This was the day I was not looking forward too, I knew it was going to be the toughest day of the hike as it was a day of low kms but with climbing and descents. We left Shelter Rock Hut at 8.30am, and slowly began our climb to Rees Saddle. The climbing terrain was not too bad, however after several hours it gets quite difficult. At this point in the trip I felt confident with my footing, during training I was always hesitant with where to step. The tracks were not flat, we had to constantly negotiate rocks and it was like doing a million step ups. My walking poles became my best friends. Again, the photos do not do the terrain justice!
After sever hours walking mostly uphill, we had a well deserved morning tea break with a view.
The track got more difficult, at one point it turned into a waterfall!
We kept climbing up to the bottom of the Rees Saddle. The Saddle was a steep climb to the top, thankfully Jason carried not only my pack but Judy's pack at the same time! It was a steep climb, made easier without the weight of a 15kg pack. We had lunch at the top of the Saddle and the view was worth it.
After lunch the track headed down the valley, the distance we hiked (4kms) was short but it would take us around 5 hours to climb down the valley. I've named this day 'the track the never ended' because it felt like it never would! There was some difficult rocks to climb down, but also some beautiful scenery.
We got to Dart Hut after 11 hours of walking (so much for the estimated 4-5 hours!), the hut was full so it was another night of camping under the stars.
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