A Never Ending Journey and A Leap of Faith

Wow. Happy Faces have had some crazy adventures over the past week, and more to come with Bushweek Festival on the horizon YAY! :D

Well known for our love of getting lost in the wild, last week was no exception as the team embarked on a challenging climb towards the summit of Queensland's highest mountain- the infamous Chooreechillum Mountain, known locally as the Bartle Frere. 

Chooreechillum stands at 5332ft above sea level and definitely gave us the challenge we were looking for. A spontaneous decision to attempt the climb saw us on a quick dash around the shops for hike appropriate items. We emerged with a pop up tent (we would later discover was not waterproof) and some peanut butter and jam sandwiches. Sometimes fundraisers are too happy-go-lucky for their own good lol. With minimal preparation, off we trotted in the fixed unshakable belief that the mountain was no match for our positive attitudes. The drive there was pretty spectacular, rolling green hills fringed with tropical jungles and as the Bartle Frere came into view nothing could have prepared us for the never ending journey that lay before us.

Chooreechillum (Bartle Frere) 1622 m.

The climb has been described as treacherous and many tourists have become lost, some for several days, while climbing the mountain. A few hours in, we began to see why. Bartle Frere is extremely steep, covered in dense jungle with rapidly changing weather conditions and path markers which are often hard to see. During our ascent light rain and heavy mist made it difficult to see where we were going which meant we did wander off the path several times. Pit stops for peanut butter and jam sandwiches were numerous and satisfying but did come at a price. The price was leeches. And the currency was our blood. Not just one leech, hundreds and hundreds leeches fed on us every chance they got. They were in our socks, under our clothes, I even woke up with one on my face. Not nice. 

By the time we reached our camp spot (A small clearing in the jungle) it was raining hard and our pop up tent offered little protection from the rain, the cold or the forest leeches. Not exactly the peaceful back to nature slumber we had anticipated. To top it all off, the continuing bad weather the next day meant that for all our efforts there would be no chance of a view :(.

All that said, we were all glad we did it. We burnt more than a few calories and we all felt INCREDIBLE when we got off the mountain and had a warm cup of tea and a hot shower. It was all worth it for that feeling alone. 

If we can survive the Bartle Frere we can survive anything. Bartle frere, we salute you.

In other news, Big congrats to Mr Day who conquered all fear and took a leap of faith off the 50 meter tower at AJ Hacketts. Why live on the edge when you can jump off it..right? :) David also hit a new PB inspiring 5 awesome people in one day this week and has been getting some high unit values. Well done mate.

Next stop. Cape York.