My wife and I are fortunate to live on a 10 acre bush block in southern Tasmania. From our front verandah, we can see two mountains to the south-east, Collins Cap and Collins Bonnet, both a part of the Wellington Range. Collins Bonnet, in particular, is a fine-looking mountain and it is currently dusted with a good covering of snow and ice, so it seemed like a suitable destination for a short sharp trip.
I left home around 1 pm. It’s only about 40 minutes drive from our home to the car park where a track leads to the mountain. After an hour climbing up through pleasant rainforest, I popped out onto a fire trail which I then followed to a location that I had found on Google Earth. It looked like it might offer a good tent site, but this was a real act of faith as it is not really possible to know whether it was suitable or not.
This time I was in luck. A short wander through the bush and I had found my clearing. It was mostly filled with clumps of pineapple grass, but there was one clearing that was a perfect size for my Dragonfly tent. I stamped a flat platform in the snow and set up camp.
Conditions were pleasant rather than spectacular, but I still found a nice bit of light towards the evening before cooking dinner and slipping into the luxury of my sleeping bag. It wasn’t a cold night, only just dropping to -1°C.
I was up at 6.30 am for the sunrise that didn’t happen; then it was time for breakfast. After breakfast, I packed my pack and walked back to the car. I was home by late morning.
A brief trip in the backyard that I really enjoyed.
By Mont Ambassador and wilderness photographer Geoff Murray
Have you got an adventure story and photos of a recent trip with Mont gear that you'd like to see on our Blog? Then please send it to mont@mont.com.au with the subject line "Adventure Story for the Mont Blog". Please note that we get a large number of submissions and cannot post every story.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Mammut is at Mont, joining over 20 of the best climbing brands available online and in-store.
In 1862, after completing a three-year rope-making apprenticeship and working as a journeyman, Kaspar Tanner started work as a rope-maker in the Swiss town of Dintikon. This heralded the birth of Mammut.