Prince of Wales Traverse
Posted: Sun 12 May, 2013 8:46 am
I hope you enjoy the following photos and the short story. There will be twelve subsequent posts containing a bit of text and a few photos from each day of the trip.
The Prince of Wales Range is a remote area and a great adventure awaits those who embark on this traverse but may I suggest that you think twice before considering it. Unsure about going? Then don't. Not convinced that you want to spend two weeks with someone. Then don't. This is a brutal walk and you are going to suffer. Even in good weather it is hard going and you soon learn that you don't go anywhere fast on this Range. I was fortunate to go with four really good, strong walkers that I've known for several years but the last few days, when we dropped off the Range and struggled along the Denison River, had all of us a bit grumpy at one point or another. The slog up over the Hamilton Range at the end of the trip in wet and cold conditions, when we were soaked through from crossing the Denison River, was a lesson in endurance and in stark contrast to sitting in the sun only days earlier. Yes, we could have stopped and camped on that last day but the Chalet at Strathgordon has a nice warm fire, real food, and a bar.... there was never really any choice but to push on. A sense of humour? Yes, you'll need that, especially when you're stuck in head high scrub and going nowhere. There’s also a sense of isolation, it struck me in the middle of the Range when I realised that to walk out in any direction would take four or five days.
A special thanks to my companions: Az, ILUVSWTAS, stepbystep & Stu. And to Doogs who made sure we all made the starting line.
Please note, that beyond these notes and whatever else you can find on the internet or elsewhere, you are on your own.