Editor’s note: The following is a
combined contribution from Miss Marathon, Miss Take a Photo at Every Opp and Mr
Dishwasher whilst Green Camper is on sabbatical. A big thanks for everyone’s
contribution.
Ms
Take a Photo at Every Opp aka Ms Tiny Backpack
I will start by stating that Ms Take a
Photo at every opp’s name needs to change as the hiking group has now been
invaded by two more people who takes more photos than myself – Sushi Chef and
Mr Photographer. I will propose from now on to be called ‘Ms Tiny Backpack’.
The day started with a 6.30am wake up for
myself and Sushi Chef so we could leave the house by 7am. Unfortunately I
forgot to buy bread for lunch and so we had to do a stop by the bakery. Sushi
Chef drove us to his favourite bakery which somehow didn’t sell any small bread
rolls so we had to do another bakery stop. Unfortunately this delayed our
departure by about 20 minutes.
We stopped at Beaufort to meet up with the
other group (Green Camper, Mr Photographer and Miss Marathon) to have a toilet
break and quick breakfast. After realising it was going to be another 2 hours
drive to the start of our walk, Sushi Chef decided we cannot sit down and have
our breakfast so we were pretty much on our way after a 10 minute stop.
We arrived at Troopers Creek campground to
start our ascent of Mt Difficult. Another big group (approx. 9) was also doing
the ascent but were concerned whether they had enough water, as their
conversation continually revolved around this. I would like to note that Miss
Marathon and I noticed a girl dressed very inappropriately for the hiking trip
but I guess her male companions were not complaining.
After walking about 200m was a sign post saying “Strenuous walking ahead” which wasn’t very motivating. At this point, both Mr Photographer and Sushi Chef would have taken 20 photos collectively. The walk up to Mt Difficult was very interesting as it involved some rock scrambling and climbing. There was a section where everyone found it more amusing to just watch (and take photos) of me tackle my climb over a certain rock rather than render any assistance, this included my husband who was also trying to capture the moment with the camera.
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| Miss Take a Photo at Every Opp stuck on a rock |
After stopping at the creek two-thirds of
the way up to fetch water, we arrived at the campground around 3 hrs later. At this
point, Green Camper and Miss Marathon had raced ahead to bag the best camping
spot.
Once settled, we did a small walk to a rock
top and the summit of Mt Difficult to relax and immerse in the surrounding. After
enjoying ourselves, we then headed back to the campground to freshen up. After more resting we decided to start on
dinner. Dinner was divided into 2 groups; Sushi Chef & myself and Miss
Marathon joined with Green Camper and Mr Photographer. We all started off with
miso soup funnily enough but then that is where the similarity stopped. The
second group was having their usual rice with salami and peas whereas Sushi
Chef decided to demonstrate (and probably show off) his culinary skills by
cooking up a beef Nabe (Japanese hot pot) for us, which drew the envy of the 2nd
group. And yes, that is fresh beef and teriyaki sauce which Sushi Chef carried
up with him on top of the tent, 5 litres of water and 2 litres of wine.
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| Sushi Chef making nobe dinner - YUM! |
After a very satisfying dinner and possibly
a little bit drunk on the wine, Sushi Chef rallied the group to walk up to the
Summit again to see the sunset. The sunset was spectacular.
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| Sunset on Mt Difficult |
We stayed up on the summit for a good 1.5 hour before deciding to head back down while there was still a bit of light. By now, Sushi Chef was pretty drunk on the wine and whisky which he had also brought up. We got back to the camp site and Miss Marathon was the first to say her goodnights and jump into the tent. In the middle of the night, I was woken up by someone talking on the phone and in the morning, I found out that was Green Camper looking for Mr Photographer.
The next morning started with an early rise at 7am to go for a run to Briggs Bluff with the eager Sushi Chef. The running team (aka Team Sunrise) was made up of Sushi Chef as the captain and Miss Marathon and myself as the half asleep team members. The run was along the ridge and so there were many parts where we were actually walking instead of running but overall, the run was very enjoyable. This was definitely a good experience for Miss Marathon to train for her 4 peaks run next year. And as usual Sushi Chef brought along his camera and took about 50 photos of us running.
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| Team sunrise |
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| Team sunrise |
When we got back from our run to our
campsite (about 2 hours later) Green camper and Mr Photographer still had not
woken up. I guess they were enjoying the sleep in, considering Mr Photographer
was up later taking photos at the summit and Green camper was up wondering
where he was.
After a boring breakfast, we packed and
walked back down the same way to the car. The walk back down was just as
enjoyable as coming up and would highly recommend this walk. Upon reaching the car,
Sushi Chef was dying for his beer.
Star trails by Mr Dishwasher aka Mr Photographer
Unpolluted by city lights, the Grampians National
Park night sky provides an excellent opportunity for star trail photography.
