Our Hiking Blog

Congratulations and many thanks to the Bureau of Meteorology!

Drum roll…… the Overland Track now has its very own weather forecast.

Yep, a specific seven day forecast for the Cradle Valley.  It includes forecasts for “the Overland Track area”, New Pelion Hut and Lake St Clair. Up until now we have always relied on the Mt Reid and Lake St Clair forecasts. That left about 80km in the middle!

Head off to the B.O.M. site to check it out – Cradle Valley forecast.

Because this is a very short note, we thought some indulgence with a series of “weather” photos taken along the Overland Track might be fun.

Barn Bluff topped lightly in snow. This trip was in winter heading back to Cradle Mountain from the Walls of Jerusalum.

A wet day on the track as a walker tries to use a plastic poncho to protect his camera gear….

This was a trip in July, lots of the track was like this. Snow shoes weren’t necessary but the snow and ice was very slippery.

Speaking of ice, we loved these patterns.

This shot was on day five of a quick trip through from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair. We had not seen the top of ONE range in four days because of low cloud, rain and fog.  As we headed out on the boat, out came the sun!

Echo Point, a top spot to camp when the lake is low.

Ah, the last day on the track on a February trip. A few of us rinsed out some clothes or swam in them to freshen up. It was a beautiful day as we camped at Echo Point.

What sort of weather have you experienced on the Overland Track?

Have you had all days of sunshine, a mix of sun and snow or just terrible weather?

Shoot us a comment below or post your Overland Track weather images on our Facebook page. We would love to see them!

We are approached quite frequently by businesses keen to promote their ideas and/or products via our website. We have a policy of not accepting everything that come our way for a number of reasons. For example, we don’t want anything not related to the outdoors filling up the site with junk.

Recently we were contacted by Natureshop.com, who loved Our Hiking Blog and when we perused their website,  we found we loved them.

Nature shop is a carbon neutral online retailer selling products with a strong environmental and social ethos. A quick glance at their about us page will make you aware of how committed they are.  They specialise in a variety of  footwear and gear such as
Merrell footwear or Teva sandals and shoes

Johanna Beach - Great Ocean Walk - Frank used Teva walking shoes for a few trips here guiding, they were excellent

They did offer us a product each from their extensive range and we are both very excited now that our parcels have arrived. I am looking forward to trying out my new Merrell Siren’s while Frank opted for a pair of Teva Event M’s. We will let you know how these styles go, with consideration to comfortable and durability, two of the essentials of good footwear.

In the meantime we suggest you have a look at Nature shop . It great that they have done all the research about how the products are made and that everything availabIe has been produced in an environmentally responsible manner. It’s also good to know in this age of consumerism that when we go shopping the some profits are use for good.

Oh, and they offer free return shipping and a long return policy.  Quite a positive approach.

Do you buy much gear online? How has your experience been?

We’d love to hear about your experiences.

Sue

It was very hot in Tasmania over the New Year period.  We usually hike “out of season” when the days are cool and the nights cold and clear. It usually rains or there is heavy weather.

On this trip, out back of Cradle Mountain to celebrate New Year, it was HOT! We struggled with the heat and reflections off the hot track.

Looking back at Lake Rodway after the climb out from Scott Kilvett Hut

It was fun, of course, great fun! Continue Reading…

Just a quick update to let you know we fly out tonight to our beloved Tasmania.

It has been a day of packing and trying to not exceed Jetstar’s baggage limits.  We have dehydrated a few meals but will do most of the shopping in Launceston tomorrow before we head up to Cradle Mountain.

The plan is for a couple of nights around Cradle for New Year, maybe at Scott Kilvett and then Lake Ball.

Then, back into civilisation and down to Lake St Clair and into Pine Valley.

We have hired a car and will end up at Hobart for a night or two.

Phew, quick trip but really looking forward to a stroll.

Have  a great New Year, where ever you are, and thanks very much for your support in 2011.

Frank and Sue

We love it when readers  share information and new ideas. Sonja contacted us recently about Food to Go and asked how many vegetarian recipes there were in the eBook. She is heads off on many multiday trips in Australia and was looking for some new  ideas.

There is a vegetarian backpacking food section in Food to Go but it is not massive. We sent Sonja a copy to check it out i.e. if she was not happy, she did not have to pay for it.

The upshot of these communications was we did a swap, Sonja received a free copy of Food to Go and she sent us some great vegetarian bushwalking meal options!

Over to Sonja:

I have read your book, Food to Go. It is very good and informative.  The examples by a range of bushwalkers is really interesting. I purchased two american trail food books (off amazon) that I believe were a waste of my money.  Your book is very good and offers a range of good recipes and meal planning information. Continue Reading…