Date: 18-23/9/2025
Trip leader: Adam H
Party: Liam K, Margot, Reid, Terry (Wing Chun)
The Overland Track is a bit of a “choose your own adventure”. You can stay in huts or camp, catch the ferry at the end or walk the length of the lake, take the many sidetrips atop summits or to pristine alpine lakes. The self-proclaimed “Overland Track Cancelled Gang” left following walkers a bible verse that I think sums up our experience or indeed any Overland Track experience fairly well. “In his heart a man may plan his course, but the Lord chooses his steps.” Whether you are religious or snarled at the use of a bible verse, it rings pretty true that we as bushwalkers often have intentions that are trumped by fate (regardless of whether that fate is supernatural or simply a fact of circumstance). This quote was read from the journal of Pine Valley Hut, a hut we of course had no intention of visiting. I often say that even when things aren’t going to plan, we still gravitate towards the best trip we could’ve had (i.e. if our plan is suboptimal, we will end up doing the optimal thing anyway). Perhaps that is merely coping with the fact we didn’t get to do any of the summits we wanted to do, but we each found it to be a remarkable experience in what is an undoubtedly remarkable part of the world.
Weather was the determining factor in how much of our planning document we could stick to. Throughout the 6 days we saw hail, snow, a bit of a blizzard on Pelion Gap, endless icy mud to wade through, and even a bit of sunshine. Of course, being a Tasmanian September, this was to be expected, and can you really say you’ve been bushwalking in Tasmania if you haven’t been putting on muddy wet socks every morning?
All this to say that the weather tossed our ambition to summit Mt Ossa and accompaniments out the window, forcing us to make things up as we went.
“Day 0” involved Launceston exploration, gear checks, and discussing our plans. Some sought cafes to complete last minute uni assignments, others practicing their scrambling in a playground. The 5 metre summit pictured below being completed without supplementary oxygen or sherpas. A reminder that SUBW insurance does not cover playground injuries…
Day 1 (Ronny Creek -> Waterfall Valley, 11.5km)
After a 2-hour shuttle from Launceston, we found ourselves at Ronny Creek, legs fresh and ready to go. We started off passing through a wisdom (colony) of wombats on either side of the track. We were even spoiled with a little bit of sunshine, so much so that somewhere on the way up to Marions lookout we found ourselves taking off layers! Having said that, ziptied to my pack was a cheap IoT thermometer that reported the temperature as a mere 9 degrees. Terry jokes that the obvious next step is that I get a ring doorbell for my tent.
Once we were up on Cradle Cirque, it was quite a bit colder and there was quite a bit of snow left from a dump in the week. It was decently easy going but still made for the fun game of “am I stepping on the duckboard or am I going to step into a frozen over puddle”. In parts there was barely any snow, in others it was knee deep. Terry’s phone wallpaper is from his expedition to Cradle Mountain 4 years ago, and it’s fun to see the contrast of the perfect weather summer shot 4 years ago vs the snow-covered September. We had planned to either summit Cradle Mountain, which is a really fun scramble and one of the best you can do in Australia, or Barn Bluff which is taller, but given the day 1 weather it was definitely off the table.
Looking like underprepared ignorant mainlanders, Liam and I were still wearing shorts at this point. The temp had only dropped to 4 degrees and the wind was yet to be brutal.
We stopped for lunch outside the aptly named Kitchen Hut, where Liam and I succumbed to the wind, rain and near freezing temps and donned the rain pants.
Continuing the walk we spent another hour above tree line in snow-covered conditions, wrapping around Cradle Mountain towards its back. For those of us with microspikes, it was pretty easy. Terry reports the icey duckboards to have felt like ice skating. We had some obligatory slips trips and falls before the tree line reemerged as we headed down into Waterfall Valley. If you’ve been on an alpine walk with Terry you will know that snow gums cannot be passed without a photo stop, and fair enough, so the going was a bit slower than anticipated.
We reached Waterfall Valley at approximately 3pm, set up tents, and enjoyed the view of Barn Bluff.
Pitching on platforms is always a bit of a pain, especially when the chains are frozen over, so with my tent being freestanding I did a bit of a lazy pitch with a bit of compacted snow stopping me from blowing away. This of course meant I found myself out at 1am trying to repitch the corner that was lifting up half the tent with every gust of wind. The wind was pretty fierce but it didn’t seem to get that cold. Temps only dropped as low as 3 degrees. This too meant that much of the snow (what was left in the valley anyway) melted overnight and we were ready for an easy day 2.
