Thrasher Cove to Campers Bay – 14 Km as per my GPS.
Due to the ungodly amount of rainfall today my DSLR stayed in my bag. Which other than lugging the >5lbs of weight for no reason at all wasn’t a big deal. I imagine this part of the hike to be much more beautiful when your not worried about dying all day.
I Woke up in the middle of the night in an absolute panic! The waves sounded so close to my tent I thought I was about to get swallowed whole by the sea. I thought this despite the fact I had already seen the beach at high tide and knew in my mind was no where near that line. I opened my tent in a rush and saw the ocean waves no where near me, breathed a sign of relief and tried unsuccessfully to get back to sleep.
One of the easy parts of the day
Today can be summarized by unrelenting rain… the kinda rain that drenches you to your soul and makes your skin look like you’ve been sitting in a bathtub for too long (40-50mm was forecasted and likely is what fell). This was combined with a treacherous coastal walk which made for an awesome combination. We left Thrasher Cove at 9am which gave us about two hours to get to Owen Point for low tide. The walk is about 2 kms and it took about 3 hours to complete. The “path” was literally climbing slimy slippery boulders on which one wrong move could result in injury. It was a beautiful ball drag.
At Owen Point one is greeted by some fantastic sea caves. Unfortunately due to the rain and the now rising tide we spent very little time here and carried on. The walking did become easier on the rock shelf that came next but also involved passing multiple surge channels, slippery treacherous conditions and poorly marked routes that would duck into the forest to avoid impassable obstacles. All while trying not to remember the tide will take the path and you along with it if you don’t hurry up.
This looks safe?
We reached the end of our costal adventure and were rewarded with a trail that that resembled more a river with waterfalls than a walkable path. My boots finally got completely soaked through and did stay completely wet the remainder of my trip. This is the last time I purchase waterproof boots for any hiking adventure. I also lost one of my water bottles… Likely while trying to navigate one of the many surge channels. This left me with the ability to only carry 1 litre at a time for the rest of the trip. Fortunately water is not in short supply.
We traversed our first cable car of the trail and landed in Campers Bay. I had hoped to make it to the next camp site but I was way to wet and way to tired to attempt that journey. Fortunately there was a group of people who had spent the entire day here waiting out the storm and tending to a magical fire. 3 members of their group had been rescued the day before from the section we had just completed.
Because of the large amount of rain 1/2 of the campground was inaccessible and as a result not much good real estate to set up shop for the night. I was no fan of Campers Bay nor my sideways tent. Calling for sun tomorrow! *crosses fingers*
