Packbacking III

Setting out from Peaceful Bay, it was our shortest day so far. After about an hour of hiking we came to Conspicuous Cliff and Conspicuous Beach, neither of which were very hard to find... Sorry, I couldn't pass it up... Both of these were very nice and we took a multitude of pictures just so that you can see how nice it was.

After climbing some stairs away from the beach, we lost the trail markings and ended up having to choose which direction to go. The way to the left looked ok, but the road to the right had a kangaroo. So, as any half-way intelligent person would do, we followed the kangaroo. And it continued to just bounce ahead around the bend, so we continued to follow it. I mean, it was clearly trying to lead us to some place good. Just look at that innocent face... After awhile he hopped off the track and we lost him. So we kept walking until we came across a road sign that showed us we had clearly chosen the wrong direction and we had to go back about 1.5 km. Stupid, good-for-nothing kangaroos... Luckily we found the Bibbulmun signs again and continued on. We probably saw another snake or two, but yet again we all cheated death.

Actually, this snake in particular gets a paragraph to itself, mostly to demonstrate our collective stupidity... So the snakes, as you might imagine, love to come out onto the track because it's clear and the sun can beat down on them really well. This snake was situated to the left side of the track and wasn't going anywhere. It was also a rather narrow section. Additionally, the snake was not sleeping, but instead watching us rather intently. So, we thought it might be best to try and scare it away by throwing some branches near it to startle it away... I do not recommend this tactic because a) the snake did not move and b) as you probably know yourselves, snakes generally will not attack unless provoked. So, with stick in hand, Jeff and I passed by the snake without too much trouble. That is, until it began hissing at us, leaving Mary and Arthur on the other side of the snake. But being the brave and courageous people that they were not phased. They carefully walked around the snake and we continued on.

We ended up in a hut on top of a hill/mountain overlooking the ocean and forest. It was a nice view and a good night. Being in the middle of nowhere again, we decided to just shout everything we said over dinner. I highly recommend trying this out. It's way more fun than it actually sounds. Or maybe it's just the little things that amuse you when you've been hiking for three days...

Now, in the interest of time-and laziness-I will end the general narrative of the day-to-day occurrences because, at this point, it was all generally the same. We woke up at six, ate breakfast, hiked, took pictures, ate lunch, more pictures and hiking, arrive at hut, eat dinner, go to bed at 8. In fact, I might have even gotten some days switched around already... For instance, I'm actually pretty sure that Conspicuous Cliff occurred on the fourth day, but since it is written already, I'll leave it be.

There were some other cool things we did like the tree-top walk. I will just post a link to all the pictures in actual chronological order in a little bit once I get them all up. Also, my birthday was pretty solid. I had a snickers bar with 20 matches in it as my birthday cake, got free left-over pizza at a hostel, and got to sleep in a bed--it was our last day of hiking. Anyway, enjoy all of the pictures. It was a really fun time and absolutely beautiful. If you look close enough, you may even be able to spot Antarctica... I know I did. Enjoy!

GO IRISH! BEAT CARDINAL!