Day 245 Mount Terrible to Royston River

 VIC 21 (245) Tuesday 25th January, 2022 38.2km

5139.2 / 92.7 km

The day started well. There was a lovely sunrise with a fog down in the valley.

Sunrise

The Goulburn River Valley

The track drops off Mt Terrible down to the Jamieson Eildon Road. According to the book the camp for trekkers is down along there somewhere.

Love the tree

But I get down there by breakfast and decide to keep moving. A short walk up the bitumen and then back up the track to climb again.

Some Blackberries to chew on

My thoughts initially is to get as high as I can so tomorrow's walk is shorter. The March flies are horrendous. I would say I kill a fly every 5 minutes as they latch on somewhere. There's a constant buzz of them around me as I walk. Then there's the little black ones. I put on Aeroguard and that seems to stop them coming under the brim of the hat. The biggest problem is the lack of rest. I just can't sit for too long before the flies make it hard. So moving is best.

Taponga River

The track after breakfast just climbs and climbs and climbs. The day is hot and I'm dribbling sweat. There is water in creeks but getting to it through the blackberry bush is impossible. The consolation is the climb is via a road so is quite civilised. Until it turns into a track then it climbs steeper. I come across another sign saying I'm heading up into a logging area. All I can do is keep walking. I walk through a dead mountain ash forest with a lot of dead trees falling over.

Finally I get to a locked gate.

I'm not going back Down

I bypass it as I'm not going back and it's about 5pm and I get to the log stacking/loading area. Two gentleman are talking and I call out to see if I can bypass. Everyone except these two have gone home. They are a father/son duo and the father offers to give me a lift out of the logging zone down to where he turns off to go home. About 4 kilometres. Something I regret a little as it's the only downhill since breakfast.

He tells me the walk up Mt Bullfight also goes through another logging area so I decide to get past that. I think I've already done about 30kilometres and there's still daylight left. So climb the next hill. This is Mt Bullfight.

Thought I was going to Look

Decided against it

I get past the logging area but the road turns into a wheel track and is muddy but I'm looking for a clear spot to camp anywhere with no overhanging timber but the track just winds it way through BlackBerry vine on both sides.

Blackberry choking the sides

In the end I get down to Royston River to a clear spot beside the bridge. It's been a long day and it's after 8 pm.

I set up have a cup of tea and go to bed. I've covered a few kilometres and dropped a day of the schedule. They need to poison some of these declared weeds. It is out of control. Made me work though. Probably for the best. The public camping areas are busy and I reckon as the weekend comes it looks like it will be busier.