“On a Mish” #33 Skirt Around the Bush (Part Two). Arthurs Creek(Point 2065m). Richardson Mountains. 11.3.2014. Reading about an adventure can be a big step away from the actual mish. A simple sentence in a guide book can be a great battle with an environment that doesn’t want people to travel through it. After fighting our way into the upper reaches of Arthurs Creek, we had questions about the phrase “Just skirt around the bush edge”…
From our epic campsite next to the constant bubble of upper Arthurs Creek we followed the river towards the upper reaches of the large side valley. Scrambling along the edge of the creek was easy at first, as we had animal tracks to follow. The creek’s edge was like a highway until further up the valley where massive wash-outs had come crashing down from above. The large slip (one of many) had made travel up the valley much, much more difficult. And after negotiating one slip we looked ahead to see many more cutting through the land like a scoop through ice cream.
Knowing how long it was taking to go through the slips, we had to make the choice to continue to clamber down and around the dodgy, loose rock of the slip, or re-think our plan.
Originally we had planned to climb Mt Ferguson(2480m) at the top of the valley, however the travel was so slow that we knew we wouldn’t have the time to get up and down the mountain before dark (plus we wanted to go home that day).
So the effort was turned to Peak 2065m on the Long Charlie Spur. To get there we had a lot of uphill travel to do. We aimed for a col on the ridge, which involved a steep scramble up screaming calf and quad scree, where sometimes it felt like we weren’t going anywhere! If you have ever dealt with scree you will know the frustration it can cause as you slip and side your way through the rubble, giving your boots hell with each difficult step.
Above the scree it really didn’t get any easier as we struck loose fractured rock, and special care was needed while we clambered up the stacks of schist dinner plates. After overcoming all of the obstacles that the mountain put in front of us we finally topped out, and instantly thanked ourselves for putting in the effort to get there…
