CMNP: Hiking in the Park

Disappointment. That was my first reaction to the overcast and drizzle we woke up to this morning. Where had yesterday’s sunshine and blue skies gone?

Now that we’ve completed our hike, however, I can categorically say that we’re grateful that there was cloud cover today. It would have been downright uncomfortable hiking had the sun been out.

Taking the shuttle into CNMP around 8:30a, we hopped off at the Ronny Creek shuttle stop to begin our hike. There was a fancy sign for the Overland Track, our starting point. But no. We did not do that hike. Not only does it take 5-6 days to complete it end to end, one has to pack a tent and other accoutrements for wilderness hiking, and ascend both Marion’s Lookout and Cradle Mountain … and who knows what else.

Rather, the plan was to hike up to Crater Lake, which is on the Overland … and then return to the Dove Lake parking lot to pick up an outbound shuttle. Since we were cobbling together our own route, we weren’t exactly sure of the distance we’d be hiking. However we figured we’d be out and about for at least three hours. Had we not dallied as much as we did along the way, I imagine that estimate would have been accurate.. As it is, we hiked for over four hours.

The trail started out flat on a boardwalk. Then wooden steps … some wide; some high. Then rock steps … quite unevenly spaced. Then fairly flat gravel. Then dirt strewn with roots ready to trip up the unwary. The trail was rated easy … Australian easy, that is. Technically, it wasn’t a difficult hike, you just had to pay attention to where you were stepping.

At the top, the trail junctions with others, including Marion’s Lookout. One look at that straight-up trail confirmed our decision to nix it. Instead, we walked just a bit further on from the junction to a couple of hidden overlooks mentioned to us by the ranger at the Visitor Center … one for Crater Lake and the other for Dove and Lilla Lakes.

Photo ops completed, we began the return trek via the Wombat Pool and Lilla Lake trails. Yesterday, we had debated doing the hike we did today … but in reverse … starting from Dove Lake to Crater Lake via the Wombat Pool … ending up at the Ronny Creek shuttle stop. Once we began the descent from the Crater Lake trail today, we were especially grateful that we had not done so! There were far more steep sections here … especially on the way to Wombat Pool … and a number of them were a bit more like rock scrambles over what I like to refer to as “sliced bread rocks.”

We had a great hike … glad for the natural shade provided by the clouds and the occasional gusts of breeze. There were enough glimpses of the view in the heavily-forested parts to keep us entertained. And that’s an especially good thing.Read more