Lake Skinner and (almost) Snowy South

I took a day off work yesterday to go on a walk that I have long wanted to do with the Hobart Walking Club. We walked to Lake Skinner, a beautiful sub-alpine lake not very far (as the crow flies at least) from where I live, and then on to Snowy South (1398m), a peak in the Snowy Range. It was a hot day and one woman was throwing up from heat exhaustion even before we reached Lake Skinner.

As we neared the top of Snowy South, clambering over rocks and boulders, I had difficulty breathing so stopped. I'm glad I stopped, because I actually felt very ill once I sat down and think it could have been a lot worse if I'd kept going. I'm sad I didn't see the view out to the west, but as you'll see below, the views I had were not too bad either. One other chap had a bad case of hayfever and we wondered if it was the pineapple grass which seemed to be throwing up a lot of dust or spores as we walked. I've never gasped for breath like that before. I really like climbing hills and mountains, but must say I prefer to do it at my own less-than-cracking pace, taking a short breather to take a photo now and then. I did manage to get a couple of photos of the lovely wildflowers along the way though, and some of Lake Skinner with its beautifully cool, clear water. I'll go back one day and allow time to enjoy it.

P.S. If you look closely at the peaks in the distance in the last photo below, you'll see they are the same ones as in my blog header above, just from a lot further away.