Day 4: Mountain Day

Day 4 was another climb day (but not that bad).

Heading out on the trail! Beautiful, right?

And on our way up the mountain! Lots of big steps ahead of us!

Largely uneventful, we left Adele early on to speed up the track. Once at Pelion Gap, we sat and ate lunch--instant mashed potatoes with garlic butter! Most other hikers climbed a mountain, either Pelion East or Mt Ossa (Tassie's highest). We passed and continued on though I later regretted that decision after seeing someone's pictures. There was snow and the view was just amazing. (I can be persuaded into most things with the promise of good photos).

Happy campers. No, really.

We were so lucky to be there when we were! All of the alpine mountain flowers were in bloom and everything was covered in color! Coming down from Pelion Gap was was a real treat!

The best views in the whole world. This was my second favorite part of the track and not just because it was downhill! Just look at those fields and that sky! Breath taking beauty, that's what that is.

That night was cozy in a small hut but we all chatted and enjoyed each other's company. The ranger came and gave a big talk about wildlife, his job, and park maintenance. It was very infomative and everyone really enjoyed it. I asked him for a good story, prompting him with "What's the strangest thing you've seen on the track?" He told us the other day he had seen someone with painted leather chaps on to help protect himself from bushes. Weird. Later the ranger came back to play cards with people and socialize in a non-official capacity.

Unfortunately no Tasmanian Devils were seen on the track... One person thought he saw one but the ranger said it was probably a possum. Way to ruin a good story, eh?!

All of us eating dinner together that night! There were about 15 of us, rotating in and out of the two tables, squished in and content to be together! It felt like a family dinner. (Photo courtesy of Adele.)

It was a good day and I slept best that night. On second thought, it's probably because I didn't climb those mountains.