I just got back from my first hike (first of many!) and thought I'd share it with you all
. I chose to go to Mt Alexander as it seemed tame and thought it would be a good test for us at a 20km round trip. We arrived at Leanganook camp site at 10am on cup day and set off up the Gold Fields track. I toyed with starting at North Gap and walking down to camp at Leanganook campsite but I thought it would be more peaceful to camp some where else where there was no car access (the park allows dispersed camping). There were a few camper vans at the site when we arrived also.
On the hike we stopped at Dogs Rocks for morning tea and even found our first geo cache! From there heading to Scorpion Rocks and going on to the top of Mt Alexander for lunch. The top of Mt Alexander was nice despite the constant hum of generators for the tv towers and Langston Lookout seemed to be a bit of a local hang out spot so we decided to move on after a short stop!
We then continued down the eastern side of the mountain to get away from that area and continue on the Gold Fields track. Weather was pretty good but it did start raining so we had to use our pack cover and rain coats. After walking near the ruins and the main channel we decided to set up camp for the night as the clouds grew darker.
I thought the main channel would make a pretty good lazy river to ride a tube down on but better not.
it was very cool actually as I've never seen anything like that before.We then had a bit of a downpour but we were all set up by then so it was fine. The rain stopped long enough for us to cook dinner. Using the Tranglia stove for the first time was good (such a good unit) but I still need to master cooking multiple components to be ready at once which was tricky!
The rain started just after we washed up from dinner so that was a God send! We made some warm milo from just outside the tent with marshmallows which was nice!
The rain stopped around 8pm so we decided to light a fire with some wood that was scattered around the camp site. I used the cotton wool fire starters that this forum taught me and it worked great even with the wood wet we got it going. I impressed myself!
There was no other campers/people around so it was bliss!
The night got to a low of about 5 degrees. The down sleeping bag I purchased did not arrive in time so I pretty much froze as I slept in a fairly cheap old bag without a hood. I wrapped a blanket around my head but my feet were frozen. I've got my new bag now so that won't happen again!
In the morning we woke just before sunrise to watch the sun come up with some coffee which was great. We saw some kangaroos, kookaburras and an echidna which was nice! After breakfast we packed up camp and headed back down to the Leanganook camp site via the Ridge walking track.
We arrived at the campsite at around 10:30am with plenty of time for a cuppa before heading home! Only one other camper at the camp site that morning who loved using his chain saw so Im glad we didnt stay there!
Overall a really good quick trip to test equipment and to ease into hiking!
Already planning my next weekend adventure! (Any suggestions?) Thanks guys
