Early Jan

[Mifferz]

Hi everyone,

Joined up few weeks ago and been lurking around these forums until now. Going to do the Overland Track in January next year, 2nd to 7th.
If anyone wants to join a friend and I to save on bus fares, you are more than welcomed!

Only overnight bush camping I done was an overnighter for highschool 10 years ago... so my camping skills aren't up to scratch. In the past month I've been buying gear and researching in preparation for Jan.
Going to start doing overnight camps once I have all the adequate equipment.

[bailz66]

Hey Mifferz,

Won't be along in January but hope you have a great trip. Noticed your from Vic so I thought I would give you a heads up of some of the walks I did to prepare

Hotham -> Falls Creek overnight was a good one camping at towonga huts. Also there are some great walks around the Grampions which I enjoyed.

A few things I recommend bringing along
Deck of Cards - Its amazing how easy it is to make friends with a deck of cards on that walk
Some nice foods - Bring your standard meals that your going to save weight on but also pack some meals where you can spoil yourselves.

Things to definatly bring along
Gaiters - For obvious reasons
Good Boots - There were 3 people who's boots fell apart doing the walk at the same time as us. They used some special straps to hold them together.
Water proof bags - Something to keep your stuff dry in your packs if it gets very wet.

What not to bring
Do not rock up at the end of the day 1 walk with backpacks filled to the absolute max with 2 massive garbage bags carrying the rest of your gear, then dont trudge through the thorny bushes to camp in what looks like it might be a nice clear spot but is actually a river. There was a group come into our site just on dark carrying about 500kg's of gear stuffed in garbage bags... they proceeded to rip their bag spilling out all of their gear. They didn't proceed to day 2 of the walk.

Really its quite an easy walk and the outdoor camping isn't important as their are huts to stay in (Quite a few huts). I recommend getting to the end of day 1 early as there are not that many camp sites to pick from on the flat.

[Mifferz]

Thanks champ.

Already planned to bring a deck of cards - helped me make friends on my overseas travel this year.
Will take a look at Hotham/Falls Creek once the snow season ends.

Gaiters - yep got a pair already, cheap ones from Hong Kong on ebay but they've served me well.
Boots - check
Nice foods - what sort did you bring to be considered 'nice'
Waterproof bags - I got a waterproof 15L sack thing where you can roll up and clip. Also thinking of getting a bag liner; someone mentioned asking the vet for a 'dead dog bag'.

Wont' be hauling bags of gear in my hands don't you worry.

For training, I've been carrying my ~11kg backpack (of gear) everytime the dog gets walked. It feels comfortable even if it's only 40mins.

Hey Mifferz,

Won't be along in January but hope you have a great trip. Noticed your from Vic so I thought I would give you a heads up of some of the walks I did to prepare

Hotham -> Falls Creek overnight was a good one camping at towonga huts. Also there are some great walks around the Grampions which I enjoyed.

A few things I recommend bringing along
Deck of Cards - Its amazing how easy it is to make friends with a deck of cards on that walk
Some nice foods - Bring your standard meals that your going to save weight on but also pack some meals where you can spoil yourselves.

Things to definatly bring along
Gaiters - For obvious reasons
Good Boots - There were 3 people who's boots fell apart doing the walk at the same time as us. They used some special straps to hold them together.
Water proof bags - Something to keep your stuff dry in your packs if it gets very wet.

What not to bring
Do not rock up at the end of the day 1 walk with backpacks filled to the absolute max with 2 massive garbage bags carrying the rest of your gear, then dont trudge through the thorny bushes to camp in what looks like it might be a nice clear spot but is actually a river. There was a group come into our site just on dark carrying about 500kg's of gear stuffed in garbage bags... they proceeded to rip their bag spilling out all of their gear. They didn't proceed to day 2 of the walk.

Really its quite an easy walk and the outdoor camping isn't important as their are huts to stay in (Quite a few huts). I recommend getting to the end of day 1 early as there are not that many camp sites to pick from on the flat.

[bailz66]

On the nice things front:

We left the food a bit late and although had some nice stuff we were a little jelous when people were pulling out things like

Huge Spagetti Bol (Dehydrated meat/sause)
Large blocks of chocolate to share
Our last night we played a drinking game with a bottle of rum someone had bothered to carry the whole way!

I guess what I mean is set yourself up with something to spoil yourself at some point through the trip and worry about weight and space for the rest of the trip.

I didn't really expect you to carry bags of stuff along I was really just sharing an experience I found quite strange on the trip.

If your backpack isn't water proof you should bring a bag liner, Purchased, or one of the Dog Bags you mentioned so that if it rains all your gear doesn't get wet. The other bag is probably ok though.

For me I brought

1 waterproof compression sack for Clothing
1 waterproof sack for Sleeping bag, pillow and Bed
1 waterproof sack for all my food
1 waterproof sack for Phone, electronics and Wallet

We did the hotham walk in December last year, was very enjoyable!

[Mifferz]

Spag bog - epic right there!

Thanks for the info bail66

On the nice things front:

We left the food a bit late and although had some nice stuff we were a little jelous when people were pulling out things like

Huge Spagetti Bol (Dehydrated meat/sause)
Large blocks of chocolate to share
Our last night we played a drinking game with a bottle of rum someone had bothered to carry the whole way!

I guess what I mean is set yourself up with something to spoil yourself at some point through the trip and worry about weight and space for the rest of the trip.

I didn't really expect you to carry bags of stuff along I was really just sharing an experience I found quite strange on the trip.

If your backpack isn't water proof you should bring a bag liner, Purchased, or one of the Dog Bags you mentioned so that if it rains all your gear doesn't get wet. The other bag is probably ok though.

For me I brought

1 waterproof compression sack for Clothing
1 waterproof sack for Sleeping bag, pillow and Bed
1 waterproof sack for all my food
1 waterproof sack for Phone, electronics and Wallet

We did the hotham walk in December last year, was very enjoyable!