Again an early start, with entire party striding forth by 07:00hrs. By now, we had settled into an ‘order of merit’, with Simon blazing a trail at front, and the rest of us flailing in his wake; myself as 2iC going up hills, and Darren taking over on the descents. On the uphill sections Simon & I would engage in heated debate on such subjects as world affairs, climate change, drugs, economics, politics and the latest scientific thinking on impact of anthropocentric parochialism on quantumchromodynamics. During the descents, Darren would regale us with his many boyhood antics and plans to become a Tai Pan! We were so engrossed with such discourse that we forgot about the many daily travails – stifling heat, dripping humidity, steep ascents, slippery (and steeper) descents, oh and the endless mindless poetry.
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Suffice to say we eased into Templeton No. 2 mid afternoon, with not an ailment or sore in sight. That said, finding a large leech between my toes, already fully gorged on my blood, came as a big surprise, not least because my feet are renowned as breeding grounds for every fungal disease known to mankind – poor bugger! At 1850m up in the Owen Stanleys, the temperature plummeted quickly, with sleeping almost impossible in the frigid 5-7C open air shelter. With only 2 sets of clothes, one of which was hanging on the washing line, no fleece and only a thin sleeping bag, I felt somewhat under-dressed for the occasion. However, I was partially compensated by the most amazing display of shooting stars. The meteor shower last a full half hour, with the total absence of light pollution enabling the night sky to reveal all her splendour.
Suffice to say we eased into Templeton No. 2 mid afternoon, with not an ailment or sore in sight. That said, finding a large leech between my toes, already fully gorged on my blood, came as a big surprise, not least because my feet are renowned as breeding grounds for every fungal disease known to mankind – poor bugger! At 1850m up in the Owen Stanleys, the temperature plummeted quickly, with sleeping almost impossible in the frigid 5-7C open air shelter. With only 2 sets of clothes, one of which was hanging on the washing line, no fleece and only a thin sleeping bag, I felt somewhat under-dressed for the occasion. However, I was partially compensated by the most amazing display of shooting stars. The meteor shower last a full half hour, with the total absence of light pollution enabling the night sky to reveal all her splendour.
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