A Dangerous Business

Date: 8th October 2024

Start: Mt Zero Trailhead (km 0)

End: Gar Campsite (km 23)

Distance Travelled: 23 km

Total Distance Completed: 23 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: O Where is My Hairbrush (yes, the VeggieTales song)

Body After 6 Months At A Desk: stiff

Well, here we go again. Packing a bag to the brim, chucking it into the back of a shuttle bus, and driving to a trailhead. Exciting times await, although I really wish we could’ve left earlier, pulling into the Mount Zero trailhead just before 10am. Now for 23km of walking to tonight’s camp and 9 hours of daylight to do it in.

There’s no warm-up for the GPT. After just 100m of flat trail, the climbing began on an exposed rock face.

Still in my jumper, I quickly gained a lot of heat, making itself present in the form of sweat. The morning air was still awfully cool but it wouldn’t take long to feel comfortable in just a shirt. Stopping by an oddly turkey-shaped rock, I removed a layer and continued pressing on.

It was pretty obvious that I was not the same hiker that had taken on Te Araroa. My trail legs (and hiker hunger for that matter) had withered away in the time since I finished. That’s to be expected I guess, office work isn’t exactly what you’d call physically taxing. It’ll be interesting to see how I go with the next week and how/if my trail fitness improves.

Once the first climb to Mt Stapylton was completed (no Brisbaneites, a different Stapylton to the one which hosts our weather radar), the track slowly descended, making for some very comfortable walking past bushes covered in vibrant flowers.

A good part of the day was spent trying to get used to hiking with two poles instead of just one, the reason being I have bought a new tent that uses hiking poles to pitch it instead of regular tent poles. It saves a decent bit of weight but it does mean I have to carry two poles with me now. So far it’s been fine, although the sound of them scraping over rocks does get annoying after a while.

The charred remains of a bushfire that swept through here back in February were clear to see. It felt a bit surreal to think that only 8 months ago this whole area was engulfed in flames, and yet here I am, able to safely walk through it.

Descending further, I passed a school group looking a bit worse for wear, many of the students asking how much more climbing they had to go. I may have made a mistake in telling them the truth (yeah, there was still a decent bit of climbing for them). Just before the first campsite on the trail was a waterfall. Or at least it would be a waterfall if there was any water.

Barigar campsite then appeared out of the bushes. Most of the campsites have been given these flash shelters for hikers to use, plus individual tent platforms. That works well for people with freestanding tents, but I’m not convinced I’m gonna like them as much with mine.

The Barigar to Gar section was quite a bit rougher, involving quite a bit more climbing and rock hopping. Despite the late start I was making good time; running out of daylight was no longer a worry. With my mind set at ease, I could pay a bit more attention to stuff happening around me. Most of that energy went towards looking out for snakes, but one such concerning rustle in the bushes turned out to be an echidna.

The climbing started properly at the Gar trailhead, slowly rising onto the ridge past a waterfall that actually contained water.

The bush up here was very dry and I felt pretty exposed, even with the air temperature hovering in the mid teens. Frequent stops were needed on the climb to catch my breath and drink water.

All of the real steep sections were traversed using humanity’s greatest invention – stairs – but it was still rather tiring. On the plus side, I got a healthy dose of admiration at how far I had come, being able to look back at the mountains I had just crossed.

Gar campsite sits just below the mountain it shares its name with (it’s English name being Mt Difficult). Like Barigar, the campsite included one of those fancy shelters and individual platforms. Setting up my tent was, eh, a bit finnicky. Instead of staking it with pegs I had to use chains attached to the platform. For the life of me I could get sufficient tension on the tent, but it was good enough. Then it was onto dinner, sharing the shelter with a group of ladies just doing the northern section. The cold came it quickly as the sun set, here’s hoping I can stay warm up here.