Saturday, October 29, 2016 – 27.76 km

Another long day today, but a nice one. Everything seems nice after the Melrose to Hallett leg.

The only less pleasant section was a long plod along Tarnma Road to Marrabel, which the Heysen passes directly through.

The pub has good food according to the Marschalls Hut logbook, but I didn’t stop since I wanted to get to the hut at a reasonable hour. I did and settled in, starting by collecting water, since the day was sweltering (by this Canadian’s standards) and I had gone through twice as much water as I usually do.

I was alarmed to read in the logbook that Marschalls Hut has a possum problem. There were possums on the Overland Track, but I didn’t worry about them since I hadn’t yet met the demon possum at the Magnetic Island hostel that bit people in the dining area and forced us to eat standing up in the kitchen. I was extremely suspicious of these hut possums, and even ended up using my precious gas to cook with in order to finish eating and hang everything before dark. AND THEY HAVE ARRIVED! I’m pleased to report however that they’re just lurking in the rafters, and I’m more irritated by a manic fly that keeps buzzing around my headlamp even though it’s too late for flies to be this active.

Speaking of hanging – someone hung a noose directly outside the window. Twistedly I laugh whenever I look at it.