Reminiscence – Falls Creek 2011
Duncan Crockett
Photos by DC and JK
Falls Creek has long been a favourite destination for the group’s summer activity: not just because of the lovely walking to be had in the area but also because we had access to “Icicles” Ski Lodge – a very comfortable base for our walks.
The weather for most of the week in Falls Creek was ideal for walking and we made the most of our good fortune, walking several sections of the Alpine Walking Trail, visiting some of the historic High Country Huts and enjoying the displays of wildflowers.
Up Mt Cope
The day we were to walk up Mount Cope was overcast with rain threatening. Well prepared with wet-weather gear we set off, parking our cars by the road at the start of the Mount Cope track. The top of the mountain is not that much above the level of the plateau and the ascent by way of the track is not too arduous. We stopped for refreshments at the top and someone recalled the incident recounted in “Amblers, Ramblers and Scramblers”: the history of the first 30 years of the group’s operations. On a previous visit to Mount Cope, Florence Weickhardt was approached by a youthful walker from a party that had bush-bashed their way to the top from the other direction. He wanted to know the average age of our group. Florence replied that she did not know the average age, but that she was over eighty. The young fellow was delighted, informing his mates that they could enjoy walking for another sixty years.
The Amblers and Ramblers were to return to the parking area by way of the track and then visit Cope Hut, just across the road while the Scramblers descended through the scrub on the other side of the mountain to pick up a track below and return to the carpark by a more circuitous route. After a while the rain which had been threatening all morning started to fall. We put on our wet-weather gear and continued. By this time the Amblers and Ramblers were not far from Cope Hut and decided to shelter inside until the rain eased. The Scramblers had no chance of shelter but had to carry on through the rain. By this stage they were walking along the road and not enjoying themselves at all. Fortunately, Roslyn Steel who had decided to have a day at the lodge came to their rescue in her 4WD: a very welcome intervention.
