Peter Hosking, 31 lives near Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains.
In the summer of 2014/15 Peter will be trekking from Walhalla in Victoria to Tharwa in the ACT. He will be walking along the Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT), to raise money and awareness for Autism.
Peter says:
After nearly losing my life in a blizzard in 2012 and being a sufferer of ASD, I want to raise money for Aspergers and Autism. My cousin is full autistic. I want to raise awareness not just for Autism but also for anyone who wants to go into the backcountry, to be prepared for all weather conditions and eventualities. My intention is to raise awareness for ASD sufferers so the general public see our condition in a positive not negative or “taboo”.
I recently heard a great Radio National program featuring English travel writer Robert Macfarlane.
His new book The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot is the third in a trilogy about “landscape and the human heart”.
As mentioned on RN, “in it, Robert Macfarlane travels the ancient walking tracks of Britain” and he spoke of the many deep experiences he has had while travelling on foot.
I have always been a big fan of walking, for commuting and recreation. It has all manner of benefits, and in bioregional terms, is a necessary part of getting to know your place and region. But lately I have been getting more influenced by the thought that walking can have a spiritual benefit as well.
Partly this is just formed from many hours sitting on trams and trains, aware of everyone around me fiddling with their electronic gadgets. I love and appreciate the internet as much as anyone and have the need to be plugged in. But as our minds become ever more crowded with huge volumes of data and (often quite shallow) information, and as we get ever more dependent on electronic gadgets, many of us are becoming obsessive in our need to be online and ‘connected’.
To have what has been described as a ‘considered’ life, you need time for reflection. This means time simply being with yourself. Whether you have religious or spiritual beliefs or not is irrelevant to this observation. It strikes me as being obvious that people need time for inward reflection – as opposed to the external ‘reflection’ that happens on social media and ‘reality’ TV, which is essentially something crafted for consumption by others. If you cannot bear to just sit with yourself, then there is something wrong in your life.
But in this hyper consumerist world, few of us are encouraged to make that time just to be.
Having some quiet time in the day means we can think about life, and how we are going in our relationships: with ourselves, our loved ones, and our community. Walking brings this opportunity to me. You don’t need any fancy gear to actually do it, just a few minutes in your day, wherever and whenever you can fit it in.
The global connections available to us via the internet are amazing. And more and more this opportunity is spreading to the majority world. But this engagement is very much ‘front of brain’ interaction, generally not deep or reflective.
And while I love my bike, walking gets you to a different place, because you can get into the rhythm of walking rather than maintaining the need to be constantly scanning for danger, which is a requirement of riding a bike at any speed.
Walking clears my head. It lets me plan for my day and then to unpack whatever happened at work. Sometimes it just connects me to place, as I wander neighbourhoods and see how people live and interact. My life feels richer as I get to know the places around me, human and non-human, as you see a level of detail that cannot be discovered even from a push bike or car.
Then there is the deeper level. Sometimes I think its good to have an open mind as you walk. To consciously not think or plan, just to be open to what presents itself on that particular day. Some of my deepest revelations and connections have happened as I practise open mind walking, there is something to the movement of walking – a defining characteristic for humanity through the entirety of our existence – that takes me far further than sitting meditation has ever done. Being propelled through a landscape, the weather, our immediate surroundings, at the pace of the human body is inherently spiritual.
Yes, walking can be a drag, when you’re tired and want to get home, when its too hot or too wet or your destination is simply too far away. When you’re sick or tired or simply weary with life. But mostly its something that enriches our lives and gives authentic experience that is not gained from being plugged in or otherwise distracted in our lives.
To finish, I like this quote from Timothy Hull. His ‘companions’, transcendentalist poet uncle Walt Whitman and nature writer Mary Oliver may not resonate for us all. But the notion of walking out from home, into a rich landscape – busy or empty – flat or hilly – urban or rural – is something that we can all do. Who knows what we might find and who we might meet on the way.
Lets go walk out beyond the Wall Across the land in the bright Fall With the leaves fiery jewels With Uncle Walt on the open road Mary Oliver, Dreaming souls Wonderful companions bright and clear
On saturday August 24 there is a fund raiser event to raise cash for the further development of the mountain bike and walking trails around Dinner Plain.
superb country. In the saddle below Forty Lake Peaks, looking towards Mt Ironstone
The north western end of the Central Plateau offers spectacular walking. Easy access to Lake McKenzie gets you into some of the most extensive alpine and sub alpine terrain in the state.
This heavily glaciated country is bounded on the north and west by big escarpments and deep valleys, and stretches off into more forested landscapes to the east and south. Two rough tracks get you into the Plateau proper, and there are endless possibilities for travel through this open and exposed mountain country.
