Australia – Mt Kosciuszko

Mt Kosciuszko (7,310ft)*

Eric on the summit

Matthew and Amanda (November 7, 2016), Eric (December 17, 2018)

Eric’s Report:

I landed in Canberra at 11:20am and it was a bit confusing that american rerouted me through brisbane instead of sydney but luckily i landed on schedule. I rented a car in canberra and drove 3 hours to Kosciuszko national park.on the way the Truck in front had a dog in back that barked at every single car driving by. I was amazed he didn’t get tired out, since he had quite a job of barking.

By 3:20pm I parked at Charlotte Pass on the side of road and started hiking. I was carrying a small pack with just 1l of water, a few bars, and a rain jacket. The trail was a gravel road most of the way. I wish I’d had a bike. Bikes are allowed until just below the summit.

Hiking over to Carruthers Peak

After hiking below a few large snowfields I reached the summit at 520pm. A family from India was there and two backpackers. I rested for 15 min and admired the view. I realized if I hiked straight back I’d get to the car well before sunset, so I decided to tag few more peaks first. I hiked to mt Townsend past 4 groups of backpackers camping out. I wished I’d brought my tent too since they were positioned for excellent views of sunset over Kosciuszko to the northwest. I made a short scramble up Townsend, then scrambled over one other peak (Muellers Peak) before returning to the main trail.

Sunset over Mt Kosciuszko

I hiked back on the main range trail, and tagged two more peaks on the way before sunset (Mount Lee and Carruthers peak). I noticed fresh ski tracks on a long snowfield leading from the trail just below Carruthers peak down to cub lake. I hiked back in the dark and reached the car around 10pm and slept in the car that night.

Dec 18 I hiked a mountain close to the pass (Mount stilwell) in the morning then drove to Thredbo to see more of the park. After a short stop I drove back to Canberra to catch my flights to Samoa that evening.