Day 2 (Waterfall Valley -> New Pelion Hut, 26.3km)
We were supposed to start day 2 with a Barn Bluff summit, but the fog had covered the peak and from the glimpses through, it still looked quite snowy, so we continued on to our next destination: Windermere Hut.
We dumped the packs on the main track and took the sidetrip out to the shore of Lake Will along the way and while pretty glorious, it does not come close to the magnificent Crater and Dove lakes. We were later told in New Pelion that the benefit of the Lake Will sidetrip was a waterfall at the end of the track, something we did not go far enough to see. Oh well. At least we saw the lake- that will do.
We reached Windermere by 11:30, stopped for a quick snack, and made the decision to continue on given the nice weather.
By this point we had left behind the snow and were making good pace. Our intention was to continue on to New Pelion Hut with camping at Frog Flats being a backup if we were travelling too slow.
Just after Windermere, we saw the remnants of the bushfire that the track saw in February. It’s always interesting to be walking through snow one day and burnt bush the next. Australia I suppose.
Day 2 was fairly open, mostly being across expansive buttongrass plains with snow capped peaks in the distance.
The track was wet to say the least. Somewhere along the way we were caught in a little bit of hail, but nothing too damaging. We stopped at a lookout on the way, with Mt Oakleigh on the side.
We had descended down to Frog Flats, the lowest point of the Overland Track, by 3:00pm which left us still with a few hours of daylight to reach New Pelion.
With a spare room to ourselves, we decided to enjoy the spoils of the hut, and a break from the wind and rain. It also provided an opportunity to learn who among us snores (Terry) and to compete for who had the loudest sleeping mat (me of course, no other brand is a match for the mighty crinkly sea to summit).
Day 3 (New Pelion Hut -> Windy Ridge, 18.1km)
There was a pretty substantial snow dump overnight and a fair bit of snow as we were walking. Some nice pictures were taken around the campground as I went to the toilet.
Snow along the track means infinite water supply. Although unconvinced at the beginning, everyone came around to eating the snow to stay hydrated and entertained on the go. The snow grew heavier and the vegetation thinner as we ascended up towards the base of Mt Ossa.
Once again, the game of “am I going to step onto a duckboard or into a frozen puddle” was on. So much so that Terry had stepped off a duckboard and into a very deep muddy puddle that eventually suctioned off his boot and gaiter. What saved the boot was the hook on the gaiter which latched onto the shoelaces. A trekking pole came in handy in retrieving the now brown gaiter and boot. Perhaps I need to start taking them for boot fishing.
Conditions quickly worsened up on Pelion Gap. The corridor passes through the bases of Mt Ossa and Mt Pelion East, commonly done as an alternative to Mt Ossa when conditions are extreme. Conditions were too extreme for either though. Still, something about this area’s inhospitality was beautiful.
The 2 above images were taken less than 30 minutes apart from one another and it just goes to show how quickly conditions can turn in alpine areas. While we were well prepared for it, it’s no wonder that many are caught out by the weather of the Overland. While the weather can turn in any season, I think what we saw goes to highlight just why there is a booking season and the track is not paid year round. A lot of walkers don’t seem to understand this, making their trip out of the booking season to save a few hundred dollars, only to not actually consider why it is the off-season. Our shuttle driver told us at the end that the 2 groups he dropped off in the days after us had turned back on their first day. I suspect that they had made this mistake, not expecting and not being prepared for fierce alpine weather.
We stopped in Kia Ora Hut for lunch, meeting a group that was taking a rest day after one of them had dislocated (and relocated!) their knee the day before. It was still around 1:30 so we discussed our game plan. With Mt Ossa skipped due to the weather, we decided that we would add Pine Valley to our walk. This meant continuing on to Windy Ridge to make for an easy day into Pine Valley on day 4.
We took a short break in the historic Du Cane Hut. It is leaning to one side as it slowly falls down the hill so everything is sloped which feels pretty strange to be in.
The descent from Du Cane Gap down to Windy Ridge felt like a bit of a slog. It was easy enough, but heading downhill on slippery tree roots and frozen mud puddles as it was getting increasingly cold and dark was not super pleasant. The rainforest section also felt much colder than being up on Pelion Gap in exposed conditions, perhaps because of how the trees trap moisture. Throughout the whole walk, this short section was the only part that felt like a chore. Pretty happy days.
