Diary - Km 2087.1

2/3 of the trail done.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve walked what was probably my favorite sections so far- Richmond Ranges and Nelson Lakes National Park. My knees would disagree with that. Steep ups, scree downs (scree was actually not that enjoyable and borderline dangerous), bouldery avalanche slides, some actual bouldering with a bagpack on. Arthur (short for arthritis), who has been my mostly-silent hiking buddy for a decade, decided he’s had enough and started stabbing my ankle with a knife-like sensation at a random interval, and since then, I’ve been eating my breakfasts and dinners with my new best friend- ibuprofen.

But I’ll trade any ankle for those views.

Mountains, mountains, mountains. That’s all I need. That familiar mountain hum, those cute round birds that are so curious they almost sit on you, all the fuzzy bumble bees (I’ve never seen so many bumble bees!), the color of those rivers and the way that golden grass sways in the wind. I’d hike on stumps to get there.