Spring Starts Today. Nobody Told the Snow.

Here in Australia, today is the first day of spring. In Tasmania, that means very little.

I got home from a walk in the southwest of Tassie over the weekend and everyone said the same thing. What a weekend for it, you must have had incredible views…. We did not see a thing. I had checked the forecast and knew there would be cloud about, but it sat right on the mountains, and the mountains were where we spent the whole trip. Cloud, mist and drizzle from start to finish. We finished the walk out to the car on Sunday afternoon under clear skies, and as we drove away we could see one fat clump of cloud still sitting on the tops of the peaks we had just climbed.

I am not complaining. It was a great walk. But it was only a great walk because we layered up and stayed warm while the weather did its thing.

Last October, also spring, a few of us walked into an area of Central Tasmania and copped a bit of snow. Real snow, and it was also properly cold. It made for one of the tougher trips I have done in a while. The difference between a tough trip and a bad one was simple: we were prepared for it. We had the layers, so the snow was something to walk through rather than something to fear.

That is the part people forget here. Tasmania hands out snow in spring when you are not expecting it, and the date on the calendar does nothing to change what the mountains can do.

Most people pack for the date instead of the conditions. Carrying more won't fix it. What matters is carrying the right system. A base layer that moves sweat off your skin so you do not chill when you stop. A warm mid layer you can add and drop as you climb and rest. A warm insulating layer you can throw on at rest breaks to keep the warmth in. And a shell that keeps the wind and rain out. Worn together, those three handle almost anything a Tasmanian spring can throw at you, from a cloudy southwest weekend to deep October snow.

Before your next walk, no matter what time of year it is, check the forecast for the worst it could do, not the average. Then pack your layers for that day. You can always take a layer off. You cannot conjure one you left at home. Get your layering right and you’ll be a lot happier out there.

THAT’S ALL FOR THIS WEEK

Thanks for reading Mowser’s Musings. I hope this helps you hike further and happier.

Until next week, keep exploring.

Mowser

Discover more. Hike further.

P.S. Half the pleasure of a cold, layered-up morning is a proper hot brew while the cloud sits on the hills. It is why I stopped carrying those premade coffee sachets. You know the ones. Those cappuccino-in-a-packet type? So I put together a trail blend of my own instead. Drip filter bags, made to carry, and made for exactly those mornings.