So before I launch into today's utterings, I have to tell you about the walk down the Viking. As I pre-empted in yesterday's blog it was always going to be harder than the way up (and it was tough!). So, setting off from the summit I quickly came across the 'rocky gully' described in the guidebook. This was incredibly steep and in fact soon reached what looked like a dead end. Both sides of the gully were cliffs, and the gully was choked ahead of me with one massive boulder a a couple of smaller ones resting on a ledge to the left. It was obvious that the only way down was through a small hole between the boulders. I threw my trekking poles through the hole and took off my pack as it was obvious we were both not going to fit. I clambered through to an awkward crouching position and tried to pull my pack through after me. It didn't fit!! So back up through the hole I went and tied my length of climbing rope to the haul loop and lowered my pack over the front of the rock jam. With this complete I again scrambled through the hole. By the look of the rest of the gully it seemed a good idea to leave the rope attached and coil it away in the top pocket just in case. As it turned out another five minutes of precarious walking down the gully put me at the top of another hole. This one was larger and was basically a hole in the roof of a cave that blocked the gully. One of the cave walls had (just) enough hand and foot holds to downclimb into the cave without having to take my pack off. Comparatively, the rest of the walk down, whilst steep, was smooth sailing. The reward was a stunning high grassy saddle with a dominating view back up to the sheer cliffs of the Viking.

I knew the next day would be tough and in a similar style to the Viking. It was both. Hugely overgrown, the scrub was incredibly thick and dirty. Any exposed skin was covered in a thick layer of dust, no need for sunscreen today! Once the knoll at the turnoff for the Razor (the Viking's twin) was reached the track became hugely ambiguous. It picked it's way up and down, mostly hugging but basically avoiding the giant rock slabs of the Razor ridge. I took a false lead at one point downhill away from the ridge. Upon realising I spent the next 20 minutes trying to retrace my steps. This was a seriously exposed spot to get lost. I did find the 'track' again and picked my way across to the saddle between Razor and Mt Despair (such descriptive names!). That had been incredibly absorbing walking. You could not switch off even for a second, as the chances of losing the track were so high. You became honed at watching for a broken twig here, a sawn log or trampled patch of grass there.

The rest of the day was comparatively easy. The scrub was left behind and all that was left to contend with were the two tiger snakes I saw on the way. One flat out refusing to move from it's sunny position right in the middle of the narrow track- "ok" I said " I'll go round then"! I arrived at Mt Speculation at around 2pm, which was in quite good time considering the walking that had come before. My food droppers arrived at 4 and we set about making camp.

The Viking and Razor had been everything I'd hoped for. Rugged, remote, incredibly challenging- physically, mentally and navigationally; and had left me feeling exhausted but happy and proud. It is a notoriously tough section, but one I will never forget, from the feeling of breaking back out of the scrub into the views, to the scrambling downclimb and incredible exposure, to the completely absorbing nav, it was a section that had it all... aahh a celebratory cider!!