Where do I even start with a book like this? The Last Snow Gum. The Last. If you read Mountain Journal, you will know that a key preoccupation here is the threat to, and loss of, snow gums. I’ve spent a big chunk of the last six years working to gain protection for snow gum forests which are starting to collapse before our eyes. ‘Collapse’ means that, in many areas, the trees are dying, and the scale of the death is so intense that there are no new forests emerging. What were stunning twisting forests and woodlands are turning into wastelands of highly flammable dead timber, scrub and grass. This is happening right now, yet most people who know the mountains and visit regularly refuse to do anything about it. The ski resorts and the mountains more broadly are full of people who can see, who have time and disposable income, but they have chosen to turn a blind eye and ignore the obvious.
After 6 plus years of work, a revolving set of new environment ministers, dozens of mainstream media stories, endless lobbying and surveys, guided walks, forums and report writing, we are getting somewhere. But a little bit of political movement is not the same as real action to counter an existential threat.
Me getting angry or sad or shrill or ranty doesn’t actually change anything. So I try to hold onto my Reasonable Voice even as I watch the snow gums die in front of us. Watching an ecosystem die in real time is hard work and wears on the soul.
But these forests still feed me. The silence, the raucous noise of ravens sweeping through the trees, the sunsets, the impossible beauty of fresh snow on an old dry hot continent. Yes it’s a word that gets thrown around, but snow gums are iconic. I would also say they are charming, charismatic, solemn, stoic, stubborn and delightful.
Which brings me back to this book, released in bookstores nationwide this week. At its heart, it is a long and detailed love song for this wonderful tree. It really does weave the loss and the beauty together into a compelling story. If you have ever spent time in the Australian mountains I would say that you need to read it, as the knowledge you gain will deepen your connection to these wonderful trees and the mountain country they inhabit. There are no ranty activists here, just people who love the mountains and the snow gums, and faced with the facts, the book is considered but alarmed.
The Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT) is one of the premier long distance walking trails in Australia. While the distance (around 650 kilometres) is impressive, it is the fact that it passes through so much remote country that makes a full crossing such a feat. Unlike many long hiking tracks around the world there are only a small number of points to easily get off the track or to resupply, and this adds to the pre planning and commitment required to walk across Australia’s highest country.
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