I re-read my last blog entry and I just don't think that I did the Overland Trail justice. I gave you a lot of information that you need in order to understand the concept of the trail, but I didn't take you there. So let me try again:
There are a few things that you need to know about bush walking in Tasmania before you can understand the Overland Trail. The first is the mud. The mud is everywhere. Rich, earthly brown soil with clumps of dirt, tiny twigs and leaves running through it. It is the cold, dark humid mud of the sub-tropical rain forest. Sometimes it exists in small patches but other times the mud takes up a block of trail so wide that It is unavoidable. You can see traces of where others have stepped but they are not trustworthy. The mud is always deeper than you think it is. If you are lucky it will barely cover your shoes, but on occasion your foot will sink so far deep that the mud soaks in above your kneecap, runs down your gaiters and settles into your shoes.
Secondly: the flies. There are a lot of them, BIG flies that are striped like bees. At midday it is hard to stay in one place because they buzz in circles around your head. There are also mosquitoes. Australians refer to them as mossies. They usually come out late but there is a point around mid-afternoon when the mossies and the flies are out together and you might as well just quit swatting before you even begin. You don't stand a chance against the buzzing swarm.
Thirdly, there are the snakes. There are only two types of snakes in Tasmania and they are both deadly. During my time on the Overland I probably saw about five snakes. Four of them were little but the one that I saw slithering across the trail on my last day was about a meter long and five inches wide. I thanked my lucky stars that it ignored me and slithered perpendicularly across the trail.
I took a lot of side trips along the trail. Now I will take you on my favorite one. It was day three. I had just hiked the 17km from Lake Windermere to the Pelion Plains Hut. Me and two others decided to drop off our heavy backpacks and set off to Mt. Oakley. Mt. Oakley is not the tallest mountain in Tasmania, but it has some of the best views.
The hike started on a muddy track through open yellow grasslands. It reminded me of hiking through snow back in Boulder; your foot could sink deep into the ground at any moment. It is important to have a sense of humor about the mud on the Overland, because you know that you are not taking a shower anytime soon. By the time we made it through the gauntlet my legs were caked. The trail began to wind through eucalyptus forest. Gentle slopes quickly transitioned into steep switchbacks. After about an hour, the forest changed again. Eucalyptus trees were replaced with dense curly-headed palms. The trail turned to rock and we found ourselves on all fours, ducking through palm trees, scrambling hand over hand up dusty rocks.
Finally breaking treeline was like uncovering a thick veil. The remainder of the trail through loose rocks and scratchy brush was rewarded with amazing views. By the time we got to the peak, a set of giant rock boulders that sit on the middle of the mountain, we were in awe of the 360 degree spectacle. With mountains undulating in all directions, and no roads, nor homes, nor cars in sight. We were reminded, once again, what it is like to be in the middle of the Wilderness.
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