Ditchfield Campgrounds to Beeripmo Campgrounds - Braving the Mountain a Second Time

  In early May I decided once again to try and make my way up Mount Cole to Beeripmo Campgrounds. Given the spectacular failures of my previous attempt, I had reevaluated my gear, purchased a new pack as well as some new gear and reevaluated my approach to the trip. I even packed less food with me.
  Knowing that there was a water source on the trail and at each camp site, one of the first things I did was remove my water bladder from my bag, remove one of the water bottles from the side of my pack and strap a canteen to my hip instead. This gave me a canteen at my hip, a steel water bottle on the side of my pack and a collapsible canteen inside my belt kit that I would fill up at camp.

My gear all packed up with my belt kit on the side

  I decided to bypass the hell that I went through on the first trip and pick up where James and I had left off at Ditchfield campgrounds. I arrived at around 10am, parked my car at the hut that we had taken shelter in on our previous disaster trip, strapped on my gear and set on my way up the mountain.
  The extra time I had taken to pick my gear and the extra money I had spent was well worth it, as I was nowhere near as bogged down with gear this time. The pack sat comfortably on my shoulders and I barely noticed the canteen and knife at my respective hips, though it is worth mentioning that the terrain was just as unforgiving as it was the first time. The walk was almost exclusively uphill, the tracks were muddy and the rocks were slippery.

The muddy tracks, spectacular hillside and the looming clouds overhead

  It was quite an overcast day and the clouds overhead looked ready start raining down at any moment. There was a point where I even stopped and took my poncho out just because I was expecting rain. The wind was howling louder as I walked higher, though this did nothing to take away from the amazing views. I was even lucky enough to spot some wildlife while I was on my way up to Cave Hill and took an impromptu video of the sighting.
  I stopped at around 1pm for a quick bite to eat at what I thought was a pretty looking area. I was able to see across the countryside towards nearby Ararat and I was able to see across to Mt Buangor, almost directly opposite where I was on Mt Cole.

Whilst I'm sure I was far from the cloud-line, it made me feel like I was amongst the clouds

  After I had stopped for lunch and pressed further towards my eventual campsite, the terrain began to ease off. It seemed that the closer I got to Mt Sugarloaf, the less off an incline the terrain seemed to have and it was the case for almost the entire way from Cave Hill to Mt Sugarloaf. It's worth noting that along the way from Cave Hill to Mt Sugarloaf, there is an official lookout titled "Grevillea Lookout" and whilst I assume it gets it's name from the Grevillea walking track that makes it's way around Mt Cole, it gives spectacular views of the area.

The trees and bushland in the foreground give way to farmland and wind turbines in the background

  The relatively flat ground leading up to Mt Sugarloaf gave way to one last large incline, before easing off once more to more manageable peaks and dips. It was one last peak that caught my interest, not long before arriving at camp. It was when I realised that what had eluded me on my previous trip, was now within reach.

So close to the night's destination

  It was only a few minutes after seeing this sign, and a very short walk uphill that I then came to my destination. Whilst it presented itself as more of a toilet block than anything else, I was so relieved to have finally gotten to Beeripmo Campgrounds. I took a few minutes to rest, then set about  setting up camp and gathering firewood.

It was such a feeling of accomplishment to have even reached this far

I sat down on one of the benches briefly, then set up my tarp and hammock before gathering and chopping firewood. I had greatly overestimated the amount of time it would take me to reach my destination so I still had a great deal of sunlight, having arrived at camp at around 2pm. I got a fire going without too much trouble thanks to the fact that I had thrown my hexamine stove in my pack at the very last minute. Interestingly enough, this was a piece of gear that I had considered leaving behind as I felt that it did not see any significant use, I'm glad I decided to take it one last time.

My tarp and hammock setup, using it as a gear-loft while I cook on the fire.

I finally had my first coffee of the day at 4pm, boiling some water in my stainless steel water bottle. It was such an amazing feeling that proves how much more appreciative one is of the simple things, once stripped of modern conveniences. Thankfully, the night was fairly uneventful. I had something to eat, made sure I had plenty of water to drink, ensured that I had enough water in my containers for the morning and made sure that my pack was sufficiently covered underneath my poncho on one of the benches outside my tarp.

Since I was fairly certain that I was going to get rained on, I was very diligent to check that my hammock was sufficiently covered by the tarp and that the tarp was tied down properly. I also made sure that I went to bed early because I wasn't sure whether or not I would be able to sleep through a storm.

I woke up a couple of hours later and was shocked to see another camper setting up in pitch darkness. I carried my lantern out, strapping on my head-lamp at the same time to greet my fellow camper. Whilst my first instinct was to reach for one my knives, hostiles usually don't say "hello" and "sorry if I woke you". He was actually a really nice bloke and whilst we didn't chat much at night because he was busy setting up his camp, and I was pretty eager to get back to bed.

The night passed without too much fuss. There was very light drizzle overnight and whilst it was still very cold, I woke up completely dry at around 8am. I got up, started boiling some water for breakfast and got chatting to aforementioned camper who arrived in the dead of night. Oddly enough, one of the first things I said to him was something along the lines of "I hope i didn't snore too loudly". Still unsure of how well I was going to fair on the return trip, I made sure that I ate quite well at breakfast time.

Surprisingly, the return trip was quite an easy one. Given that the trip to camp was almost entirely up hill, it's a fair assumption to make that the trip back was almost entirely downhill. I still took a few stops, even filming what I assumed to be four Wedgetail Eagles circling overhead. It was a trip that took far less time that the day before, though my legs were still very sore and I was still very glad to get home when I did.

Whilst I feel that due to the trip being largely a success, I have very few take-away points, there are always lessons to be learned. I feel as if I am finally getting the right balance between an adequate amount of gear and not too much weight in my pack. I also found that my shelter system is finally adequate for my needs, being warm enough during the cold, sufficiently covered from the rain and keeping me off the ground. Next time however, I will ensure that I pack adequate sleeping clothes. Whilst it was the most comfortable sleep I have had in the bush in quite some time, I felt that I did not need to be sleeping in my compression gear as this simply led to a less comfortable walk the following day.

All in all, the trip was a resounding success and next time I'll not only make sure that I have a decent camera to take photos and video with, but I'll make sure I walk the entire Beeripmo circuit.