Cradle in the mist

Sun 30 Mar, 2014 6:25 pm

Who knew it was the centenary of the first recorded traverse of Cradle Mountain this weekend? I didn’t.
But I do happen to be in Tassie and a friend who lives in the north wanted to climb Cradle Mountain and wanted company for the walk. I was free and needed to get out, so jumped at the chance. The weather wasn’t looking great, but hey, I’ve done enough walking in Tas now to know one you can’t always let the weather dictate when you walk. And anyhow, the forecast said it would clear later in the day! Surely the BOM know what they are on about! We set out in the fog and drizzle...and that is how it stayed all day! At the base of the track to Cradle Summit, I told my friend it was her choice if she wanted to climb or not. I’ve done it before on a beautiful clear day, so I personally didn’t need to go up, but was happy to push on despite the lack of visibility. She was keen, so up we headed. Not far before the first false summit my friend decided she had had enough of scrambling in the mist and drizzle and so we turned back. A number of other people passed us and headed for the summit though. Throughout most of the day visibility was perhaps 20-30 metres...but I quite enjoyed the walk, especially since I haven’t been out for a decent walk in several weeks. The fog had lifted a little by the time we got back to the car park...we could even see to the far end of the lake!