Australia’s Snowy Mountains in Summer - Walking the Cascades Track near Dead Horse Gap

What a contrast from Days One and Two.  A grey, showery morning greeted me, as I drove up to Dead Horse Gap from Jindabyne.   The plan was to possibly reach Cascades Hut.  As with Snow Gums, I have ‘a thing’ for Alpine Huts.   Visiting Seamans Hut had inspired me to seek out another.  Conditions were superb when I arrived at Dead Horse Gap.  Misty, damp and every changing light conditions.  I found the track head and set off with a bounce in my step, despite carrying a heavy load of wet weather and camera gear.  It was hard to make progress when astounding photo opportunities arose at every corner.  I was snapping away with both iphone and DSLR and for the first two hours, just me and nature.  Eventually a few mountain bikers passed by as I climbed up towards Bob’s Ridge.  By now sun was peeking through the low hanging clouds as I sweated my way up the ridge.

Finally, I reached a sign indicating I had reached the summit of Bob’s Ridge.  A couple sat close to the sign, munching their breakfast.  I continued on with a slight sense of apprehension, given I was hiking solo towards the unknown.  The sun had disappeared, and rain clouds were yet again threatening.    The track now descended quite steeply in places and was rocky underfoot.  All of a sudden, a young kid whizzed past me on a fancy MTB.  He shouted G’day as he passed.  I shouted back: “Stay Upright”!  The kid could only have been 8 or 9 years old and appeared to be riding solo down this steep descent.  I pondered the potential for disaster for this solo kid when I heard more MTB rumble and his dad appeared, in hot pursuit!  Dad stopped to ask me if I’d seen a kid.  I said YES, about 10 minutes ago….  Turns out Dad was also from Sydney, and we briefly discussed riding in the Snowies and the beauty of the environment before I urged him to go find his son and make sure he was safe!  I continued my downward trajectory until I reached a stream.  The only way to cross without wading was a precarious looking branch that had been laid across the stream.  With my precious camera on my front, and fully loaded on the back, I gave it a go, but the branch felt incredibly unsteady.  I made the decision to turn back.  Reasons included the dodgy weather and the risk of getting my camera wet.  Erring on the side of caution is a trait I have always hated about myself.  As I discovered later when I heard that at the stream, I was only one or two kilometers from reaching Cascades Hut….  

I vowed to return with new gravel bike Kelvin to accomplish my mission of experiencing Cascades Hut.  Nevertheless, a wonderful morning with spectacular light conditions for photography!