Bert Nichols Hut | Murray Foote

27 August 2017, Overland Track (Bert Nichols Hut to Narcissus Bay), Tasmania

When we woke up on our last day on the track it was to a world covered in snow.

So I got up early and took some photos before breakfast on the verandah.

Back inside the hut, breakfast is about to happen and Don is pouring some milk into his tea or coffee. You can see the snow outside.

I’m slower than everyone else, partly because I’m the oldest and have the heaviest pack, so I take off first. There are no footsteps in the snow ahead.

And it’s a white wonderland we’re walking through.

The previous afternoon we could see the clouds building up ahead. If we’d had to walk through the Du Cane Pass in heavy snow that would have been tricky because it would have been uneven underfoot and the path indistinct.

Fortunately, in this case, the terrain was flat and the path easy to follow.

That’s not to stay your feet stayed dry. There was frequently water to walk through.

They haven’t caught up to me yet. The path is still clear.

Forest in the snow.

More water to wade through and snow-covered branches coming in from the side.

An ancient stretch of boardwalk here. The modern variety is more regular.

We had a ferry to catch at 1pm so we couldn’t afford to waste too much time.

A stream crossing the path that you have to walk over. Most of the others had gone past by here.

Snow hanging on top of branches beside the track.

In some places, the snow on the branches beside the track was like a maze.

Most of us stopped for a break at a junction. Bert, Mitch and Susan in front at the left. The signpost points to a track at the right to Pine Valley, the Parthenon and the Acropolis.