Day 14 hiking the Australian Alps Walking Track solo

Australian Alps Walking Trail, Hiking, Trail Journal

From Tin Mine Huts to Cowombat Flat, brumby-trimmed meadows and aching hips—crossing into Victoria with black beer and grit.

Tin Mine Huts to Cowombat Flat Track (31.3km) | TOTAL – 304.2km

I rose at 5.30am and enjoyed brekky in my tent, despite the hut being mere metres away. It just felt more cosy.

As I packed, so too did the mountain bike riders and by 6.30am they were all posing for a photo, as I jumbled several cameras.

As I bid them farewell, one of the guys gifted me a can of Sapporo dark larger – a weight he wasn’t keen to bare on the next leg of his journey.

I set off at 7am, and when posed with two track options – Cowombat Flat Track and Snow Gums Trail, I took Cowombat Flat Track as I was keen to undertake the Mt Pilot side trail.

However, I missed the turn off to Mt Pilot, and by the time I realised I’d walked on several kms and decided not to turn back.

Perhaps it was destiny at work. Nontheless, a sense of disappointment – or failure – washed over me, but it was only fleeting.

Once I saw some rosellas in flight and breathed in the fresh eucalyptus infused air beneath hundred year old gums, it didn’t matter – I was out here and doing this.

Today, my body – mostly hips – felt the weight of my pack, as I tried but failed to shift it into a more comfortable position. Some days hurt more than others, and today I popped a couple paracetamol!

The scenery was beautiful, with sections of lush green, neatly trimmed grass (thanks to the brumbies), that any cricket club would surely be proud to call their turf.

In the absence of voices, the joyous laugh of the kookaburras, buzz of the bees and little chirps of invisible birds brought me comfort.

At Cowombat Flat, I crossed a little stream that fed into the Murray and entered Victoria.

With a foot straddling each side of the waterway, I was officially in both states – Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales and the Alpine National Park in Victoria.

Beyond Cowombat Flat, I met several groups of hikers headed there for an Easter getaway.

As the afternoon wore on, I wore out and struggled to sustain my stride and motivation.

By 3pm, I’d reached a campground, but I had this niggling feeling that I should continue, and I did, which meant it was my third 30 kilometre-plus day.

By 4pm I arrived at another campsite, a long three kilometres down the road, and set up my home for the night, enjoying the last of the sunshine, the black beer I was gifted and a serving of beef stroganoff.