“On a Mish” #190 Wild Turkey’s (Part Two). Ashton Burn Camp. Taka Ra Haka / Eyre Mountain Conservation Area. 10.9.2018. To go a night without even a flutter of tent fabric is an absolute dream and fuel for the fire of adventure that burns bright in all wilderness addicts. Adding another soul into the equation can make the mish even better. Fate had put two dudes together who not only enjoyed a good yarn / laugh, but both also loved a mish. Our skipper would often call us a couple of turkeys gobbling absolute nonsense and now we had taken the party / nonsense into the southern reaches of the Eyre Mountains…
It is safe to say the batteries were replenished during a windless night and the morning couldn’t come soon enough. It is hard to climb in the dark, so hurry up daylight!
An early-ish start the next morning was one of frosty ground and the sound of Dylan snoring away in his nicely frosted tent. After the stars had given off their last twinkle, ice began to form on everything exposed around us. The glimmer of the frost was accompanied by a pink and orange sunrise masterclass. The sky’s few clouds in the sky and the snow on Jane Peak(2022m) and the other outstanding mountains surrounding our camp were coloured in a way that makes you almost upset that it won’t last very long. There is something so special about a good sunrise and it is the thing that drags me away from the warmth of my sleeping bag when on a mish.
Eventually, I managed to get Dylan awake and out of his tent into the crisp morning air, and we both enjoyed a couple of much needed hot coffees by our campfire.
After breakfast it was time to begin the assault on the mountain we had drunkenly rambled about the night before. Many times there have been situations where the chatting part has seemed so much easier than the mountain that is in the way of your success. I often wonder what it must be like taking on a challenge like a mountain without having the knowledge of how epic the summit and completion will be. I am so happy I know how awesome a mountain top is because it definitely gets me through the ‘warm-up’ stage of the mish!
We started with a small patch of nasty, scratchy scrub. It was like the mountain had put up defences to prevent us two turkeys from getting to the top…
