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Rock cairn near the summit of Mt Difficult

We are two very sore hikers after our trip to the Grampians on the weekend. All up it was a very successful trip although I am ill today with a tummy bug – possibly from a warm salami sandwich.

Here are the trip details

Gear
2 daypacks – V’s tended to be a little heavy, but mine was excellent, just the right size and I didn’t even notice it was there half the time.
Excellent pockets in both, very handy.
2 windproof soft shells (useful at the summits as it got very breezy and cold especially with perspiration)
Columbia hiking boots, from China (CJ) – excellent for the rocky terrain although I seemed to get blisters from the left foot only. ?? reason?
Keen hiking shoes (V) – well cushioned although we noted a hole already – after a few days of use!
Kathmandu merino lite hiker women’s – (CJ) – didn’t get sweaty, smelly or too warm – excellent socks – although I would probably use a sock liner next time to prevent blisters (and air my feet out at lunchtime as recommended by all the books)
Columbia hiking shirt, with collar – did a good job in wicking away sweat as promised, with no smell even after a good 6 hour hike in the sun
Columbia hiking pants – very light and breezy, easy to hike in in the warm weather
Camelbak 1.5L bladder – very useful though needed a refill after a couple of hours
Paddy Pallin underwear - as promised, did not smell even after a full sweaty day’s hiking!

Treks:
Day 1 – Mt Abrupt hike (476m) followed by lunch then Mt Sturgeon hike (343m)- both took about 3 hours round trip and were reasonably steep but not technically difficult. However, the 6 hrs of hiking took its toll - I passed out before 9pm that night!!

CJ on the Mt Abrupt trail

Day 2 – Mt Difficult hike (400+m) - Yes not a very steep ascent overall, but it was the most technically difficult hike I’d ever done! All up we spent seven hours on the mountain, and basic rock climbing skills were needed in some parts. Scrambling up an almost vertical cleft in the rock which was almost head height for me was memorable! There was lots of time spent picking your way around giant boulders and hopping from one to the other along a ridge that seemed to go on forever. The signposting is not great either - We almost continued on to another destination some 12 km away after we had reached the summit!

Serious rockclimbing skills needed!

We stayed at a great little backpackers called Tim’s place - www.timsplace.com.au. Its a steal at $75 for a self contained studio unit - very comfortable and we cooked our own dinner which saves a loooot of hassle - though the bathroom was outside (just around the corner) but it was our own private bathroom. Dorm beds are much cheaper.

We celebrated our three year wedding anniversary yesterday. Actually we have been together for more than eleven years. So when V proposed it wasn’t really a surprise at all, and I knew he was going to propose on the trip anyway (he told me so!) If we plan it right, we may even be able to return to the scene of the crime (so to speak) on the fourth anniversary of our engagement.

We have bought most of our gear now. We made another shopping trip yesterday. We both got our new day packs, both from Mountain Designs. V’s is an Escape 30, and mine is a Women’s Slipstream 30, although his looks significantly larger than mine!

Mine is pretty spesh as being a “women’s” daypack the shoulder straps are set closer together which suits me as I have really puny shoulders and my previous daypack was too big in this regard. My new pack also has one of those ventilating frames which set the pack away from direct contact with your back. Hopefully this does result in a less sweaty back while hiking!

Both the packs were quite well discounted, V’s from $150 to $100 and mine from $130 to $100. Mine wasn’t “officially” discounted but we were offered a cheaper price. Either they wanted to get rid of the pack, or the salesperson wanted to get rid of us quickly as we looked like we were dithering about the decision!

V also bought a wind proof soft shell, and I bought another skirt, the same design but in a different colour, and discounted even more because of a few loose threads which will be easily fixed!

Our gear will be put to the test this weekend when we head to the Grampians for 2 days of hiking. Look out for an update on Monday!

We had a wonderful weekend. We took half a day off on Friday as it was terribly hot, and went to the beach at Portsea. Saturday night was spent with good friends. Yesterday we hit the end-of-year stocktake sales for the first time this season – buying some last minute items that were still on our To Get list. CJ bought a long zipoff skirt which will be useful in a hot climate, and we bought a waterproof duffle bag which is essential for the porters to carry our gear on our treks. We looked at daypacks and headlamps but haven’t bought yet. Last but not least we bought quick drying, odour resistant underwear. Probably the most expensive undergarments we have ever bought, at $25 a pop! The marketing hype claims one can travel with only one pair of undies, we are loathe to test this out though!

All in all we saved close to $100 – yay for sales!

Nepal is a beautiful but extremely poor country that has a very special place in our hearts. It was here that we got engaged, after climbing to the summit of our trek – Poon Hill, at 3210m. It was here where we fell in love with the amazing landscape, with its formidable mountain ranges, and also with its even more amazing people. As we trekked through their back yards, tiny Nepalese children would offer us beaming smiles, hand picked flowers, and walking sticks, in exchange for nothing more than our greeting of Namaste. The Nepalese are a gentle people, but they are also very entertaining – as we found out on the night of our engagement when we gatecrashed an impromptu party in the tiny village of Tatapani. We only had time for a five day trek in the Annapurna region, but resolved that we would one day return to climb the entire Annapurna circuit.

During our short visit in 2003, we encountered two deaths. On one occasion, we were travelling by rickety taxi from the end of our trek back to Pokhara, and our taxi driver stopped to speak to a motorcyclist for a few minutes. Five minutes later, an ambulance came racing past, and we learnt that that same motorcyclist had been run over, ironically, by the ambulance, and was pretty much close to death, but was being rushed to the nearest hospital anyway.

The other death was in Ghorepani. The trekking party was in high spirits one night, and the porters started singing some bawdy Nepali songs. The landlord came over and requested that they stop singing. Apparently one of the young girls of the village had taken ill after drinking cow’s blood as part of a ritual. She complained of abdominal pain, and when her condition deteriorated someone carried her on their back to try to reach the nearest health post, which was 2 days away. She died on the way.

Nepal had given us so many unforgettable experiences in such a short space of time. We wanted to not only return and trek the spectacular mountainous regions, but also to give back to these beautiful and generous people, who gave with their whole hearts and expected so little in return.