From Snow to Ash: Solitude, soul-searching and survival on Australia's toughest hiking trail

by Anthony Sharwood

At the start of the hellish, fiery Australian summer of 2019/20, Walkley Award-winning journalist and suburban dad Anthony Sharwood set off on a journey. Abandoning his post on a busy news website to clear his mind, he solo-trekked the Australian Alps Walking Track, Australia's most gruelling and breathtakingly beautiful mainland hiking trail, which traverses the entirety of the legendary High Country from Gippsland in Victoria to the outskirts of Canberra.The journey started in a blizzard and ended in a blaze. Along the way, this lifelong lover of the mountains came to realise that nothing would ever be the same - either for him or for the imperilled Australian Alps, a landscape as fragile and sensitive to the changing climate as the Great Barrier Reef.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Adventure, Nature, Australia, Memoir, Biography Memoir

219 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2020

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Funny, yet serious and informative. Thought-provoking but very easy to read, and interesting, in the way that it sounds like a book about walking could easily not be.
As a hiker who has also hiked several parts of this trail, this book evoked a lot of nostalgia in me, as well as a burning desire to get back out and explore more sections of this trail as soon as lockdown allows.

[TomFairman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Australian Alps Walking Track is probably one of Australia's most gruelling hikes, but this personal account of it is as far as you can get from that: this is a seriously enjoyable read covering a serious topic - one man's attempted to complete a traverse of the Australian Alps during one of the most serious bushfire seasons effecting the range. You can tell Sharwood loves the mountains deeply, but this book never becomes too esoteric to be off putting and manages to squeeze in some good laughs along the way. Highly recommended.

[Stephen Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have the slightest love for the outdoors, particularly the unique Australian bush, Anthony Sharwood's From Snow to Ash (which must have been written in record time) is your kind of book.

It's the tale of a man seeking deeper meaning (as many books about travels and treks seem to be) after too many years of burnout. Sharwood undertakes the south-to-north route on the (apparently ill-named) Australian Alpine Walking Track; a route I hope to complete myself in the not-too-distant future.

Sharwood writes with a confident pen, revealing his occasional under-preparedness, the characters and "trail angels" he meets along the way, his own growth, and the always-present terrifying bushfire season of Australia's 2019 summer.

[Mathew Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two thirds brilliant, one third rambling.

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book - clearly as I managed to read the whole thing in 2 days. The AAWT is a track that has interested me for a while (thanks to Beau Miles) and I love the idea of long distance walks, especially ones I can 'do' from my armchair 😂Sharwood has a great voice in his writing and it's easy and enjoyable to read with the perfect combination of personal narrative and travel history.

[Olivia O'Leary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Australian Alpine region is one of my favourite places in the world, and to have its beauty, mystery and wildness captured in a soul searching exploration journey, with the added benefit of the author being a very entertaining journalist with a passion for research and the outdoors made for an excellent book! Sharwood provides the perfect balance of personal anecdotes with informative history and ecological knowledge, set amidst the horrifying Australian bushfires of summer 2019/2020. I absolutely LOVED it.

[Sanka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learnt a lot and enjoyed the relaxed manner in which it was written. Keen to hear more about the brumbies and their affect on the environment. Inspired me to attack the AAWT... well part of it!

[Stuart Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't recall when I last had a book make me feel such a range of emotions. From awes, longing to undertake such a trek, to empathy for the author's position, to downright disgust at the abuse we're collectively wreaking on the planet.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Anthony Sharwood can deliver his goofy bantering writing style as confidently in person as he does on the page, then maybe he should try stand-up comedy. Much of this book is written in the easy-going chatty style you might expect from a joker of a trail companion while sitting around a campfire (or fuel stove) at the end of the day's walk. Yes, it's goofy, but in a disarming and positive kind of way.

