4/5 Junction – Standley Chasm

I woke up earlier than usual this morning. There was another group that was sleeping in the shelter that got up at 5:30 am and they helped me wake up a little bit early. Nevertheless, I got up and started packing my gear at 6 am, per usual.

We were walking at 7:30 am. The first hour was a flat walk along the valley. It was easy walking. Then we climbed about 100 m up from Stuarts Pass and stopped for a break. There were some views down the valley. Kelvin had his breakfast.

Then it was time for the big climb up Razorback Ridge to Brinkley Bluff. There was another 400 m of climbing from our morning tea stop. At the top of the climb we met our three Tasmanian friends. The views from the top are outstanding, of course. The weather was overcast and cool, but it wasn’t raining.

There is a trig at Brinkley Bluff and I made sure that I got my photo taken there. 

We then commenced walking along the ridge top to the east. This goes on for about 5 km. At one point, for a maximum of 15 seconds, I found myself leading a group of walkers. Within that 15 seconds I managed to lead us off the track and down a slope, from which we then had to recover back up the hill to find the track again. I didn’t cover myself in glory.

We had another break at about 12 pm at a point just before Reveal Saddle. We were discussing options for what to do. We are running one day ahead of schedule, but there is rain forecast for tonight. We have a number of options, including having a rest day tomorrow at Standley Chasm, continuing our walk but having a break somewhere on the way, or finishing the walk one day or even two days early.

After our break, it was a 6 km downhill walk from Reveal Saddle to reach Standley Chasm where we would be staying for the night. The last 2 km of the walk is along a creek bed, which was stoney and quite difficult on the legs and knees. My left knee was a bit sore by the end of the walking, but it now feels fine after a rest.

We made it to the cafe before it closed. I went full on piggy mode. I had an emu burger, chips, orange juice, tea, and chocolate muffin. And I ate it all. The Tasmanian lads appeared to be attempting to set a world record for burger consumption.

The rain started to set in at around 4 pm. My tent was set up, so I was quite ready.

For dinner, we managed to convince the cafe to cook us a dinner pack, which was much better than what we had expected. We got chicken vegetable curry, salad and fresh bread rolls with butter.

After dinner we walked up to the chasm, which is extremely impressive, even in the dim light of the evening.

By the time we got back to the campsite I was quite wet. I organised my food drop and then went back to the cafe to try to dry out a bit. Unfortunately my trousers got wet walking up the chasm. Hopefully they will dry out enough to wear tomorrow.