few wombats, a wallaby, black currawongs and another wedge tailed eagle but mostly it was very quiet. One surprise was this spider I found in the middle of a snow drift. There was no obvious home nearby and it was alive but very sluggish. Wonder what she was up to and what species of spider it is?
By mid afternoon I was tiring and getting cold during my frequent breaks so when I found this small patch of mostly level ground I pitched the tent. I'm up at 1230 meters above sea level which is as high as I'll get on this expedition. Looking across at the mountains of the DuCane Range there's no way I can get up there safely. Those cliffs are part of the cirque. So tomorrow I will be that little raindrop and tumble down the mountainside to the Overland Track and the valley floor. It's all downhill from here.
Cirque 2 Sea is a partnership project between the Bookend Trust, the Derwent Estuary Program and our supporters.
