“On a Mish” #319 Stubborn Love – Part Two. Falls Creek. Fiordland National Park. 21.2.2022. Sometimes it feels like the world is out to get you (especially these days!). A break-up was followed by a broken hip, which was then followed by a global crisis. All happened in just over a single year. Also in that short amount of time I had had the weight of a mortgage put onto my shoulders and then lost my job, and not only broke my wrist, but I broke my finger as well. Things were spiraling out of control and I wasn’t a fan. I really felt like someone had placed a curse on me, and the curse went on for years. These days I am happy to say things are slowly getting back on track…
After smashing my hand I wasn’t unhappy, and didn’t look at the situation like I used to. For the first time in a long time it was just an accident and not the work of an evil unknown entity. With that being said I did still have damage to my hands and probably picked the wrong mish for a handless hiker. The Falls Creek Track begins with an uphill grunt, and in places the track becomes a ladder of roots and rock. A couple of times I had to grab at holds knowing it was going to really hurt. I guess once again I am proving how much I love a good mish and how stubborn I can be to make sure it happens. I could see that I was bleeding but repair work would have to wait until I reached my camping spot, and for that I needed to find a flat spot in a land of giant lumps. After grinding my way slowly up the track into the hanging valley of Falls Creek I caught a glimpse of the giant pinnacles at the head of the valley and this was reassurance I had made the right choice to go on a mish.
My original plan was to climb a peak high above the true right of Falls Creek. But after two hard hours, reality and sore hands told me I had gone far enough and it was time to find a camping site. I located the perfect spot, however it was on the other side of the valley and somehow I had to get there. In classic Fiordland fashion I only had to travel about 20 metres to get to this perfect flat spot but getting there was going to be a mission within the mission. Evidence of the monster 2020 storm came in the form of a 5 – 10 metre cliff gouged into the true right riverbank by what would have been a torrent of epic proportion. I was very determined to get to the spot I saw and this added another 30 – 40 minutes of bush bashing to find a way around the big drop down to the river. After finally finding the way down I got to my temporary home and the camping spot ticked all the boxes of a truly epic location. My cleaning gloves weren’t looking the best after the battle with the track and bush, but after I wiped the weeping and re-patched the punctures I was ready to set up my tent and chill…
