Sunday 15
December 2019 – 279 470
This morning
we drove to Guthega Power Station to walk the Schlink Hut walk.
The start of the trail was a steep climb for
2.5km. The first hut we reached was
Horse Camp Hut – built by the Snowy Mountains Authority. It was set in a lovely meadow area amidst
wildflowers, with many small streams and waterfalls flowing throughout the
area.
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| Guthega Power Station |
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| View from top of first climb looking down on Guthega Power Station |
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| Horse Camp Hut |
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| Whites River Hut |
The next hut
was Whites River Hut, which dates from 1934, originally a shepherd’s hut. When
we hiked through Schlink Pass it was extremely windy. Schlink Hut was a largely building – at least
six rooms – built by the Snowy Mountains Authority to house workers. This would be a horribly cold spot in winter,
as the wind howls through the area.
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| Schlink Hut |
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| Disappointment Hut |
We came back
via Disappointment Spur Track, and Hut.
The hut appears to be on skis and must have been towed in during the
winter. The track itself was
“disappointing” - maybe that it how it got its name. At the end of the track the bridge across the
river was absent – signs at the start of the walk indicated it was structurally
unsound and should not be used, the signs did not say it had been removed. We scrambled down and found a spot to cross
the river and get out of the water on the other side. Much harder, was forcing our way through
dense scrub and up the other bank to re-join the track. Once we were back on the track, we realised
that Drew’s sunglasses had come off in the scramble – so back in we went and
amazingly he not only found them, but they were unbroken, what a relief!
On the road
in and out of Guthega we saw a Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) three
times by the side of the road. We also
saw deer again. In the campsite this
afternoon we saw several small kangaroos.
