Overland Track – in a day

Ronny Creek is clear and frozen, settled rest before our test. Eager to see what conditions allow.

4^th June 2025

Sunrise

From a deep sleep inside a down sleeping bag, protected from the frozen lands outside, I feel a distinct tap on my leg.

Milan announces, “It’s 5am.”

Seconds pass, the brain fogs its banks – an Alpine start! Time to get going. After an aeropressed coffee, it’s shorts on, quick pee and watch GPS on.

In a moonlit Ronny Creek Carpark, it’s minus 5^oC, dark and crispy. Collapsable pole springing into action, we climb up quickly and are met with good sections of duckboard, with a covering of 2-3cm snow for the most part.

The rocky sections are slippery with coatings of slick powder.

The sunrise pierces through the gap between the snow clouds and the horizon – spectacular. Cheering and screaming, the stoke is fired – a warm glow, luming into a snowy, cold and dark terrain.

It spurs us on, we charge into the snow showers, and meet the first hiker moving in the opposite direction to our planned North to South.

It’s a long way before meeting anyone else, other than the pattered footprints of a mystery marsupial along the boardwalks.

We pass Waldheim and Kitchen hut which are caked snow. The descent to waterfall valley is tough going with powdery pebbles and roots

It’s snowy but we pace well and are greeted by jolly waterfall hut goers, getting ready for leaving their digs around 0800. Quick pit-stop for water, a shit (get in!), a snack, and importantly a photograph. We push on to lake Windermire.

Conditions continue to be good, snowy and beautiful. Dispelling the doubts of the forecast the night-before.

Committed

Windemere was the chosen checkpoint. We could turn back here, but any further, it would be foolish to turn back and more logical (and safer?) to keep going.  Few words and a nod, we push on.

Some choice quotes as we pass groups between Windermere and Frog Flats, ‘F*cking animals c*nt!”

We also found some phallic grafiti drawn in the snow. Apparently, the tips pointing us in the correct direction. They disappear after we overtake a mischievous group of youths and we meet sunnier, milder conditions.

The next section to Pelion Hut, I arrive several minutes before Milan, nearly tripping over a wombat in the process. He had stopped to faff with layers. I charged on. Only 9 minutes separated us. I didn’t anticipate being in front for much of the day. Here I was taking the driving seat. A rarity.

I get psyched looking at the signs as we are confidently pushing towards halfway and feeling good.

It’s on.

Descending to Kia Ora was relatively fast and I felt good, 42kms and a marathon done, freshest I have ever felt at this milestone. Some seven hours have passed.

Kia Ora hut comes up and the climb to Pelion gap is beautiful, Mt Ossa looming over. The last touch of winter is present with thawing ice and snow on the duckboards. Words of encouragement from hikers at the col.

The conditions are clear here, unlike the shrowd which clouded any view of Cradle Mountain in the dawn hours. Light and day.

Roots, rocks and ruddy wood from Kia Ora hut to Du Cane Gap, and Windy ridge – I frustrate. The roots are terrible, and I’m fired to go faster but hampered. Much anguish expended for little reward along these very uneven and ‘technical’ sections.

Technical is a term thrown to describe these tough sections which require not only one’s best trail shoes but dancing shoes too.

Pushing past 50kms and I feel a little weary but know that I have more in the legs.  

Eventually after much complaining, we arrive at Du Cane Hut for one final pit stop in the light. Scoffing jelly snakes, we chat to a birthday hiker from ‘Brizzy’. My fears of burning up for the ‘final 30km’ are never realised. I’m running low on jelly snakes.

Sunset

Along to Narcissus and I pull out a good couple of Kms, I still feel relatively fresh and completely believe I have another 20km in the legs. There are wet boards and sodden grass to get to Narcissuss

The issue now is, daylight, dampness and darkness. The final break, at 63km, is taken. We commit to what follows. Knees, feet and ankles have started to scream. At Narcissus, darkness falls and the forecasted rain arrives, right on cue.

The final 16km from Narcissus around Lake St Clair is grim. We had stopped at the hut, with the scent of wood smoke in the air before heavy downpour. I’d already changed the batteries in my headtorch, and I’m counting on not needing to change them again.

Seizing legs trudge through the undulating and rooty track. Rough terrain constantly pounded underneath leading to Echo Point game huts. The hours pass in relative silence before signs to ‘Platypus Bay’ marking the near-end. My watch’s battery has died.

When the St Clair lodge lights come into view, I break into a run. Selfie at the sign, we hug.

We ran, we conquered and we endured until done.

Plan executed, The Overland run.

Time

15:46:27

80km total distance – see Strava for more details:

https://www.strava.com/activities/14700781648

Set off approx. 2 hours before sunrise, and finished 4 hours after sunset.

Kit

Please note, I am not a guide and this is simply a list of what I took

• Montane Trailblaizer 30L rucksack
• 3x sea-summit dry bags
• La Sportiva Akasha II trail shoes
• Thin trail socks (+spare socks)
• North face lightweight gloves
• Leggings (left in the bag)
• Mountain equipment mid layer
• Warm buff
• Black Diamond Spotlight (+spare batteries)
• Lightweight T-shirt
• Rab windproof jacket (useful for layering and de-layering on the fly, and stuffing in the exterior of my pack)
• Mountain equipment hardshell (only donned for the final rainy plod)
• Mountain equipment lightline down jacket
• Alp kit bivvy sac
• Alp kit collapsable steel trekking pole (essential)
• First aid kit – compression bandage, dressing, bandaids, penknife, map, compass, PLB hired from Macpac, packet of Neurofen (taken regularly)
• 2x 500ml Salomon soft flasks

Food

• 7 cliff bars (5x caffeinated mint choc) 2x non-caffinated, think I ate about 5
• 2x bananas – ate one at the end
• Value pack jelly snakes – mostly consumed
• Small cylinder of cracked pepper crackers – eaten entirely
• Lemon flavoured Electrolyte tabs – used about 6
• Weight – unsure?

Training + Experience

Scottish hill experience bagging munro peaks in somewhat foul weather came in useful here.

Visual navigation all the way, no need to refer to map or compass at any point.

As ever, I’ve never religiously followed a training schedule.

I have run 2x previous marathon events and 1x ultra (burnt up in Glen Tilt)

Surprisingly, my weekly distance stats were pretty poor leading up to the day – averaging circa 20kms per week running for the past twelve.

With two recent week highs of 37km + 35km and those all important daily 4km total cycling commutes…

Mid-experienced. Underprepared. Overperformed. Oustanding.