We said last time that we were not doing it again but we changed our minds when we heard the restricted numbers caused by covid rules have been retained. Thirty four people starting each day means the sense of camaraderie has returned. And it is a long time since we have seen this part of Tasmania in springtime.

Having done it before, we got some things right -I judged the food required well, home dried dehyd vegetables improved the palatability of meals etc. Packing in a spring heat wave ( Castlemaine was over 30 degrees) meant I was tricked into removing some items of clothing I really should have taken, like a beanie and waterproof overpants. I even forgot to put a pair of long pants into the bus bag to change into to come home. Leggings and shorts is a bit underdressed even for a flight from Tasmania.

Launceston on our arrival was as unseasonably warm as Victoria had been - clear skies and warm sunshine. We found the supermarkets and bought the gas and a few fresh things we needed. The transit bus arrived as promised and we were in Cradle Mountain by 3.30pm, in time for the safety briefing. The video on the dangers of hypothermia was clear and informative but seemed a bit theoretical. We knew the fine weather was not meant to last but wandering around Cradle Mountain that evening, looking at waterfalls, wombats and pademelons, even an echidna out for an evening stroll it really didn't seem the predicted change would come.

We planned delaying our start until about 10am to try and time our departure between first bus and first transport bus arrival. It is easy to delay leaving when it is blowing a gale and raining. Windscreen wipers on full, wiping away sleet and "sticky " rain didn't augur well.

Our first day walking was grey, raining and really windy so we set off in full ponchos etc. I did get hot climbing as even up the horse track, there are a lot of steps but feeling hot certainly didn't last . There was a short vicious hail storm, the sleet turned to snow but the main difficulty was gale force winds. At times I had to crab sideways along the board walk to avoid being blown off. It is quite amazing how many people fit into Kitchen hut or the emergency hexagonal shelter when the conditions are bad.

It is spring not winter though and the going was much easier than when it was icy.

The first of the surprises greeted us at Waterfall valley - a brand new spacious modern hut, triple glazed picture windows, single bed platforms, magnficent toilets, even solar lighting in the communal kitchen area. It was an easy decision to stay inside the hut rather than have the tent blown down. I felt very sorry for the guided group who had paid lots of dollars and had to erect their tents, eat outside etc. The new huts made us feel like millionaires.

The walk to Windamere was as always, a short, easy day compared with day 1 and we were greeted by another large new hut. The weather was starting to improve wind wise but squally showers meant another night inside.

Simon described the walk to Pelion as "interminable". It still goes on and on, and still involves lots of rock and root hopping even though there is more boardwalk than I remember.

There might even have been time to walk up Mt Oakleigh as some people did, but I preferred to sit in the sun, dry out a bit, have a wash, socialise on the helipad and chill - as did about half the walkers. It was a lovely afternoon.

Much of the next day's walking was again wet, root and rock hopping interspersed with boardwalk. At one place I described the track as dry - Simon laughed - then I explained by dry I meant it wasn't running water, just very wet. I had sort of forgotten how steep the climb is up to Pelion Gap but I remembered how much I like the expansive views walking down the valley after the gap. Quite a few walkers went up Mt Ossa and enjoyed the snow and the views. We walked up to Mt Doris saddle and the Japanese gardens and had plenty of time this time to enjoy them. Most of that day we walked with Chris and Gordon a couple from Canberra - very much our sort of travellers.

Kia Ora was yet another new, stunning spacious hut - much more luxurious than the private huts if you ignore, no hot water! On to Du Cane and our by now tradtional cup of coffee on the helipad, even though it was only 9.30 and a bit early for elevenses. Again the walk up hill was a bit longer than I remember but I corrctly remembered that Windy Ridge / Bert Nichols hut is not my favorite. The sleeping bays were not wet with condensation this time but they were still dark so we ( us and Gordon and Chis) elected to sleep in the drying area- lots of ventilation but solid wallls and roof. The afternoon had been warm and still and sunny so many people elected to put up their tents. The rain and wind started by 10 pm and there were a lot of very bedraggled walkers the next morning. As we had decided to walk only to Narcissus, and not on to Echo point or around the lake, we waited in the cavernous space of the kitchen common area until nearly 11 am and the morning's constant rain had eased to showers and then stopped. The track was very muddy again with many "swimming pools" - puddles it is difficult to get through without getting very wet. Consequently we finished the walk with sodden boots, back in ponchos but not as cold as day one. Narcissus was very full, and still an old hut, sleeping only 16 . There were more people here as the numbers are not restricted like on the overland track, some go sideways up to Pine Valley or other places, and peiple also walk in from Cynthia Bay direction. The tent sites were all full, the hut was very full and the fug inside was intolerable. Some people had clearly not had a swim or a wash. So Simon and I simply moved our bedding to the roofed verandah area of the ranger's hut. If it was windy and raining we would have been wet but the night stayed fine and we slept much better there than we woud have inside.

We played 500 with a group of paramedics from S.A. and talked with all the other overland track people. The restricted numbers means that over the 5 days we had got to know Tom, "tungsten toes" who climbed everything - even Cradle Mountain day 1, both Ossa and Pelion East , Mt Oakleigh and left us here to go and climb up the Acropolis, but still met us in Cynthia Bay by bus departure time;  Callum, the passionate botanist, so enthusiastic, who always arrived hours and hours after everyone else as he stopped so many times, Charlie, the young walking on her own horticulturalist who was enamored of the flowering hakeas, the couple who built hospitals in Uganda, a bunch of Americans who had walked the long trails in America and were in the swing of walk hard, arrive somewhere early and then relax.

I am very happy to see the track in much better shape due to lower numbers, the feeling of camaraderie returned, and to see so many young people appreciating Tasmanian wilderness. I did feel old - not just because the effort involved in puddle jumping, climbing, big steps etc is harder tthan 15 years ago but several people solemnly assured us that Simon and I were inspirational and they hope to emulate us when they were our age!!.

We certainly don't feel inspirational.

Downside - the huts are so luxurious, it is easy to concentrate on comparing them, enjoying them , sitting inside rather than outside. Our gear is old and low tech , we don't use portable water filters on every bottle of water, we didn't eat commercial hiking dehyd meals so coudn't compare beef teruyaki with nachos and whatever. But we still did it and enjoyed it and finished with no injuries or blisters or disasters of any sort.