I want to see mountains again. Mountains, Gandalf! (NB: These are more hills than mountains.)
A mystical misty morning.
I’ve been saying I need to get out in the hills more, and that I need to get my mileage up, so this was the day! The forecast was for sunny weather, though as we drove through Briagolong and up Freestone Creek Road the mist was heavy on the plains and in the valleys. Mum and Dad came along for the first bit of the walk (Dan was in Melbourne) - 25 minutes of constant uphill along the first bit of Ten Mile Track - and they were both more spritely than I was.
Starting the big climb. It took me a while to get ready - look how far ahead my mum is!
I always like it when there's lots to take photos of on a big climb. Plenty of excuses for a rest.
We admired the sunlight filtering through the mist and the bright pink spears and clusters of heath along the road as I tried and failed to keep up. Going straight into a big uphill first thing is not my favourite way to start a walk!
 Some kind of wattle? |  Not sure what this pretty plant is - the leaves looked like flowers from afar. |
 Dad was fine in his big jacket. I was hot in my jumper! |  The first heath stand of many. |
As my folks turned back, the mist was starting to clear, and after scooting through a short dip in the road, I was well out of it. I got glimpses of it hovering in the valleys below for a little while, but soon enough it was gone. Up and up I went, with a few moments of respite, past the intersection with Bonus Spur Track (now that was an uphill walk!) and finally to the summit of Mount Moornapa.
With the mist in the valley, you can just make out the tops of the hills beyond. The cleared strip is a firebreak.
 Happy that the biggest part of the climb is over. |  But there was still plenty of uphill. |
The views were once again fantastic, and after our last visit I was better able to identify various ridges and peaks. The sun was now out in full force, along with the birds and a handful of flies. I took a break a little further down the track, sitting in the shade for a few minutes to eat a muesli bar and have a drink of water.
Two cockies keeping lookout. Surprisingly, they didn't scream at me.
 Everlastings - so happy making! |  Looking back at the fire tower. |
The view from the top - I now recognise Gable End, Mt Wellington, Cromwell Knob, Castle Hill, the Pinnacles.
I’d been quite in my head for the first part of the walk, thinking about the differences between walking with others and going solo, and this continued as I headed down Tower Link Road. I do like sharing the experience with other people - whether that’s Dan, other friends and family, or a walking group of some kind. I like being able to share the joys of the day, to point out (and have pointed out) views and birds and flowers, to have someone to get my water bottle out of my bag without practising my contortionist moves, to laugh about finding a place to wee, to chat about anything and everything. But I also like walking by myself, not having to negotiate with anyone else where and when to stop, randomly singing or chatting to the birds without anyone there to hear, being completely in charge of my speed, knowing that my decisions only affect me. It wasn’t until I went for some solo day walks that I realised how much energy I expend negotiating with co-travellers. I really do think everyone who likes walking should go for a long walk by themselves at some point, to experience both the accountability and the liberation.
Along Bullockhead Creek Track (or Road). Lush.
 Some details of this walk looked prettier than a deliberately landscaped garden. |  Don't fall in! |
More greenery on Bullockhead Creek Road (or Track). It was gorgeous and shady under clear blue skies.
Soon Tower Link Road deposited me at the bottom of the hill, where I turned up Bullockhead Creek Road. This track turned out to be one of my favourite parts of the walk - it was lush and shady, small creeks were flowing (presumably one or more of which was the eponymous Bullockhead), there was lots of greenery and the rowdy birds kept me company. Around here, I finally gained a bit of presence, which was nice.
 Let's gooo! |  Tyre mark in rotten wood. |  Sunlight through young leaves. |
Lunch spot ahead! I plonked myself down just past that tree beside the road on the right.
It was kind of cool how this walk traced a similar arc to my Stockdale-Blue Pool walk, only in reverse and a hill or two further north. The junction of Insolvent Track was the closest my feet came to the last walk - less than a kilometre away - but I turned in the other direction and headed north. I was starting to think about lunch, but wanted to hold on until I was over halfway done, so instead I tried out an energy gel - my first ever! It was sweet and its most notable immediate effect was to give me something to do for a while as I slowly sucked the gloop out of the sachet. I guess it worked, because before I knew it I was at the intersection of Winkie Creek Road, and it was lunch time.
Cheers! I was texting home and finding out what they were having for lunch. I didn't want anything other than my noodles with extra dried veg, though!
 I even have a bandana/foot rug/tablecloth. |  Well rested, fed, and ready to head off again. |
I’d decided to have noodles for lunch in part to force myself to take a proper break, and I was very pleased about it. It’s so nice to take off your shoes and wiggle your toes in the fresh air while cooking noodles in the middle of the bush. Not even the undesired visit from a couple of mozzies really annoyed me - they seemed more interested in my sweaty pack, anyway. After lunch, I balanced out my water and mixed up an electrolyte sachet, then set off, turning on to Mount Ray Road soon after.
 Slow down, traffic hazard ahead. |  The hazard in question. |
My route took me around the south side of a lot of the hills, meaning I was in the shade (no need to break out the dorky removable flaps on my new legionnaires cap!) and the road wound around a lot of lush gullies full of green ferns, moss, lichens and soft red soil. Occasionally, though, the track passed through a saddle and onto the north face, as it did while I very gradually climbed towards Mount Ray.
