Grampians
The concept was simple. Get these old tramping bones to the top of a mountain wait for the sunset take some attractive photos wait for dawn and repeat the process.
First of course there was old equipment to be dusted off, boots to be repaired and the deprivations of mice and burglars to be made good.
For reasons of sloth and arthritis I hadn't been walking for years but was keen to go again. So with the weather slowly worsening we headed for the Grampins shooting up the road to Ballarat and after a short wait to raid Jame's parent's fridge we carried on to the Grampians.
All the way we debated the weather and if we would punch out the other side of the cold wet westerly system sweeping over Victoria. We technical yuppies that we are stopped to check the Bureau of Meteorology's web site. It told us what we already knew it was raining.
Prevarication aside we got to the Grampians and in gentle rain packed up for the short work to the top of “The Bundolear”
I headed off quickly wanting to get some grunting underway whilst the others finished packing and of course promptly misread th track and had to wander around the bush before finding it again. How embarrassing.
The top was soon reached and it became evident that we were inside a cloud rather than it really raining. I tried taking a few photos but it was really for forms sake. James and Mike declined to even let their cameras out of their warm enclosures.
The top of the Bundolear is very rocky with low scrub. We found a couple of well sheltered relatively flat spaces in the scrub and pitched tents, ate meals and whiled away the hours till it was late at least 7pm and then failing anything else to do went to bed.
We had agreed to get up early enough that we would make the dawn and as we did there was much anxious peering at the mist to see if it would clear. Small patches of starlight convinced us to stay up and gradually the dawn cleared and many satisfactory shots of early morning mist cliffs and dripping many satisfactory shots of early morning mist cliffs and dripping trees.
Eventually we ran out of things to photograph and headed back down the hill, hoping for some satisfactory shots in the can.
On the way I had fallen in love with the beautiful Gitzo tripods that Mike and James had. I realized that they could let me take better photos and of the sort that I want to take.
The trip had shown me that I could still carry a pack even if this trip was a trial that barely rates a walk status but for the first time in ten years it was mostly satisfactory. Soon I hope to do more.
Created: 1/Jan/2007 - 12:00 AM Last updated: 17/Apr/2009 - 01:12 AM