Windermere Hut, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, TAS
Day 2 of 8 – Overland Track
Waterfall Valley to Windermere (8km, 80m ascent, 100m descent)
Side Trip: Barn Bluff (8km return, 360m ascent/descent)
Lake Will (3km return, 50m ascent/descent)
This morning we slightly backtracked on the Overland Track to climb Barn Bluff (1559m ASL). An easy start to the climb but soon we were amongst the boulders again (still not Nele’s favourite part). At the top we enjoyed wonderful views back to Cradle Mountain and ahead to Lake Will. Back at Waterfall Valley Hut we decided to move on to the next hut to give us a better chance to have good weather for climbing Mt Ossa in 2 days. So we quickly packed our bags and had lunch. We walked for 1.5h before reaching Lake Holmes where a side tack veers off to Lake Will. We continued further along the lake via a very muddy track to Innes Falls. Back at the main track it started raining slightly so we put on our rainjackets and covers over the backpacks. We continued walking and were glad to arrive at Lake Windermere, indicating the hut wasn’t too far off. We enjoyed a Thai Green Chicken Curry freeze-dry meal for dinner and afterwards went for a walk back to the lake in the hope to spot some wildlife (not much luck). Soon after we hit the sack as we were pretty tired.
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| Cooking breakfast |
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| Mmm...yummy, nice warm porridge |
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| Here we go again.... hopefully the clouds clear Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Getting closer Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Views along the way Barn Bluff Climb |
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| And up we go...... Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Summit in sight Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Rock scrambling to the summit Barn Bluff Climb |
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| We've made it! Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Summit Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Summit - view over Lake Will Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Summit - nice views Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Summit - nice views Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Climbing back down Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Almost at the bottom again Barn Bluff Climb |
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| Back on the Overland Track |
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| Packing up our gear Waterfall Valley Hut |
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| Leaving Waterfall Valley Hut |
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| Heading towards Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Heading towards Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Heading towards Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Lake Holmes - heading towards Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Heading towards Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Covered our packs to hopefully keep away the pesky crows Side trip - Lake Will |
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| It's getting a bit muddy Lake Will walk |
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| I think we will have to clean our boots Lake Will walk |
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| Creek - Innes Falls Lake Will walk |
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| Innes Falls Lake Will walk |
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| Walking back along the lake Lake Will walk |
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| Walking back along the lake Lake Will walk |
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| Barn Bluff in the background Lake Will walk |
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| Lake Will & Barn Bluff Lake Will walk |
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| Lake Will & Barn Bluff Lake Will walk |
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| Lake Will & Barn Bluff Lake Will walk |
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| Back on the Overland track - it's a bit misty |
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| Heading towards Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Heading towards Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Heading towards Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Lake Windermere ... Windermere Hut can't be far away anymore Overland Track |
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| Heading towards Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Arriving at Windermere Hut Overland Track |
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| Lake Windermere Windermere Hut |
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| Lake Windermere Windermere Hut |
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| Lake Windermere Windermere Hut |
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| Lake Windermere Windermere Hut |
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| For those wishing to tent you have platforms Windermere Hut |
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| Little Joey Windermere Hut |
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| Sunset Windermere Hut |
Thank you so much for sharing the story of that hike and fantastic photos!
ReplyDeleteWe are heading to Overland in a week, hope for the luck with weather, as you were lucky ;)