After some anxiety inducing planning efforts from me, we managed to be bundled into the car and leaving home around 9:30, which saw us arrive in Beaufort at 11:30, to get an early lunch and some emergency rations (I forgot the pancetta crumb for our cheat's carbonara dinner). We then rolled into Richard's Campground around midday, setting off swiftly.
I intended for us to take the anticlockwise route, but got caught out following the signs at the start, only realising my mistake once we were halfway up the climb for Raglan Falls. Well, there was nothing for it but to march on! We ended up doing quite well, in spite of the insistence of the younger group member that it was all too hard, and arrived at Beeripmo campground by 3pm. Deciding that a longer first day and shorter second day would be better, we pushed on to Mugwamp Hut campground. Pros: a hut to cook in without wind, and the toilets actually had paper provided
Cons: no readily accessible water, other than the trickle of a stream. Fortunately we had filled up from the tank at Beeripmo, and had a filter to had to make the most of the creek if needed.The Mugwamp Hut area appears to have been upgraded recently, with some rather welcome picnic benches installed, giving a good spot to sit for breakfast/dinner.
The forgotten items trend continued, with the realisation upon setting up of the tent that the pegs stayed home - we made do with a combo of rocks for guy lines and sticks and trekking poles for the base.
Overnight was quite chilly in spite of the temps the previous day, with a heavy fog in the morning. As a result of the tent failure and the cold/wet morning, departure from camp did not occur until around 10AM. In spite of this, we made it back to the car before lunch time, with the second day having a total distance of only 6.3kms on gentle terrain (I remembered to start the GPS tracking this time!)
All in all it was a successful first outing for kiddo, and we're looking forward to our next adventure together!
