We took advantage of the Australia Day long weekend and joined a group of friends to tackle Mount Kosciuszko again. Our intrepid hike leader, Ed, mapped out a more ambitious – but super fun – trail than the easy one from the Thredbo chairlift we’d initially tackled last November. Our main route was the Main Range Track, plus a “short” side exploration of Blue Lake on Day One.

 

 

 

 

Haha well “short” in quotation, because our mini exploration resulted in us wandering off trail, and circumnavigating the lake until just before sunset. Instead of pushing on to the original campsite that Ed had marked out, we decided to just set up camp on a flat patch of grass above Blue Lake.

 

 

 

 

It was a tough slog to get to where we were; certainly it felt harder than Day One on the Overland Track, in part because we had a longer climb, in part because we went off trail, and in part because we brought more stuff this time (thanks Jeff for carrying the tripod!). But the views of the sunset and the milky way after more than made up for the walk. We felt so incredibly grateful to be outdoors, in the peaceful wilderness and breathing in the fresh alpine air, cut off from the depressing noise and news.