Five-minute read: Deb Fryers confronts her vertigo on the Overland Track and learns a thing or two about herself.
One major trek under my belt (Chaing Mai Hill tribe trek seven years ago), a 28-litre daypack with food, water, first aid kit, iPhone, determination and my legs; Cradle Mountain here I come! I received a transfer from the Cradle Mountain lodge to the Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre and there I met other excited hikers who all had their maps out. We exchanged ideas on our respective paths and wished each other well. My aim was to get as close to Cradle Summit as possible if not to the top. Would my legs carry me? Would the weather stay beautiful? Would I run out of water? Many questions ran through my mind before I headed off on my hike.
I began my day hike at Ronny Creek car park. I took the Overland Track, past Crater Lake, up and over Marions Lookout, back onto the Overland Track and on past Kitchens Hut. Two and half hours in to my personal adventure I was feeling on top of the world. I made the decision not to summit Cradle Mountain as the cloud coverage was coming in thick and fast.
My alternate plan was to head onto Face Track but not far along I was forced to stop. The track had taken me by surprise when quite a steep cliff face confronted me. Suddenly I realised I couldn’t do this. “My little legs wont take me over this rock face,” I thought to myself. I couldn't go back as the track was too difficult. I looked back to where I had come and how high I had climbed and fear set in. Remembering you have a fear of heights mid-fear of the height is not a good thing!
I stood still, surveyed my surroundings and burst into tears. My legs had turned to jelly and every thought I had of moving forward or moving at all made my stomach turn. I was going through some kind of shock. The tingling in my entire body was overwhelming. I had not experienced this before. I was like a cat that needed the fire department to get it down – and what I got was close enough.
Two experienced and wonderful park rangers walked me back down via the Goat Track all the way to the Dove Lake car park. We slowly traversed down from Face Track. On the way we discussed children, our work lives and shared stories of our parents who had passed at early ages. I marvelled at the flora and every single step I took, often having to walk backwards holding onto the rails and chains so as to not fall off the mountain. I looked back every so often to see Cradle Mountain staring back at me, wondering if I would return. After three hours facing my fears on Face Track at -4°C and a very strenuous and steep descent, I finally was back at the lodge.
Upon my return I made quite a tidy list of things to remember and skills to develop before going it alone or just going out into the wilderness again: learn to read a map, how to operate and read a compass, pack an overnight kit just in case, remember my fear of heights when travelling on my own and read more blogs that tell you really what a track is like, not what the glossy brochures say. I remain committed and excited to explore more trails, treks and perhaps even a mountain or two in the future.