30 - 31 May 2015

Mike was unable to lead this trip so there was me, Serg, Vesna and Neal. The only one who had been up Little Mt Peel was Vesna, so she helped us find the start of the track and we were off.It was a bit of a climb (understatement!!) especially with our big packs but it was a perfect morning for walk. There were a few other day trippers on the track including one young man who we met as we were having our second stop (only 40 minutes in) and was coming back from the top!

He had started out at 6.30am in the dark and was just using this little round trip as a bit of exercise! The track was easy to follow and there were stunning views in all directions. I loved seeing the little shelter from afar, on the top of the ridge it looked sooooooooo small (really we were just still sooooooooo far away!)We got to shelter about 2.30pm and by this time the weather had started to pack-in so it was good timing and any others at the hut were just finishing lunch and beginning to head down again which meant we had the little place to ourselves. With the sun gone it got colder but Sergey and I went out for a short stroll along the ridge where we had the pleasure of being caught in a very small snow fall, this and the cold wind cut our stroll short and we went back to the shelter to enjoy a rest and good book with the other two. The shelter had benches along each side wall, so Vesna and Neal used these as beds and Serg and I slept under the table on the floor, it was perfectly comfortable and we had a good night. On Sunday we packed up any gear we did not need and left it under the benches and took only light packs for the day. We climbed and clambered over and around the ridges until we could see the Trig of Big Mt Peel, needless to say there were plenty of high points that Vesna (operator of the trusted GPS) reminded us were NOT on Mt Peel. Who knew there was a Little, Middle and Big Mt Peel???!!! Neal turned back early and did not end up joining us at the top of Mt Peel with our very loud ‘whoo Hoo’ screams. The wind at this time had come up and was cold and cutting so we admired the view and took our photos then headed back to the shelter along the rocky tops. We met back up with Neal along the return track and we were back to the shelter early afternoon for a well-deserved hot drink and a snack. We re-packed our packs and headed back to the cars. The trip down was quicker but not easier, it was steep which was hard on the knees and some of the steps we climbed up were just as big going down, it was a relief on the legs when the track evened out just for a short time.

We loved – great trip!! And felt really proud to make it to the top with awesome company.

Claire