AAWT winter traverse - Episode 35 (The Finish)
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- Day 35 - what a Journey! And sadly it comes to an end. It was an incredible ride and indeed a fun adventure to share with my twin brother but it was great to be reunited with our family, friends and pups.
IF YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS SERIES THEN YOU MAY ENJOY THIS FILM OF OUR 2005 TRIP: • Australian Alps Walkin...
FULL STORY ABOUT OUR 2018 TRAVERSE PLUS GEAR LISTS AND DISCUSSIONS AT:
markoates.expo...
Day 35 - Anticipation for the final day meant we both woke early and had our bags packed by 7am. Before we departed Honeysuckle Creek though we spent 15 minutes learning about the fascinating history of the space tracking station and its association with the Apollo lunar missions of the late 60’s & early 70’s. The final 16km of walking was mostly downhill but the track planners though thought it would be fun to throw a final 200m ascent into the mix 😛. This was fine except we were starting to struggle with the warm temps of the ‘lowlands’ (must have been at least 18 or 19 deg.)! Along the way we met a couple of locals & Parks crew. It has always been great to chat to those we have met along our journey. Likewise we have really appreciated and enjoyed the positive feedback and online comments of support that we have been fortunate enough to receive. THANKS to all of you who have taken the time to connect with us!!
We had planned a tight schedule for the day as a 1.5 hour detour to Canberra to visit one of Andy’s favourite cafes was on the cards. This was to be followed by another 8 hours of driving to get to his home. Our planned short stay at the excellent Namadgi NP Visitor Centre turned into a long stop but it was great to meet the generous rangers there and to learn more about the area. We dismissed our great intentions to stay lean and fit and headed for iced chocolates, coffee and delicious chocolates. Then it was a drive to Cooma and a detour to Kiandra to collect our northern most food/gear cache. This of course involved not one but four crossings of thigh deep fast flowing water in the dark under torchlight. It was 1am before we finally rocked up at Andy’s home. The next day I flew home to my wife Jen (& pup Mitta) in Hobart!
Sincere massive thanks to our wives & families for giving us this opportunity! Who knows what the next adventure will be?
Well done and thanks for sharing your experience. I have watched every episode and loved every minute. Alot of hard work and hours have gone into this series and it dosnt go unnoticed. Thanks once again.
Well done guys
What a great accomplishment, both from a physicality and navigational point. Would have seen some unbelievable country up there that not alot of people get to see. Only wish i had the skills and fitness to attempt something like this....Well done.
Just stumbled across your instagram page and quickly jumped onto UA-cam to check it out. What an epic adventure! Looking forward to watching all these mini episodes. Well done!
Warren B. Thanks Warren. Appreciate the support. Cheers
Thank you so much for filming this amazing journey and making it available to us viewers. There are so few videos available of the AAWT being traversed in summer, let alone in winter, and none that are anywhere near the quality of yours. As the track gets hammered section by section by bushfires almost every summer, it’s great to have videographic records such as these to capture for posterity the staggering beauty that is so sadly threatened by climate change.
Super impressive, no shortage of challenges throughout. Very motivational, especially during a lockdown. Well produced, hats off to both of you
Wow, what a great series of vids. This was really informative and well filmed. Thanks for sharing such a great adventure.
Congrats again! And kudos for those 'bonus' crossings...
Wonderful stuff guys. Enjoyed every episode.
Massive thanks to everyone for the supportive and positive comments!! Much appreciated
I really enjoyed watching this series. I would love to do the AAWT or at least some smaller sections of it as I'm getting on a little now(58)
Great stuff! Thank you
Just stumbled across this incredible adventure and binged the series over a couple of nights. What an amazing achievement, especially that you have both done it three times now. Some of those days were brutal, but incredible scenery. I'm really keen to explore more of the Kosci area now, especially in winter. Cheers Erik
Thanks Erik. Appreciate you taking the time to comment and glad you enjoyed the scenes and our tale. All the best for your own adventures up that way!
Absolute LEGENDS. Amazing trek guys.
THANKS jaeebz!!
Woow. What an adventure. You two are such tough guys. It was a lot of fun to follow your tour. Just Amazing. BR Laura&Tom
Packraft Explorers Thanks heaps Laura and Tom and everyone who has commented! We have really appreciated all the support and don’t take it for granted. Cheers
Well done Mark and Andy on completing this trip. Been a long time since i have seen you lads, but looks like you are still trooping along just fine. What a trip that must have been, but from you blokes, I am not surprised. Travis Clayton.
Hi Travis! Great to hear from you. Thanks for the message. Really hope that you are doing well and enjoying life! All the best from Tassie
Thanks guys. My wife and I watched in amazement at your endurance at a not as young age from your earlier treks. We laughed as we understand the tougher mindset that comes with age. The body doesn’t always like to respond as easily. We are moving to either the Monaro or north east Victoria next year. We will do some shorter treks regularly. We lived in Europe for 20 years and now days prefer the longer cooler months. We think we were in Buller/Merrijig when you did this trek. Maybe a whisker after it.
