Day 29: 16 December 2019 (SCT Day 3)
Louisa River to Little Deadman’s Bay
Climbing the Ironbound Range is renowned as the hardest day on the SCT. The track rises steeply on both sides to an elevation of over 900 m, and walkers are advised to avoid crossing in high winds or extreme weather. We had seen the first part of the track like a vertical thread disappearing into cloud as we approached Louisa River at the foot of the mountain range the day before. The weather forecast for this day, and the next week, was for clear skies, so we were hopeful of magnificent views from the top. We were not disappointed.
We have adopted a style of climbing steep hills from the Nepalese Sherpa model, 100 steps, then rest, let your heart rate settle, then another 100 steps. This served us well, so we arrived at the top feeling great. The Western Arthurs, Eastern Arthurs and Federation Peak, the coastline to the southeast and southwest were all in clear view. Wow. Pillars of dark cloud formed below us and hung over the coast. A friend who had climbed the Ironbounds 3 times had never managed to see anything from the top, so we were immensely grateful for this perfect day. I was relieved it wasn’t windy as I had had visions of being blown away.
After a Helinox chair lunch at the top, Justin headed off at his pace and we began our descent. We had been told that the descent is more difficult than the ascent. After a couple of hundred metres, the track heads steeply down through thick forest, with fallen trees, mud, tree roots, for most of the 900 m back to sea level. It was gruelling for me (Merran) as I was so determined not to twist a knee or ankle that I took it painstakingly slowly.
Feeling totally exhausted and a little discouraged, I was wondering if I could muster the energy to get to camp. Justin wandered back up the track to meet us, a pattern that he repeated several times over the week. He offered to carry my pack, which I declined, but his chirpy attitude lifted my spirits. He told us that camp was ‘a couple of hundred metres’ away (the standard mountain guide answer for any question about how far to go) and the final walk in, though much longer than that, was at a reasonable pace. We arrived just after 6 pm. We had conquered the Ironbounds. It had taken just over 10 hours, but we had done it. This night the campground was the busiest we had stayed at, with a couple of guys walking in the opposite direction, a group from DIPWE doing a survey of Aboriginal sites, our Trek friends who had had a rest day, and the group of 6 we had previously met. Our spot up near the creek was private and comfortable and we slept well. Sarah had camped further on, and finished a day before us, we didn’t see her again.
