First time on the OLT
Posted: Mon 25 Mar, 2013 1:05 amRecently I undertook the daunting challenge of walking the Overland Track. I say daunting because being a larger guy, I was fearful of whether I would even be able to make it through the first day. Leaving from Ronny Point and heading to Crater Lake I began to wonder if I had bitten of more than I could chew, since the rest of my party were well ahead of me. The climb to Marion Lookout was to say the least, a lesson in will power but a fantastic view and well worth the effort. By the time I made it to Kitchen Hut, I was ready to turn around and head back to Ronny Point and give it a big miss.
I persevered and managed, with a lot of stop starting, to make it to Waterfall Valley Hut for a much needed rest. The question is, how do you get any rest when you have a freight train sleeping next to you?
Day 2 started with a relaxed breakfast and a later start to Lake Windermere which finishwed in a refreshing, and much needed swim in the river.
Day 3 was an early start to what can only be described as and *&%$#! hard days work for the completely unfit to Pellion Hut, which was followed by a rest day on day 4,but in hindsight, it would have been better to have continued on.
Day 5 from Pellion to Kia Ora and another challenging day of mostly climbing with a rest stop nestled between Mt Ossa and Pellion East both trying to sneek out from behind some low hanging cloud cover.
Day 6 started with the intention of walking from Kia Ora to Narcissus, which the rest of the group managed but being slower, I stopped and set up camp beside a quiet river. The solitude was, I must say, a slightly guilty pleasure of being the only person around and having part of the OLT all to myself.
Day 7 also had a slightly guilty feeling to it about being the sole walker on the track and eventually I made it to Narcissus. The rest of the group had walked out from Narcissus to finish the extra walk to Lake St Clair, whilst I caught the fairy back.
Whilst I feel disappointed that I didn't manage to walk out from Narcissus and complete the full walk, I am certainly proud of the fact that I managed to complete what I did. I can honestly say, I enjoyed every minute of it, once I finished but at times it was a struggle to keep pushing myself to take another step. However, if an overweight guy like me can complete it, then I believe anyone who puts their mind to it can. I will certainly be challenging myself again and completing it sometime in the future, all the way to the end.
I persevered and managed, with a lot of stop starting, to make it to Waterfall Valley Hut for a much needed rest. The question is, how do you get any rest when you have a freight train sleeping next to you?
Day 2 started with a relaxed breakfast and a later start to Lake Windermere which finishwed in a refreshing, and much needed swim in the river.
Day 3 was an early start to what can only be described as and *&%$#! hard days work for the completely unfit to Pellion Hut, which was followed by a rest day on day 4,but in hindsight, it would have been better to have continued on.
Day 5 from Pellion to Kia Ora and another challenging day of mostly climbing with a rest stop nestled between Mt Ossa and Pellion East both trying to sneek out from behind some low hanging cloud cover.
Day 6 started with the intention of walking from Kia Ora to Narcissus, which the rest of the group managed but being slower, I stopped and set up camp beside a quiet river. The solitude was, I must say, a slightly guilty pleasure of being the only person around and having part of the OLT all to myself.
Day 7 also had a slightly guilty feeling to it about being the sole walker on the track and eventually I made it to Narcissus. The rest of the group had walked out from Narcissus to finish the extra walk to Lake St Clair, whilst I caught the fairy back.
Whilst I feel disappointed that I didn't manage to walk out from Narcissus and complete the full walk, I am certainly proud of the fact that I managed to complete what I did. I can honestly say, I enjoyed every minute of it, once I finished but at times it was a struggle to keep pushing myself to take another step. However, if an overweight guy like me can complete it, then I believe anyone who puts their mind to it can. I will certainly be challenging myself again and completing it sometime in the future, all the way to the end.
)
Not everyone is as silly as i was! 
