Start of the alpine meadows

Quickly we entered the region of alpine meadows, dotted with the white, yellow and pink of alpine flowers. To the east lay Hedley Tarn, the first of several glacial lakes that we would pass. Climbing steadily on, the gently undulating rim of the range opened out above a broad basin as the track changed from paving to crushed granite. This is a fragile habitat that had suffered much from overgrazing by cattle up until the 1950s. It took a long time to recover from that and the National Parks authorities have made a big effort to protect it by providing good tracks for bushwalkers - the modern day equivalent of the cattle - please keep on them!

As we climbed, we passed many granite outcrops, before crossing the crystal clear water of a mountain stream. The stream was fed by seepage and the melt waters of a remnant snow drift tucked into a south-facing gully and was lined by the bright green spongy plants of an alpine bog community.

Climbing over one more ridge, we emerged at a saddle overlooking Blue Lake, its surface shimmering in the sunlight beneath the rocky walls of Little Twynam. It was a good spot to take a break and admire this view and the silver and white carpet of snow daisies that stretched upwards toward the rim of the range.

Blue Lake glimmering in the morning sunshine

From Blue Lake, the ascent began in earnest up a natural earth track with sweeping views up the Snowy River Valley to the Etheridge Range and beyond. Around us the rounded shapes of Mts Clarke, Northcote and Lee defined the edge of a large glacial basin, while ahead the track climbed steadily toward Carruthers Peak, past rocky outcrops, bright green fens, clumps of mountain celery and ever more brilliant fields of alpine herbs.

Soon we emerged at the saddle between Carruthers and Twynam, to be greeted by a cooling wind and a magnificent sweeping panorama across the pointed rocky outcrop of The Sentinel to the fading shades of blue of successive ridges to the northwest. In parts, the forest burnt in the severe fires of 2003 stood out starkly, like a grey cobweb spread across the landscape. The western side of the Main Range is much steeper and more rugged than the part we had just passed through and for the next few kilometres the track would take us through this quasi-alpine landscape.

One last push took us to the 2145m summit of Carruthers Peak. Just below it the carpet of everlasting daisies, mingled with yellow of billy-buttons and and odd dash of pink was at its brilliant best. With its glorious 360º views, including the three highest mountains on the continent (Kosciuszko 2228m to the south, Townsend 2209m to the west and Twynam 2196m to the east), Carruthers is a place where you spend a long contemplative time.

On the saddle we found ourselves in the midst of the "windswept feldmark" community, where prostrate, slow growing woody shrubs cling to the thin soil studded with shards of sedimentary rock; a fragile, tenuous grip on the roof of Australia. Looking over the rim to the east, Club Lake could be seen nestling in its glacial bowl below the dark wall of Carruthers.

Ahead lay Mt Lee and, in the distance, a rounded dome resembling an ant nest, even more so with the many tiny black shapes moving across its top - it was Kosciuszko, Australia's highest peak and visited by hundreds of people on every fine weekend day, most of whom arrive via a metal-gridded ant trail from Thredo Village to the south.

Soon, Lake Albina appeared below us to the west, beneath the the precipitous rocky slopes of Mt Townsend, "Little Austria" as it has been christened by off-piste skiers. It was a good place for a break before we traversed the steep slopes of Mt Northcote.

At each step, a look back revealed increasingly spectacular views of Lake Albina, dammed by a terminal morain at the mouth of Lady Northcote Canyon, which drops 1200m to the Geehi River below. Nostalgic memories came back of winter stays in long gone Lake Albina hut and moonlight skiing on the slopes above the lake.

Leaving Lake Albina we passed under the lee of Mueller's Peak. The wind dropped and the myriad bushflies that had hitched a ride on our backs and packs felt free enough to take off and pester our faces. They say that everything has a price, and the cost of spending time in this beautiful part of the world during the summer is the March flies and the bush flies - bring your insect repellant! Fortunately, the track led us out onto a more exposed ridge, which settled the flies and gave cooling relief as we climbed the long spur up toward Kosciuszko.

Billy buttons on the slopes of Kosciuszko

Bliss = soaking tired feet in the cold
waters of the Snowy River

A little further on and we once again crossed the Snowy River, spending a few minutes to rest on the banks surrounded by clumps of bluebells or soak tired feet in the cold clear water (NB some of us reported that the sensation of baby trout nibbling your feet can be quite agreeable!). Finally heading on, we followed the road down until the appearance of groves of black sallees, with their beautiful grey and olive trunks, greeted our arrival back at Charlotte Pass and the end of the walk.