“The end was near for Sam and Froddo. Mount Doom rose before them, its shadow falling over them. For the two intrepid travellers, the journey to this point had taken them by streams, over mountains, through canyons. They were weary, with cracked lips and sunburn….yet something within their bellies burned….forcing them to draw on reserve strength that would enable them to conquer this final peak.”
I felt just like Froddo on Thursday as we scaled Cradle Mountain. And Jon was my Sam…..encouraging, patient, faithful. We set off just before 11 in superb conditions….so very different from our last trip here in September. Our trek took us via Ronny’s Creek with its easy boardwalk surrounded by wombat poop. Past Cradle Falls cascading through the ravine. By the boatshed and sheer cliffs of Crater Lake. Up onto Marion’s Peak with its spectacular views of Cradle Mtn and back to Dove Lake. Up over another boardwalk to Kitchen’s Hut and into the foothills of Cradle. As we ate our lunch at the hut, I took a few big gulps…’I am really going to climb THAT????” After a 9 minute lunch break it was onward and upward onto the goat track and then……..the hardest thing I ever done in my life. The boulder scramble! Another 600m of scrambling over large rocks, searching for foot and hand holds and heaving yourself that next step higher. An hour 39 minutes after we left the hut we sat at the summit of Cradle Mountain…wow! The views were awesome, despite the cloud deciding to visit. And the sense of relief and achievement that accompanied reaching this goal we’ve had since mid-last year, were fabulous. We enjoyed a 25 minute break and chat with a German tourist up top, before making our descent, which only featured one fall and injury, a few heart-in-mouth moments and took a little over an hour. Our return to base was via the ‘steep and rough’ track down Marion’s where you certainly did need the chains they provide along the track. We arrived at Dove Lake just in time for the 6.20 shuttle bus back to the lodge….7 hours, 11 minutes after we had left. Mission accomplished!!
Stayed the night in luxury at the CM Lodge in a Pencil Pines cabin with gas fireplace…a nice treat. But didn’t get to sleep until very late as we capped off a memorable day with the night animal spotting tour and a visit to Devils @ Cradle. We got to pat a devil, watch them feed, laugh at baby quolls hanging upside down to eat, and spot a multitude of animals….including my absolute favourite – a mummy and baby wombat. What a day!
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