 Miniature moss and lichen garden. |  Yet another lush gully on the south side of a hill. |
 Who lives in here? (I didn't poke my finger in to find out.) |  Landslip. But the ferns grow like nothing's happened! |
On the northern slopes, the bush is completely different - dry, with blue-grey foliage and grey-brown leaf litter covering the hard ground. The views were also very different. To the south I could catch glimpses of the plains and a silver band of water (Lake Wellington, I presume). To the north, between and behind the closer hills, the blue horizon of distant peaks shifted very slightly as I walked.
Cutting on the south side of a hill - shady, with lots of green moss and lichen. Also note vertical-looking rock formation.
Cutting on the north side - in full sun, a little bit of bedraggled moss and dogwood hanging on. Note the horizontal layering in the rock.
I stopped for a quick break to eat an apple and stretch out my legs on the north side of Mount Ray. I spent a good 5 minutes trying to decide if the Noones in Noones Road was pronounced like midday or nobody or noonies. And then I was at the top of the climb. I’d thought that I might bushbash up to the summit from the road, but when I got there, the notion didn’t appeal - I couldn’t imagine there would be much more to see, the brush was pretty thick. Instead, I started the long downhill, enjoying the vistas that opened up to the east across the pine plantations and farmland to Mount Taylor and its fire tower on the horizon. The downhilling wasn’t as bad as I feared, but it was still pretty brutal on my toes and knees. So, I stopped again. Because I could. I sat down in the dirt near a little dam full of orange, clay-filled water, took my shoes and socks off and nibbled on Nobby’s nuts. It was great. A bit later, I heard a lyrebird.
 Coming down the hill, with views to the southeast. |  Bad erosion, red earth, my shadow. |
The orange dam. I was glad I didn't have to drink this, but it was a nice spot to stop. Insects danced in columns over the water.
The electrolytes were doing their job, and I felt pretty good as I dropped down past various boundary tracks, a shed of some kind (PRIVATE PROPERTY KEEP OUT!), a couple of deer (not obeying the sign to keep out of the private property), a couple of wallabies (who disappeared almost before I could see them - just the telltale sound of them jumping through the bush) and the scraggly first paddocks.
I can understand why they might need the sign, as the shed did look like quite a tempting shelter.
 Kangaroo prints. |  Possibly brushtail possum footprints? |
I was aiming to get to Beverleys Road at 4pm to meet Dan, and I was on time until I came upon the cows. At first they didn’t notice me, as the closest one was a couple of hundred metres away across the paddock. But soon enough they decided I was a terrifying threat, and the entire herd gathered from across the hillside to bellow at each other and run ahead of me up the hill. They waited there until I came near again, then thundered off into the next paddock. And so it went until they were unable to go further, so they just had to mill around and look at me as I took my extremely threatening bag and hair-raising walking sticks and made my fearsome way along the road.
 The cows, pre-flight. |  One cow looks back from the top of the hill. |
Extremely wary of going through the gate into the next paddock while I'm standing here. Of course as soon as I moved past it, they ran through.
And then, there was Dan, wandering up the sandy track in the golden afternoon light - the first person I’d seen since I’d said goodbye to my folks several hours before. Home time!
You can just make out the car and Dan in the afternoon light.
Notes
I walked about 24km with 980m+ of both ascent and descent. I started at around 8:15am and finished at 4pm, with more than an hour of rest stops (45 mins for lunch, two breaks of 10-15mins and a couple of shorter ones). I carried a lighter pack than usual, knowing that this was going to be a more strenuous walk, so bear that in mind in the following paragraphs.
 Remains of some kind of earth star fungus. |  Not sure what kind of fungus this is! Mutant puffball? |
 Pretty little pink flowers. Weed? I don't know. |  More everlastings. |
I felt unusually chipper at the end of this walk. Almost as if - and I know this is weird, but stay with me here - putting enough fuel in your body and replenishing certain nutrients as you walk actually makes a difference? Who knew! So, I would say that both the energy gel and the electrolyte mix helped, as did stopping for rests and generally taking my time. The energy gel is something I’m only going to take a few of on the Heysen Trail - one in each drop box to add to my first aid kit - but it’s good to know it will help in a pinch. I wasn’t planning to take electrolyte drinks every day, but I might change my mind on that.
 An enormous leaf. |  Flowers (remains of a bird feast?). |
 Gorgeous deep red leaf. |  I liked the colours and shapes - wonder what's been eating them? |
My feet were moderately sore by the end, and my right toe was in a pre-blister state. I didn’t put any plasters on, because I wanted to see if just stopping, taking off my shoes and socks and airing everything out in the sunshine would help (blister formation is exacerbated by moisture). It seemed to help. A more lightweight solution than carrying lots of extra bandaids - saving myself a fraction of a gram every a day!
On the home stretch!
I had plenty of other aches and pains in the evening - legs and hips in particular. I slept extremely well that night (the most sleep I’ve had in months). The next day I did some nice stretching, especially for my calves, which are always really tight. And by the following day, I only had some slight achiness in my ankles and calves to remind me of doing such a long walk.
This walk is on the unceded Country of the Brayakaulung (Gunaikurnai) people. This always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.
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