In Tasmania Day 18
In Tasmania Day 18 Windemere to New Pelion Hut. 17 km The rain roared on the roof all night, regularly waking me, so when 6 rolled around I was ready. A problem with hut hiking is you have to be in other people’s diurnal rhythms. Some folks started rustling around so I decided it […]
In Tasmania Day 17
In Tasmania Day 17 (Jan 31) Launceston to Cradle Mountain park Ronny Creek to Windemere Hut 18.5 Km The group from the Arthouse Hostel nearly filled the Overland Transport van that took us first to a little town called Sterling for breakfast, then on to the visitor center for the incredibly popular park. We were […]
In Tasmania Day 16 Launceston
In Tasmania Day 16 Launceston Yesterday I boated the gorge, today I walked it. Up over the zig-zag trail, past a beautiful recreational park with a huge pool, across a 100+ year old swinging bridge and back down the other side of the gorge. Not a difficult walk, but full of surprises. The basin […]
In Tasmania Day 15 Launceston
In Tasmania Day 15 Launceston A day to organize and wander a bit. Woke up early but, while my German roommates slumbered on, I stayed in bed gorging on YouTube accounts of US politics (something I’ve been trying to avoid and happily so). Main tasks today were to take care of some emails, then […]
Learning to Walk Again
Learning to Walk Again A few years ago some French trekking friends asked me to write an essay for their blog. I gave them this: Why I Walk. There, my opening point was that the reason I do long-distance trekking is because I can. That is, I am acutely aware of the privilege reasonable health […]
In Tasmania Day 14 Hobart to Launceston
In Tasmania Day 14 Hobart to Launceston I really didn’t want to leave Hobart— I’d grown attached so I visited my favorite places (including a long time at the Retro Cafe) before catching the bus to Launceston, a town that might be more difficult to like. I’m staying in the Arthouse Hostel— a magnificent […]
In Tasmania Day 13 Hobart
In Tasmania Day 13 Hobart A day to organize— booked hostel in Launceston, bus travel there and transport to trail head on the 31st, my Overland Track start date. Then took a boat up the Derwent to the Museum of New Art (MONA), a magical, bizarre and disorienting experience. On the ride up I saw […]
In Tasmania Day 12 Hobart
In Tasmania Day 12 Hobart Always familiar, a rest day involves slow catching up with messages, requests, etc. still trying to maintain that hard-fought distance from bureaucratic triviality. Wandered to the Retro Cafe for a flat white and to update (this) blog. It’s Australia Day, so the locals have a long weekend. Many are back […]
In Tasmania Day 12 Rivulet Camp to Cockle Creek 10km (and on to Hobart).
In Tasmania Day 12 Rivulet Camp to Cockle Creek 10km (and on to Hobart). Every schoolchild in the English-speaking world at some point reads Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach.” A beautiful and generally easy to understand poem, perfect for angsty individuals struggling with meaning between the tattoo parlor and the second-hand shop. Having grown up […]
In Tasmania Day 11 Surprise Bay to Rivulet Camp
In Tasmania Day 11 Surprise Bay to Rivulet camp Surprise Bay is the right name for the start of this part. Thus far, the map times and distances have been spot on for me, so when the notes predicted up to 10 hours to cross a 9 km trek, I felt a little anxious, particularly […]