Bert Nichols Hut via Overland Track(edit)

After camping on the veranda, the rain set in during the night. It was a disturbed night with people up walking backwards and forwards to the toilet and checking on gastro patients. We packed up slowly hoping the rain would ease, but decided to set off regardless. It rained constantly for our first three kms and with the rain overnight and all through the morning the track was saturated. Lots of water flowing over and down the track and huge puddles and water courses to cross. We were wet through when we arrived at Du Cane hut. Kate had been feeling a little off, so hadn’t had breakfast. She drank water the whole way and eventually had a few plain rice crackers to eat, but otherwise didn’t have anything. For dinner, just a little hot chocolate and some carrots. She hopes it settles by tomorrow. I had to visit the toilet in the morning but didn’t want to use the hut one as there’d been so much gastro. So it was a bush poo for me. I’ve eaten normally all day, but didn’t go through as much water as it was a cooler, less humid day. Haven’t felt crook, but the visit to the bush wasn’t as solid as it could have been. Kate also went for a bush stop this morning in her camp shoes in the wet weather and returned with around 6-10 leeches attached to her feet! The walk was tough going. It was really wet and mostly natural surfaces. Lots of tree roots and mud. Some water courses we had to cross had a stone placed, but the water was so high it was quite submerged, so in the end we were stepping into water and mud everywhere. Ranger at the new hut was taking names and setup a gastro / no gastro zoning. He wanted to try to get to the bottom of the gastro outbreak. Probably so they knew how far back to do a deep clean. We heard a helicopter again this morning. Apparently a kid with an anaphylactic reaction, a broken ankle and bad gastro - three patients airlifted out. Big walk tomorrow. 16 kms. Out to echo point. Meant to be a low of 3 overnight and a top of only 9 tomorrow. If wet and windy, it will be a cold day. Here’s hoping for fairer weather and some better surface to walk on.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/22826635275

9.6km, 3.5-4.5 hrs