Saturday 24 November 2012

Three days at Cradle Mountain

I just got back from three days at Cradle Mountain.

I walked in from the Dove Lake carpark over Hanson's Peak, then around the other side of Cradle where I'd forgotten how pretty all those pencil pines are down in that little valley, and arrived at Scott-Kilvert Hut.

The next day I went off-track down to a little lake behind Kitchen Hut called Suttons Tarn, then scrambled up a loose scree sloped choked with fagus to an area called Little Plateau. I explored this all day and it was fascinating. I went right up opposite Barn Bluff and Mt Inglis and looked down into Fury Gorge. I saw eagles soaring on thermals high above Fury Gorge and also at Dove Lake.

The final day I climbed back up to the saddle near Little Horn and down around Twisted Lakes and Lake Hanson to the carpark, and back to Hobart. It reminded me of that wet trip we did with Kate and Rich when they were young, only I did it in reverse. I even visited that emergency hut near Twisted Lakes where we sought shelter and where I fired up the stove for a hot drink back in 1990.

The weather at Cradle was perfect for the first two days but closed in on the last, with strong, gusty winds and rain storms. Below are a few snaps from the walk.

Off to Queenstown next for another launch and a climb to Raglan Hut.







No comments:

Post a Comment