special about this place. We took a
short respite within the well-main-
tained shelter, the paved floor and
well-maintained internal walls pro-
vided a disingenuous feel, the authen-
ticity was lost. We didn’t care, it was
good to be out of the chilling wind.
Dave sent the others off while he
and I remained on a track that was
relatively well maintained, heading
towards our last stop, despite the
pain and cold I didn’t want this day to
end. I’d enjoy the riding as much as I
could.
We reached the Howqua Gap Hut
just as the other riders came out of
the bush from another hidden track.
At an altitude of over 1400 metres it
was cold, damn cold. Smoked bil-
lowed from the hut’s chimney, my
god, we’d reached heaven.
Stumbling in, fiddling with me hel-
met, Dave was already at the fireplace
adding more logs, it’s an unwritten
rule that if the fire is going you keep it
going, for the next visitors. It’s what
TRAVERSE 23