Bert Nichols (or Windy Ridge) Hut was by far the coldest of them all with only one tiny heater in the corner tasked with heating a massive common room with high ceilings. Still a luxury in the face of the wind outside. The long bunks, each fitting 6 people side to side, are reminiscent of the traditional Japanese tatami beds. The walk from the hut to the toilet is also extremely long- longest walk I’ve done in my life. No doubt longer than the Overland track itself especially barefoot on ice in the early morning. Would not recommend.
Day 4 (Windy Ridge -> Pine Valley, 10.4km)
Once again, most of the snow we saw had melted overnight and it was pretty easy walking into Pine Valley. It does not form part of the Overland Track itself but still serves as a decently popular detour for its walkers.
The track was of course still cold, wet, and muddy. I think it’s safe to say that not once across the 6 days were we walking with dry feet. No huge dramas though!
Pine Valley is no doubt home to more bridges than the Overland track itself. It has 2 long suspension swing bridges and a number of relatively new shorter ones for creek crossings. It’s pretty awesome to see this much infrastructure in what is just a side track. Perhaps the $300pp fee in summer helps.
The track was pretty overgrown in sections but day 4 still formed what was our first “rest day” where we could take it easy. We reached the hut at 1:00PM, enjoyed a tutorial on how to use the coal heater in the hut from a gentlemen that was just packing up to go. Elected by a vote of confidence, Reid was our designated coal heater guy. We had a bit of a false start but Reid soon mastered the technique and the heater was roaring. The coal to operate the heater is helicoptered in so the blackboard on the wall asked us to be conservative with it. 1 bucket per night is the ration which served us well for the duration of our stay.
As Terry often says, if Sydney Uni were to be a socialist republic there would be too many artists and not enough coal miners. At least we now know that we have at least one coal miner on hand.
This was the first hut where we found ourselves with time to enjoy it. Time to play cards, time to read the hut’s journal and leave entries of our own, time to just be present in each other’s company where staying warm and dry wasn’t the top priority. It was pretty cool that we had the hut to ourselves too as it’d be a bit of a squeeze with a second group!
Day 5 (Pine Valley -> Echo Point, 15.5km)
Continuing with the theme of snow every second day, there was a snow dump overnight and intermittent snow accompanying our walk that morning. Pine Valley was absolutely spectacular in the snow and it definitely felt special.
Pretty awesome stuff.
Once we were out of Pine Valley and back on Overland, the question was whether we should end at Narcissus Hut and take the ferry across the lake or walk out. We had initially planned to walk out but some were weary of the constant swarms of leeches we had heard about. Once we reached Narcissus, our decision was further complicated by the lack of heating at the hut (it was warmer outside) but also some south to north Overland walkers telling us the track along the lake was super wet and tales of the rats that joined them for the night in Echo Point Hut. We had lunch, ummed and ahhed, and decided to press on regardless along the lake. We had heard that the track along the lake was overgrown, and in comparison to the rest of the track I suppose that’s true but it certainly wasn’t compared to the Pine Valley sidetrack or just about anything in the Blue Mountains. The first few hundred metres were swampy and the duckboards were underwater but it was nothing we hadn’t seen yet.
It was just 5 short kilometres from the busy Narcissus Hut to the quiet Echo Point Hut. We even had a moment of clear blue sky along the way.
The rat poo everywhere definitely confirmed that the hut was in fact rat infested. Only 2 were willing to brave the rat den, while the rest of us camped outside. There are provided bins to put your pack/food in overnight to keep them away and it worked well. Not a single rat was sighted.
Once again we left journal entries in the hut’s journal and went to bed. This was also our first night with mobile reception and we all had a bit of a privilege of Instagram doomscrolling before bed. Apparently our Instagram feeds are now 6 days old, and all our meme group chats are waiting for us to disseminate reels.
Day 6 (Echo Point -> Lake St Clair, 10.4km)
Terry could be found out on the jetty at 8am, using the 1 bar of mobile reception to check in to his lecture with a sneakily obtained attendance QR code from 1000km away.
We had breakfast on the jetty, packed up and continued on. Day 6 was warm and there was very little rain, a pretty good way to end it. There were a couple of fallen trees along the track but I certainly wouldn’t classify it as overgrown.
Soon we were out, enjoying food that didn’t come out of a pouch and awaiting our ride back to civilisation. It is in said ride along an unsealed road that I wrote the preamble and much of this trip report.
Six days of rain, hail, snow, and occasional sunshine. Constant frozen mud to wade through. Awesome views and awesome company. One week of uni ditched. 10/10, would do again.
