I woke to a blustery morning, a helicopter circling in darkness, and then one of the most spectacular sunrises I’ve ever seen. It’s bright orange and pink glow lit up the sky.

The section from Jamieson-Licola Road would absolutely win the award for the most fallen trees to navigate around. I was only reflecting on the number of fresh cow patties on trail, when I came across six tagged girls struggling, like me, to make their way through the maze of fallen timbers. Needless to say, there was a traffic jam.

The old 4WD track then gave way to an overgrown foot pad which wound its way through a beautiful section of forest with towering furns, tall and slim timbers, and a thick blanket of greenery covering the ground.

The trail then re-emerged out of the forest to rejoin Jamieson-Licola Road. I relished the spaciousness of the unsealed road. Tall gum trees lined the dirt road like a procession, with masses of wild blackberry bushes at their feet. These slender trees were all that could be seen to my left, where they extended into the very distance.

It was such a long, steep and rocky descent from Mt Shillinglaw (1,320m) that I was relieved not to be tackling it in reverse.

One of my spirit birds, the kookaburra, greeted me at the bottom of the mountain in a very tranquil and moss covered forest

I replenished my water supplies at Black River, a beautiful spot but fraught with prickly blackberry bushes. From Black River, a dense section of collapsed trees sent me off off course briefly before I began an absolutely gruelling and lengthy climb – over 1,000m in elevation.

Pack loaded with food and four litres of water, and ankle still blown up, today was a bit of a struggle. Smoke hung in the air as I climbed up one of the steepest 4WD tracks I’d ever come across, and was forced to retrace my steps when a trail turned into nothingness.

Some days I’m all about climbing mountains, and other days I’m just happy to get some kilometres under my belt and make it to camp. Fatigue had set in and this was one of those days.

It was also the first day that I hadn’t interacted with someone, other than smiling at a passing 4WD.

The Fiddlers Green campsite was nothing special, but boy was I stoked to arrive!