Today I woke up at 6:45 am to get ready for my first of the seven summits. Kosciuszko is the tallest peak in Australia but only has an elevation of 7,300 ft. It only takes one day because you start the climb around 4,000 ft if you go from the base. We drove to the town of Thredbo, got breakfast, then left. My whole family did the climb with me, but my mom and brother took the chairlift up the first part, and my dad and I went from the start. The first two and a half miles were a little intense because this section was basically steep uneven stairs. It was 2.5 miles and 2,000 ft of elevation gain.
The views were beautiful, it was more of a jungle environment bellow the tree line.
We passed a few waterfalls.
Then once we got above the tree line, it was more of an alpine desert environment. After a few hours of hiking, we got to the top of the chairlift that my mom and brother took up. They were a little in front of us, but the next four miles only had a thousand feet of elevation gain so we were pretty sure we'd meet them at the summit. The trail from the chairlift was a grated metal path. It was pretty flat, so we went at a quick pace.
After a little while my dad and I started getting close to the top of the mountain where the trail circled around the mountain to the summit.
At the very top when we could see the stone pillar, and we started racing towards it. I got there first and beat my dad to the summit.
It felt really good to get to the summit of my first of the seven mountains. Although it wasn't super difficult, it was really nice to get to enjoy my first one.
We hung out on the summit taking photos and eating lunch for a while before heading back down with the whole family. The way down was fun and relaxing. Then, once we got to the chairlift, we separated from my mom and brother and went down the long staircase.
At this point my legs and knees were getting pretty tired, but I knew we were almost back. When we finished, I was so happy and proud of myself but exhausted. It meant so much to me to have completed my first of the seven summits. I am one step closer to completing my goal and I am so excited to keep going.
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