I've heard a lot about how Australia is and has been in the middle of drought for going on a decade. And then I decide to come to Australia and the rain follows. It's been raining for the most part of the last 2 weeks, at times down pouring in a monsoon. In one part of the country, people have had to evacuate because of flooding. In my opinion, that is hardly drought weather.
Over the weekend, Steve, Byron, and our friend Thomas, braving the rain, drove an hour north and inland to Mount Warning to camp for the night. We set up the tent in the rain, cooked and ate dinner in the rain, went to sleep in the rain, and broke camp in the rain. It was all really lots of fun, but that was just the beginning. The rain at this point was a mild drizzle, which you can ignore after about 20 minutes, but when we parked at the bottom of Mount Warning, suited up, and started our 4.4 kilometer hike to the top, the skies let loose. We started by avoiding the puddles and muddy spots, not wanting our nice dry shoes to get uncomfortable, but by about ¾ of the way up there, I'd stopped caring, mostly because I couldn't get any wetter, so I went slopping through the puddles.
The last bit up to the top of the mountain is described as a “sheer vertical rock scramble” in the words of whoever wrote the placards, and we had to haul ourselves up using toeholds and a chain to keep us steady. Mind you, the vertical rock we were climbing was a bit slippery, which added to the thrill and general level of danger. I spent approximately 11 minutes at the summit of Mount Warning, scarfing down a banana and staring at the beautiful view, of the inside of a cloud, decided it looked quite similar to what i'd been looking at the whole hike up, and turned around to go back down. At this point, my clothes are soaked, my shoes are squishing with each step, and the gusting wind brought out goosebumps the size of, well, Mount Warning on my legs. Needless to say, it took us about half the time it took us to get up there to get to the bottom, where I'm pretty sure I wrung a liter of water from my sweatshirt and shorts.
I am making sure that during my next hike the rain stays away.
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Hm, the drought kinda sounds like the global warming, don't you think? I believe you will need to make that hike again, when the sky is clear. From what I read it sounds like a beautiful view. I can just imagine all of the fun you were having hiking in the rain - not! Although, I do remember that you always liked to run outside once it started raining! Not the same? Love you, Mom
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