It’s a special kind of crazy that sees a 12.8km return hike up one of Australia’s notoriously challenging mountain peaks and think, I can run that.
Crazy, or just a trail runner. Sometimes the terms are interchangeable. Either way, when I read about the famous Cradle Mountain Summit hike in the wilds of northwest Tasmania, I knew exactly how I would tackle this ‘hike’.
THE LOCATION
Cradle Mountain is a legendary destination. A place where rugged bushland and rocky moors meet pristine lakes reflecting snow-covered mountain peaks. Wombats and pademelons (cute, nose-wrinkling wallabies) amble about the land apparently naïve to the threat humans posed in prenational parks eras.
The unmistakable dipped crown of Cradle Mountain towers out of the wilderness in Cradle Mountain-St Clair National Park. This is northwest Tasmania, a region where towns, roads and phone reception become sparse as you drive further through the winding farmland west of Launceston. Elevation slowly climbs past 1000m as we navigate around tight turns and undulating Tasmanian countryside.
