Lyrebird

Woke up to a damp sky and soggy track but seemed like we'd eventually be blessed with the fantastic clear skies of yesterday. Starting out through tall closed rain forest, we quickly emerged to a vista of steep mountainsides clothed with low herbaceous shrubs. The higher we climbed, the lower and more windblown the shrub cover became. No surprise given we'd turned onto the very exposed slopes of the Cradle. The track became very, very steep and seemed to follow watercourses for much of the second half. The track was so steep in parts that there was no option other than to drop the pack, throw it up and forward, haul yourself up then start the uphill slog again. after what seemed like an age, we reached the top and dropped our packs at the junction of the main track south. It was here that we would head back a few km's to climb to the summit of Cradle Mountain. As we'd have to backtrack to this point to get to Waterfall Valley hut that evening, we secured our packs on the side of the track. We weren't securing our gear from humans, we were trying to protect out food from the famously marauding crows that frequent the Overland. He headed north skirting the mountain through spectacular scenery. you have to walk this track to fully appreciate the truly sublime scenery, vegetation and challenge.