29.08.2009
We hiked the trail in two days with one free day in between to explore the area. Thus, we spent 2 nights at the Curator camp conveniently placed in the middle of the trail.
We hiked into the Curator camp the 1st day, taking less than 7 h with 2 extended and several smaller breaks. Thanks to switchbacks, the trail has a very gentle gradient and the elevation gain is not all that noticeable. Lots of edible mushrooms along the trail; it took quite some will power to refrain from picking them. Not many mosquitoes, but plenty of horseflies in the camp; thankfully, they disappeared the next day when the horses came in to the Shovel Pass Lodge below. Surprisingly, while difficult to book, the camp was half-empty both days.
Early afternoon the next day, we went on exploring the nearby mountains. I wish I did some research beforehand to find which ones are a moderate scramble. We back-tracked 3 km along the trail to the Big Shovel Pass, then turned off NE and went along the ridge towards the Watchtower Mountain. Very scenic hike along the ups and downs of the ridge, with occasional moderate scrambling sections on talus slopes and rock. Surprisingly, hardly any snow visible on the Colin Range. We got to the knoll south of the Watchtower Mountain which is an impressive rock structure. Great views of several valleys from there.
We hiked out the next day, first ascending the Notch, the highest point of the Skyline, then walking along the red-coloured ridge for quite an extended period of time. Unquestionably, the most impressive section of the trail. While having lunch at the Tekarra camp, we met several people running the trail in a day (it was Saturday). We were incredibly lucky with the weather: it was sunny and warm all week, though the temperature dropped to 2C at night.
The 9 km logging road down from the Signal camp is quite exhausting and hard on the feet given the weight of a multi-day pack. We saw two bicycles in the bushes about half-way down; regrettably, they weren't ours.
If I am to do this hike again in a few years, I'd probably book 3 nights at the Curator to have plenty of time for scrambling around the beautiful mountains in the area.
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