Daygin Prescott - Lessons taught by the mountains

This journal note is a testament to my traverse of the Western Arthurs Range in Tasmania, Australia.

The traverse took myself and my girlfriend five days to complete. Most days were slow going over technical terrain. After spending two days hitchhiking out of Hobart to the South West National Park, we began our journey. Piper (my best pal) had never completed anything of this scale and it sure was a step out of her comfort zone.

Having done a couple treks similar (solo) I knew what to expect. However, I really wanted to share this experience and all the things you are taught throughout, with someone else.



Small tasks are easier than larger ones, yet will always guide you in the same direction

This was our view of the range during the first few km’s on the first day. We were certain we weren’t making it up in a day, that’s a big feat. Yet, one step, one hill, one plain, a water stop, lunch, a few more steps, another hill and we are suddenly at the bottom of the moraine. Ascend for 20 mins, have water, just over this false summit, around this rock, rest, 20mins to go and there you go. Having small and manageable goals really played a major part in staying on track. Our 9hr day was broken into a bunch of small wins that brought us closer each time.

The Importance of Letting Your Mind Wander

Time spent at home is always over stimulating, constantly influenced by visual + audio. We never truly have larger chunks of time to rid of the distractions and let our mind take us to some place where it thrives. Spending 5 days in a place as remote as this, the only sound is wind and only visual stimuli are natural structures. Over this time you tend to stop thinking about things happening in the social world, economics, politics etc. You don’t stress about tasks that need to be completed. The only thing focusing us is putting one foot in front of the other. You almost enter a state of conscious dreaming, gaining clarity and direction. I think this is something most people have yet to experience but yet it is so valuable to your mind, well being and life overall.

 You are capable of so much more

We figured this one out on the last day. Physical and mental fatigue had well and truly set in. After pledging to ourselves to finish this particular day, we set off on what was to be a 13 hours of constant walking. Pushing through a barrier of pain and just reassuring ourselves that we will be ever so grateful waking up at the trailhead the next day. We thought we were sore at the start of the day but we had to keep going. We thought we were sore after 3 hours of walking, we kept going. Hour by hour the pain worsened but we pressed on. Thinking back to it now, I must remind myself how relentless the last day was yet we completed it by simply just pushing a little harder each time. It was a great reminder of how much we are capable of both physically and mentally. Also, a good comparison for when complaining is appropriate ;)



Words and Images: Daygin Prescott & @dayginprescott on Instagram.