View back to the west, Mt Ansted in the distance

View west again towards the Barrier Range

Dart River and Barrier Range

More and more cloud drifting in and it’s still about 2 hours to the hut, hopefully no rain before I get there

To the south, the Forbes Mountains, everything is still looking sunny

The scenery here is beautiful

A selfie

Mt Head hidden in these clouds

I know today’s hut will be smaller then the previous one, so not enough beds for all of us, I’m therefore trying to stay ahead of the other walkers which isn’t easy as most of them are younger

There are a couple of beautiful flat areas here, you could land a glider here if you needed to

It’s getting the glider out that’s going to be the difficult part

Then the track suddenly goes through forest again

But forest normally makes for faster walking then tussocks

Once out of the forest I can see the hut! Rain looks imminent

Almost at the hut, one look back

Here we are all in the hut, playing Uno. The big beard is Philip

Being one of the first to arrive here paid off, I had a bed, quite a few people had to sleep on the floor, which is less than ideal of course but everybody was in good spirts, also because a few of us carried some good spirits!

Track log of today, distance was about 17.5 km and that took about 5 hours and 15 minutes

The Forbes Mountains to my left

As I work my way up to the east of the valley, towards the Rees Saddle

Looking back towards Mt Clarke

View towards the south: Cleft Peak

Approaching the Rees Saddle

Just one more climb and it’s downhill from there again

On the saddle, once more a look back to where I came from

Snowy Creek which leads up to the Tyndall Glacier, not going in here

I continue down the Dart Track instead

Well, after a selfie that is

Ok, 2 selfies

Looking back south towards the saddle and Snowy Creek

Looking north, Marion Tower in the distance

This area is really beautiful

Lots of little waterfalls adding to the Dart River

I’m glad there’s a bridge over the river (it will be removed during winter)

Beautiful!

And I’m fortunate enough to enjoy the view

Seriously, what’s not to like?

Again looking back towards the saddle and Cleft Peak

At the Dart Hut! That’s enough for today

Track log of today, distance was about 11 km and that took about 6 hours

Mt Earnslaw is the highest peak on the left, straight ahead in the distance the Forbes Mountains

The track follows the Rees River upstream on the true left

No wet feet today

Looking back towards the Richardson Mountains

I hope the weather stays this way, it’s great for hiking

A fair amount of today’s hike is through forest

Slip Flat

Lupins, they’re everywhere

Bridge and small waterfall

Forbes Mountains

Mt Cunningham, tomorrow’s track will go just behind it

Getting close to the hut now

Yes! Shelter Rock Hut and Campsite! I hung out my yellow tent to dry as it was still wet from the night before

It’s packed tonight, both buildings are pretty much full

The hut at dusk

Track log of today, distance was 20 km and that took just over 7 hours