Day 17

Day 17
Friday
September 23
Cradle Mountain
8km on foot
-1.5 to 7 degrees
Snow, sleet and big wind with gusts up to 60km/h.

Feeling glad we have good gear.

It’s snowing.

OK ... multiple choice.

Pat & Pete wake up in their cosy, comfortable cottage and look out the window and see snow and strong winds.

Do they,

A) Stay inside and read a good book?

B) Insanely go up to mountain and go walking?

C) Hop in the car and go for a day trip?

After breakfast we headed down to the Info centre and boarded the free shuttle buses that took us up to Dove Lake. It was bitterly cold but luckily we were pretty well prepared. We tracked back to Glacier rock

and then to the Boat Shed on Dove lake to take some photos with snow.

We then took the back track by Lake Lilla. We got occasional glimpses of blue sky but, at times, the wind was so strong that it drove snow and sleet into our faces and we just had to watch our feet on the rough track - that sometimes looked more like a stream than a path. The scenery is fantastic and, despite the conditions, we were quite comfortable in our gear. Waterproof boots are essential up here.

Many of the tracks loop together and we made our way down to Ronny Creek.

From Ronny Creek we took the boardwalk track along to Snake Hill and from there caught the shuttle bus back to the visitors centre.

After lunch we visited the National Park Interpretive Centre, did the Pencil Creek track and then the Enchanted Forest track.

Legs are a bit stiff from today. Watching the weather before we decide what is happening tomorrow.