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Up and down, down and up and a funeral

 We borrowed Katie' car and headed off into the mountains - the Australian Alps, to be precise. There is a trail that runs from Walhalla all the way to Canberra (about 650 kms). Our intention was to walk from Walhalla to Baw Baw ski resort, spend a night in a lodge and then come back down. Day one went to plan, and we spent the night in a lovely campsite next to a stream.

Day two was very steep, and it was 36 degrees and a total fire ban. We decided to head back down the mountain - where we had a wonderful cooked lunch, and coffee - and then drive to where we were originally planning to walk to that day. 

Unfortunately there was a tree the size of Katie's car blocking the road, so we ended up driving back to where we had walked into the day before. The next  day we drove to the top of the mountain and  had a fairly easy day, just walking the tracks of the resort without packs.

Then on day four we headed down from the top of the mountain. It's all dispersed camping, so we camped near a stream, behind an historic hut. Just after we prepared our after dinner cup of tea it started raining and it did not stop. 

It was a good test of our gear, which kept us dry and comfortable and reasonably warm. It was a lot colder at the top of the mountain than at the bottom.

On day five we hiked back up the mountain in beautiful sunshine and drove to Lilydale, where we stayed at the cheapest motel in town. we had a lovely night at a fancy cocktail lounge, and scored some ties at the Salvos for future  Bad Tie Mondays.    

Today we laid Rachey to rest. While (obviously) burying your friends is always very sad, the day itself was lovely, if very emotional. She had a natural burial and we all wore as much pink as we own and I had the privilege of being a pall bearer. She will always be in our hearts and was very loved.



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