This is a 4 day walk, which takes in the higher ridges of Turrana Heights and Turrana Bluff, through to the Long Tarns and back out via the Higgs Track.
The Gunns from The Twins (Buffalo plateau in background)
Leading up from the plains of north eastern Victoria, there are many hundreds of ridges that snake up to the Great Divide. It is the higher, alpine ranges that get most of the attention from walkers. Yet there are some great walking opportunities in the mid level ranges, although you will often have to share the trail with 4WDs and trail bikes.
One obvious trip in the Mount Hotham area is Mt Sugarloaf and the highpoint of The Gunns. This is the highest section of a range that starts just near Bright and climbs through Mt Ebenezer and gradually towards the Divide, reaching its highest point at Mt St Bernard.
The following report comes from The Weekly Times, journalist: Sarah Scopelianos | November 26, 2012
A 15-YEAR-OLD schoolgirl was flown to hospital today after sliding off a hiking track in the Baw Baw National Park while with a school group.
The girl was part of a group of nine students and teachers who were hiking between Mt Buggery and Mt Hewitt (sic) when the accident happened.
The girl slid about 5m down a rock face and landed on a ledge.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said a paramedic was lowered on to the ledge from the Air Ambulance to stabilise the girl and then the pair were winched to safety.
The service was called at 10.09am to Wabonga, near Mansfield.
He said the girl had neck and back complaints and cuts.
She was flown to the Latrobe Regional Hospital in a stable condition.
Whenever I fly from Melbourne to Canberra I try and get a window seat facing south, to get whatever glimpses I can of the High Country. The descent takes you over the wonderfully rocky, domed ridges of the Brindabella Ranges, scattered with frost hollows and ratty looking snow gum fringed ridgelines.
I haven’t been up into those mountains for years, but it’s on my perennial ‘to go’ list. Coming from the south I find the Main Range of the Snowies is normally sufficiently distracting that I don’t get any further north.
In the modern world of evolving media, the concept of ebooks has become popular. These can be books on specialised themes made by regular people, which are available in a print per purchase format, allowing an idea for a book to make it onto paper without the costs and commitment of producing a large print run.
A Night on a Mountain in Namadgi National Park is produced by Barrie Ridgway and available via Blurb, one of the online book companies. When you order it, a copy is printed and mailed.
The author says “this book is a textual and photographic portrayal of the beauty, vastness, peace and preciousness of wilderness in general and a unique Australian wilderness in particular. It is my portrayal of the need to preserve wilderness in its own right for the survival of all life on this planet Earth”.
It is a set of visually gorgeous photos taken as the author and his friends climb a peak in Namadgi Park to watch the sun set and spend the evening on the mountain. It reminds me of the ‘mountain viewing rituals’ described by deep ecological thinker Dolores laChapelle.
The book is primarily full colour photos, with some minimal commentary about the journey up the mountain and a plea to protect wilderness. It is a worthy addition to our literature about the Australian Alps, largely letting the landscape speak for itself, albeit through the eyes (lens) of someone with a great affinity for the place.
You can buy it via the Blurb website. Although this is expensive, it is a glorious book of 98 pp, with lots of gorgeous full colour pics at all scales, from the micro to the landscape level. The Softcover version comes in at about $50.
A hiker has had to be rescued from a hut at the peak of Mt Bogong after becoming stranded over the weekend.
The 43-year-old man took refuge in Cleve Cole hut on Saturday night after hiking to the top of Mt Bogong.
But falling snow prevented him from navigating his way down the mountain and he called police for help.
Search and rescue officers reached the hut late last night after a long climb.
The man was guided down this morning.
Police Acting Sergeant Scott Dower said winter hikers should be careful.
“If you are going hiking, be sure to prepare yourself and check the weather forecast and snow conditions before you head out,” he said.
“If you get lost, stop, seek shelter and wait for help.
“Keep your mobile phone charged, don’t travel alone and always let someone know where you are going.”
The search and rescue squad rescued seven people during the 2011 snow season, including a man who suffered hypothermia after he became lost in Alpine National Park without appropriate clothing.
Castlemaine-based artist Ben Laycock continues his series of reports from mountainous places, this time he’s fresh off the Overland Track. Rumour has it that his musically inclined party was welcomed by some travellers but not universally accepted on the trails. One would have thought that if you wanted a quiet ‘nature experience’ you wouldn’t be staying in a hut on one of the busiest walking tracks in the country in peak season …. but as they say, ‘you can’t please all the hikers all the time’.
His report-back from the walk, which involves limited accounts of littering, cannibalism and minor embellishment of facts, will upset fans of Lord of the Rings and can be found here.
Mountain Journal 
Recent Comments