From conversations with Green Camper, I deduced that Mt Difficult summit
would be a great spot for my nocturnal project. With no immediate surrounding
trees, my lens would be unhindered to take in as much of the starlit night
sky as possible. I didn’t mind lugging all the extra weight of my camera equipment
up there but the only one thing I dreaded (and out of my control) was bad weather.
Fortunately, it was a fine night and I only have my “lucky stars” to thank! :)
After 9.30pm, I geared up and left the campsite
towards the summit. As I had anticipated, staying on track in the dark was
not easy, to say the least. Heavily relying on the head torch to pry through
the darkness, I looked out for arrow-marked rocks on the path, as well as
landmarks that I had mentally noted from earlier walks during the day. Also,
the increasing wind currents sweeping across the slopes slowed my ascend
further.
Upon arriving at the summit, I switched the head
torch off, surrendered to the darkness as I had a short rest, while my eyes
slowly adjusted to the dark. Countless tiny specks of lights scattered across
the vast black ocean above, extending beyond my field of vision. Random brief
streaks of “stars falling” sporadically. The water from Wartook Reservoir
reflecting the ambient starlit night sky, giving off a subtle amber glow. What
a magnificent view!
The rocky terrain offered good shelter and support
for my equipment. I eventually found a good spot, anchored my tripod there
and set the camera and timer. Before going back to star-gazing (or
-mesmerizing), I set my iPhone alarm to go off at the end of the exposure
cycle, my cue to pack up and head back to camp.
Just before the alarm went off, I got a phone call
from Green Camper. Apparently, my half-hourly SMS updates to Green Camper,
which I learned afterwards, were delayed and didn't get through until much
later due to poor reception at the campsite. Understandably, Green-And-Very-Worried
Camper woke from his slumber & discovered I wasn’t back yet, rushed out
from the tent to call me on the phone and embark on an unnecessary “rescue” search
for me, waking the whole camp up in the process. Oh, the drama!
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Want to see where the Earth
collided? Come to Mt Difficult by Miss Marathon
The
event probably took place million years ago. Nevertheless, you are not too
late. Standing on the peak of Mt Difficult, you will witness the aftermath as
visible as it just happened not long ago. Mountains of rocks were pushed by an
unimaginably powerful force, all leaning towards one side. One layer after
another, they form amazing cliffs. You can let you imagination run wild when
viewing those rock sculptures created by Mother Nature. It is the very feature
that makes your journey challenging and hardly dreary for one moment.
Even
though you get a warning of strenuous walk involved at the beginning of the
hike, you should not be discouraged because of reasons, such as petite stature.
It has its own advantage. The rule is if you cannot climb over, you go under.
Ms. Tiny Backpack inexorably proved it. However, there is still an essentially
important matter that hasn't settled among us after many trips we have done
together: which way is more effectively to clean yourself after a long sweaty
walk?
a)
Cleaning your body using a few cups of water (where water is scarce) as Mr.
Green Camper bravely called it "shower", or
b)
Wiping your body using anti-bacteria wipes clinically proven kill 99.9% germs
as advertised.
Mr.
Green Camper is always proud to pronounce he is more hygienic than any of us in
those trips because he has "shower" every time. He now even managed
to convert Mr. Photographer into doing this kind of "shower". In
fact, if Mr. Photographer allowed his profession do the fair judgment here, he
would not practice that method at all in the first place. All we can do is to
hope one day truce or peace be upon our fierce debate on the matter.
An
equivalently important factor for an enjoyable hike is the companionship you
have. Laughing is the best replenishment after any tiring activities and gives
you a speedy recovery. That is probably why Team Sunrise decided to run from
our Mt Difficult campsite to Briggs Bluff the next morning. Actually, the sun -
according to Ms. Tiny Backpack and Miss Marathon – would not rise until after
7am. Prior to the challenge, Mr. Sushi Chef briefed us a few techniques of how
to run on rocks. While doing so, he accidentally knocked off some empty tin pot
and pan. It was an unintentionally wake-up bell for Mr. Photographer and Mr.
Green Camper. They have emphatically insisted not to be woken up early when
hearing us forming a Team Sunrise. Worse for them, they had a restless night
before that due to Mr. Photographer searching for late-night-early-morning
stars and Mr. Green Camper searching for Mr. late-night-early-morning-stars-searching
Photographer. Team Sunrise was glad to run off before the likelihood of
receiving the wrath of the involuntary awakens.
Through
those trips, you see the breathtaking beauty of nature and come to the
appreciation of what we have inherited. It is up to each individual to protect
and maintain this beauty for people who come after us, starting by taking your
own rubbish with you on every hike. Snack scraps, beer bottles, and used toilet
paper around a campsite or walking path are irritating view and it is a selfish
act to the nature as well as other fellow campers. On a personal note, through
those trips, I realize how fortunate to have good friendship in life.
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