The William Pike Challenge crew headed into the hills last weekend for their first overnight adventure.

Sunday morning, 10am. Woolshed Creek carpark. 11 keen kids and 4 coffee-fueled adults hop out of their vehicles and pull their heavy packs on. 

During the week prior, we had two bushcraft theory sessions with Regan Courtney, a parent from the junior school (thank you Regan!!). Regan is a bushcraft instructor and keen outdoorsman. We were so lucky to have him teach us the basics of packing for tramping, trip planning and navigation. He was impressed with the level of knowledge that already existed amongst the group. 

His tips came in handy as we started up the first hill to the Blackburn Mine. Layers were stripped off as the sun came out. Lunch at the mine and then we carried on through the bushline. We learned about the native bush, Dracophyllum, being great for starting fires. 

A few hours into the hike, the hut came into view. It's all downhill from here! Picking our way through the rocks and riverbed, we arrived by mid-afternoon. 

After we settled in (politely stepping around the three ladies we shared the hut with), the Pikelets disappeared to the rocky outcrop visible from the hut for a spot of bouldering and falcon-spotting. 

Gathering after the whistle blast, we headed off again over the hill to the water caves. Lots of exploring and a whistle blowing competition made for an an awesome afternoon.

After cooking our own freeze dried meals, we headed out for the most epic game of spotlight. All over the hillside, behind rocky outcrops, the kids scattered. Cold and stoked with their hiding spots, it was then time for bed. 

Woolshed Creek hut is a beautiful space, with a large shared area with a woodburner and two bedrooms. As one room was being used for the other trampers, we had 15 people across two longs bunks. This meant we were really warm and could easily identify all the snorers in the group!

Awake with the 7am sunshine, we got up and made our porridge for breakfast. Special treats of condensed milk or cream and maple syrup meant this was extra tasty! We packed up and headed over the hill to the swing bridge. 

After some rock dropping and swing bridging, it was a long grind up the steep South Face of Mt Somers. We stopped partway for morning tea and then carried on past the Bus Stop - yes, an actual bus stop! It's a long wait for a bus though ;-)

Across the marshes and down into the next gully, we stopped for lunch. This was the perfect place to sit amongst the native bush and enjoy some kai together. 

Our next encounter was with ankle-deep and then calf-deep mud. If you see Kiera H around, ask her about her mud bath!

The Rhyolite Ridge was our descent route, which in some places was very steep. We were expecting this because he had seen on map that the contour lines are very close together. The path zig zagged down the hill and those with good knees and sure footing made it down first. 

The trampers gratefully put their packs down and stepped into Woolshed Creek to splash the mud off before heading back to the bright lights of the big city.

Ka pai to Harvey Duncan, Lisa Chubb and Regan Courtney who shared their love of tramping with us and made sure we didn't disappear over a cliff at any stage!