Day 8 hiking the Australian Alps Walking Track solo

Australian Alps Walking Trail, Hiking, Trail Journal

27km to Grey Mare Hut: Mt Jagungal summit, dense bush, 360° views, and a night by the fire with fellow hikers sharing stories and warmth.

Mackay’s Hut to Grey Mare Hut (27km) | TOTAL – 190.1km

I slept pretty well last night, with a just few screeches from possums my only animal encounters.

After watching the pink sun rise over the hillside, I hit the trail at around 7.15am. But literally came running back 15 minutes later when I realised I’d left my walking sticks behind. Disaster averted!

Within a couple of hours I arrived at O’Keefes Hut, well known of its walls laden with old newspaper clippings.

Here, I bumped into two weekend hikers. After checking out the hut, I headed up Mt Jagungal (2,061m), with a gnarly 6km return journey to the summit, which saw me push my way through dense head high bushes.

I gave Jane a quick call from the top of the mountain, and took in spectacular 360 degree views. I met a lovely father and son hiking duo on my way up.

From here, I slogged it out for another 7kms over undulating terrain to Grey Mare Hut – a rustic wooden one-bedroom structure sitting atop a big hill and overlooking the valley.