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The ascent to the top of Ellen Peak is around 900m in total and steepens markedly as you near the top . Towards the top we were climbing up on a 30 degree incline making the going slow . Once you get toward the top stop and sit down and look behinf at where you've been , it's almost like being on a cliff edge , also take a moment to appreciate the freshness of the air and your surroundings , nothing up here to remind you of civilisation just yet. Do the right thing and keep the wilderness wild , do not create new tracks and don't leave behind any trace of your visit and take nothing from the area except photographs.
Once up the top there is a small clearing on a saddle that is relatively sheltered and can be used as a campsite , we stopped here for lunch on day one of our trek. From here you can go right up to the top of the peak leaving your backpacks on the trail , there is a visitors book at the top , When you go look for the names John Cugley , Dean Lambert and John Bowie in the visitiors book . About this time we got a reminder of how quickly the weather changes in the Stirlings as a cold wind came in forcing us to rug up a bit . The weather up there is totally unpredictable you will need to be prepared for any likelyhood , the main ones being the risk of Hypothermia or exposure .
As you continue the trek crosses to the other side of the range and in our case it meant shelter from the elements as everything was nice and clear as we got to that side of the mountain . It is here that you get the first test of your nerve . You must follow a narrow path around a ledge for about 30m and below you is a sheer rock face which plummets straight down for around 50 - 100m , once past that you are at the first of the camping caves which are another of the few sheltered areas found on this walk. Take the opportunity to rest or even camp the night and admire the veiw . For me sitting here looking out over the vast expanse and the mountains really was quite refreshing .
The next part of the walk is what I called "Scrub Bashing" , you follow a slippery muddy trail up and down for about a km or two slipping and sliding and landing on your backside once or twice and getting your pack snagged on low lying trees . Once through this there is another small camping spot although not overly sheltered it is comfortable enough and offers great veiws of the areas traversed in the days walk . We camped at this spot and were blessed with a clear night and were able to observe several satelites and a very clear sky as there is no artificial light up here to spoil it .
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