No one else will post about this ride, so I'll
write it up for them :)
We met down at the Mt Clear
camping ground early, I knew there was dirt road for
10kms, but it was a little rougher than I anticipated on
my lowered V8, I bottomed out 5 times, but made it
with my exhaust still attached! The normal cars
handled it fine (except they needed a damn good wash
after!)
Heading straight up the Naas River Valley trail we were
riding North and toward the Horse Gully Hut. The track
was rocky in parts and there were 3 shallow creek
crossings, but the view and solitude from civilisation were
awesome. About 6 kms in, Kyle and I had to head back home
to try and meet an old friend who was leaving town,
that left Dave, Neil and Izabella to tackle the rest
of the run (26kms to go).
They got to the hut,
but missed the turn, travelling another 15kms north.
That put them 25kms from the cars and past half way
back to the Namadgi Visitors Centre! With no water or
food left, they decided they were very lost, but knew
how to get back to the hut were they stayed
overnight.
If your going to head down to this part of the
world, learn from our mistake and take LOTS of water and
power bars for energy :)
The night was fraught with
failed rescue attempts by rangers and sleepess nights by
us, but in the end they all made it back o.k. except
for an arguement Dave had with a locked gate...Dave
lost. He got a cut to the face that may leave a little
reminder of this run for the rest of his days, at least
he'll have cool war stories to tell his grandkids one
day!
We'll be back here April 10, camping this time. I'll
ensure we follow the map a little better and take lotsa
water. The coutry side and a need to beat this damn
trail have me keener than ever for a
rematch!
Dist: Too damn far! (~50km)
Time: Way too long! (22
hours 50mins)
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