Dead Horse Gap, NSW
25.0 km (8.5 hrs )
★★★★☆

Day 4 in Kosciuszko National Park saw me completing an ambitious 25 km round trip to Australia's highest peak (Mount Kosciuszko) via the Dead Horse Gap Track. Beginning at Dead Horse Gap, I headed out on the cold, foggy morning, climbing steadily up to Thredbo Top Station. Here on the exposed ridge, the wind chill made for an apparent temperature of -9 degrees - a cold summer indeed!

Once again, arriving early at what was originally going to be my halfway point of the walk, I decided to add on the easy trek to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko via the Kosciuszko Walk. This walk mainly follows a steel mesh over the alpine meadows to Rawson Pass, before the joining the Summit Walk to the top. Arriving well before the Thredbo Chairlift began operating for the day, I had the summit all to myself, not that there was much to see with a heavy cloud cover, and icy cold wind.

The weather cleared by the time I arrived back at Thredbo Top Station, which heralded the arrival (via the chairlift) of hundreds of tourists who were now heading to Mount Kosciuszko. Very few were coming up Merrits Nature Trail, so I had this track pretty much to myself, as I descended the 500 or so metres to Thredbo, before returning to Dead Horse Gap via the Thredbo River Track.