Day 166 Middle Hut

The trail and the creek are sometimes the same

NSW Day 24 Saturday 6th November, 2021 19.4km

3241.5 / 1857.4 km

Today is a repeat of yesterday times many. The track down by the river is overgrown and some of the creek crossings are hairy as I try to avoid taking my boots off.
I've got to go back down

About the third crossing coming out of the creek I spy a red belly black in the grass. This one moved out of the way fairly quick but it puts me on alert and over the course of the day I spy two more. They must hunt along the brook. I keep calling it a creek but it's name is Kunderang Brook.

Breakfast is always a beautiful spot
I make a blue early on when the trail intersects another trail. The notes just mention the intersection then to continue to follow the creek. I was halfway up a hill when I felt something was wrong. It's not like the track doesn't climb away from the creek going over spurs etc. I went the 800 or so metres back to the creek but there is no other track. I just about climbed back up but decided to push through the scrub beside the creek for a look. About 100 metres on the brook trail reappears beside the creek. The trick would be to walk up in the actual creek around the thick scrub. 

A trail sign
Around midday I come across Middle Hut. I decided not to stick around and try and move as far up the track as possible. I'm looking for a spot on a spur above the creek line with a little cover of grass not the jungle beside the creek or the tussocks of grass on most of the old paddocks. 

The weather is predicted to turn again with heavy rain predicted. Not a time to be left with a lot of creek crossings. If I get far enough I can climb out of the valley tomorrow morning. 50 to 60 mm of rain predicted tomorrow.

The trail follows the brook but this is old grazing country
So the walk around the creek and those long steep climbs and descents over spurs. In the end I find the perfect spot just as a few showers pass over. It's been a long tiring day being on alert for snakes and the statistics say that I've climbed 1053 metres and descended 930. No wonder the legs are tired.