Canowindra High School Gold Duke of Edinburgh students Julia Stanley, Hamish Gregson and Will Wright accompanied by teachers Mr Phelan and Mrs Coutanche completed a four day hike to Mt Kosciuszko from the 8th-12th of January.
Students had to carry all of their equipment up the mountain including food, water, shelter, clothing and an emergency kit. Canowindra High student Julia Stanley said “We packed very minimal in the way of clothing only packing essentials such as thermals and jackets as to allow for other essentials in our packs.”
Day one of the hike saw dangerous weather conditions with gale force winds reaching speeds of up to 122km/hr, freezing temperatures and dangerous storms surrounding the snowy ranges, making it too dangerous to begin the hike but overnight the storms cleared and revealed a promising start for day two.
With an early start the students set out in a southerly direction to Cascade Hut and were lucky enough to see at a distance wild brumbies that inhabit the snowy ranges and even saw a man who was hiking from Melbourne to Canberra on foot! Day three they made their way up to Seaman’s Hut through the main range track of Charlotte Pass and crossing the Snowy River before setting up camp at Wilkinson’s Creek.
Day four saw another early start on the final day of the hike as they made their way up to the peak of Mt Kosciuszko and were
rewarded with a spectacular view from Australia’s highest peak. “It was really rewarding at the end and an amazing experience and I would do it again” Julia said.
By Georgia Grenfell