Western Arthurs Day 6 : The Beggary Bumps
Leaving the Beggaries behind
Lake Mimas
I soon found myself descending down to the shoulder that crossed between Lake Ganymede and Lake Mimas, with the last of the Beggary Bumps lying just in-front. The straightforward path and the excellent visibility allowed me to admire the scenery of the ranges that stretched as far as my eyes could see. I found myself appreciating the fine weather far more too as the sun was out and was basking us in its warm radiance, more than making up for the foul weather that we had to endure the previous few days. The difficult sections apparently were done, and the going was said to be easy beyond Mt. Taurus - its two-pronged peak easily seen off in the distance.
I hadn't found the Beggary Bumps as hard as all the online accounts that I had read had left me expecting, but the fact that one would have to devote a lot of attention and vigilance when navigating them rang true. The slightest lapse of concentration could easily have proven fatal. I also found that this heightened attention or awareness to the task at hand was very similar to the almost meditative state that I seem to find myself in when rock climbing, my focused concentration blocking out all other thoughts - hunger, fatigue, and the occasional shudder that racked my body when the cold wind blew.
Leaving the Beggary Bumps behind
Mount Taurus
The cairns were easy to spot and follow from here as we made the climb up to the west peak of Mt. Taurus (
elevation : 1011 m), with Federation peak hovering conspicuously on the distant horizon. Lake Jupiter was spotted across to the south-east before the track seemed to plunge down another chasm that seemed to lead right towards it. It instead continued left and ended up skirting the southern slopes of the west peak (with the peak to the left) and winding its way around to and through the shoulder that lay between the twin-peaks, before once again switching directions and heading off to the right instead to skirt the northern slopes of the eastern peak (making an S-shaped switchback). By then, the sun was quite low on the horizon and crepuscular rays skittered down the edges of the Beggary Bumps behind us, accentuating the jagged peaks of the pinnacles in the process.