Thanks for sharing your adventure with us and best wishes to you and your families during this trying season we are all in. David and Colleen Trees. :)
Hi David. Thanks for your comment - much appreciated. Either way, whether you move to the Monaro or to NE Vic I don't think you can lose. So many cool places to explore in those areas. Good luck with your move and hope you have a great winter - hopefully we are all allowed back into the mountains sooner rather than later. All the best
that was amazing. Folks for years to come will be watching this; especially those who plan to do the trip.... and those who wish they could. Well done
Thanks heaps Phil. Awesome to hear that you enjoyed the videos. Cheers
I think Mark and Andy are my new Australian heros. Who knew these type of adventures even existed in Australia.. thank you for the education.
Hah. :) That is very kind of you to say Fast Farmer. Thanks a lot for your comment.
Awesome journey Mark and Andy. Came across this series the other day and have watched it through. Have been to some of the sections in summer and winter but you two are amazing getting through this in the winter end to end. Excellent footage the way you have put it together. And a big thanks for putting the series together.
Thanks for the positive comment Duncan. Much appreciated
Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I've done most of the track in smaller sections, so it's been nice to see a couple of people with the commitment to do the whole thing in one go.
Bravo
Awesome Boys, thanks so much for this series. I did this in Summer 2004, but I think I am allergic to snow, I certainly really enjoyed the daily posts of your trip. Thanks Again.
Congrats lads!!! Awesome adventure to watch, very inspiring and hope I can do it with my brother one day.
Thanks for this wonderful report. It was great for me to remember each place that I'd been to a few years ago. You had such a different trip to me but I am sure all are great. I'd like to learn more about your packs. They look like grain sacks. what is the brand?
Hi Aacha. The packs we both used on this trip were Hyperlite Mountain Gear 'Porter' 5400' packs along with the additional Porter pocket. I've written some info about them on my blog about the gear we used on this trip. The specific section can be found at: markoates.exposure.co/aawt-winter-gear#section-2498155
@@MarkOates Thanks that's excellent.
Fantastic effort. Really inspirational and educational too. Great job documenting it all with your pictures and video and post production wrapping it all together.
Finally made it to the end! What a great series with some really thoughtful input and discussion along the way. Thanks for taking the time to stop and explain where you are, where you're headed, and what's going on! Cheers lads.
Thanks Xen! Well done on managing to watch all 35 episodes as they add up to a LOT of time. All the best to you for your own adventures!
Great journey fellas thanks for allowing us tag along. Loved every bit of it.
U guys are legends! Really enjoyed following this. Would be cool to know what gear u used that u really liked
Thanks Dave. Eventually, oneday, not sure when as life/work is crazily busy at present, we will put up an Exposure page with its of detailabout wharvwe took and how we found it. Don’t hold your breath for it though! I may not have time to create it until summer. Thanks for following!
Andrew Bendz did a ski traverse of the Sierra High Route and made a little video showing the gear he used. It would be a bit of work for you, Mark, but there's a bunch of us who'd love to see you do a video like that for your Winter AAWT Gear. Here's Andrew's video: ua-cam.com/video/iPpT6BWLKPY/v-deo.html. And Here's his video of his Sierra traverse: ua-cam.com/video/ZojE9nhR88o/v-deo.html
Conrad Buffier Have always wanted to ski in the Sierra’s. :) A winter JMT would be awesome and a High Sierra perhaps more so. Will definitely check it out. Thanks for the links!
Great work! Really well filmed and edited. And you obviously used a lifetime of skills of knowledge to pull the journey off. Awesome job. I'm going to try the synthetic bag over the down bag.
Thanks so much for sharing your adventure...very inspirational.
Awesome job guys. Very inspiring. Thanks for taking us along with your great clips.
Thanks for sharing! Really enjoyed watching.
Thanks for sharing this fantastic experience learnt a lot
Awesome work. Great job.
Well done guys. Watched every episode and thoroughly enjoyed all the trials, tribulations and moments of joy. Question is, what am I going to watch next. There is a void I need to fill. I did ponder an AAWT adventure sometime over a summer, but at 61, not so sure the body would hold up. Still your journey is very inspirational. Can my aspirations meet your inspiration?
Never too late Andrew! Have you considered doing it in stages? I am a similar age, located in Melbourne & intending to break it down into several 2 to 5 day hikes, say one every 4 to 6 weeks which means it should be very doable. Where are you based?
Latte Property Based in Hobart. Not so easy for me to break up into chunks, but certainly would be keen to do some sections. Matter of time and planning.
@@andrewbowen7223 You are the lucky one being based in Hobart!!! Awesome walks in Tassie :) My "AAWT in Stages" is in very early planning stages, but will most likely tackle the Walhalla to Mt St Gwinear over Melbourne Cup Weekend as a 2 or 3 day hike. flick me an email if interested in any of the stages then we can connect. Cheers :) darryl@latteproperty.com.au
epic
Fantastic videos and a great reminder of the AAWT walk 5 of us did 5 years ago - but not in winter!
Well done legends! Have really enjoyed watching your journey. You even inspired me to get outdoors more.
Loved this
Awesome work. Loved following!