The subject matter is diverse. Ostensibly it's a trail story, but as you would hope, it ventures far beyond that to discuss the history, culture and people whose lives have been intertwined with the trail. There's environmental concerns discussed, with hard evidence, but also sensitively to the varying responses they can evoke. And given the circumstances of the walk, in the 2019/20 calamitous fire season, avoiding discussion of environmental matters would be ridiculous.

And of course great physical and mental exertion occasionally brings profound insights into life, struggle, and the bush. Or at least it's an excuse to share such that one has gathered in life, and such pearls are also dropped into the mix.

As such it came across as an idiosyncratic, but highly enjoyable read; relaxing in some ways, without escapism or anodyne false optimism.

[Peter Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful account of a trekking journey on the AAWT in the Australian Alps, which explores both the external and internal landscape at a critical point in time during the summer of 2019/20.

[Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling, thought-provoking account of one man’s quest to escape the madness of modern society by tackling the formidable Australian Alps Walking Track, some 660km of often poorly marked trails, hazardous inclines and jawdropping beauty. Artfully crafted, with Sharwood’s evocative - but never overwrought - prose putting you right there on the trail alongside him. Highly recommended, for outdoorsfolk and indoorsfolk alike.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIGHLY recommended. I love the Snowy Mountains - it's in my family's blood, so I'm born to it - and I LOVED this book. A tremendous account of the toughest walk in the country. Humorous, thought-provoking, poignant, timely. Couldn't have been any better.

[Sharon J · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Snow to Ash: Solitude, soul-searching and survival on Australia’s toughest hiking trial by Australian author, Anthony Sharwood is an excellent read. Anthony undertook hiking the Australian Alpine Hiking Track in the summer of 2019 which was probably one of worst bushfire seasons ever; it is a tough and gruelling hike but the retelling of his story is anything but - it is amusing, informative and totally captivating.

I just love his sense of humour.

“I realise you’re probably worked a ten hour day with domestic responsibilities either side, and you’re probably just cracking your first well-earned Pinot for the evening. I know you’ve done it tough too.”

And the conversation he has with his readers.

“The light is beautifully soft now and the wind has dropped. Nowhere Country just got lovely again. The views go forever and the people look like ants and it’s Mother Nature at her finest. Only kidding. Those are my three most-hated travel clichés. Just checking whether your pinot has kicked in and you’re still awake.”

While I do enjoy hiking and have done some significant hikes such as the Tasmanian Overland, this book has universal appeal in showing the diversity and uniqueness of the Australian bush on a track which spans 660 kilometres from Victoria, through NSW and to ACT.

Highly recommended read.

[Zo · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Snow to ash felt more like a late-night, red wine conversation than a book. Dad jokes, education, some self searching, a little ranting, a little mind wandering, loads of inspiration, some great characters, a greater appreciation for nature from the tiniest most fragile plants to the mind-numbing scale of the 2020 bushfires, what more could you want from a conversation, or a book.

[Jayne M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I followed Andrew on Twitter when he was in the midst of hiking the AAWT so was looking forward to reading his account of the trek.

I enjoyed the book as a lover of nature, mountains and Victoria's High Country (as a tourist, not a hiker/skiier) and it made me yearn to visit again. I also felt sad and angry at the damage being inflicted by Brumbies and climate change on this beautiful part of our country.

But overall, l was disappointed. It was like reading an extended feature about the High Country, rather than a memoir (perhaps not surprising as Sharwood is a journalist). It was interesting, but where was the promised soul-searching? We learn very little about Sharwood, what motivated his solo hike and what he wants to change about himself and his life. Though he has written a book, he is very much a closed book himself.

If you're looking for something "in the tradition of" Cheryl Strayed's Wild (as the back cover blurb describes it), this probably isn't going to satisfy you.

It needs more emotion and fewer Dad jokes.

[Gemma Wiseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a digital age, when our thoughts pinball around, walking encourages the mind to drift rather than dart. And indeed, this book is a compelling, December 2019 walk on the wild side in many unexpected ways. The physical walk involves the challenges of the Australian Alps Walking Track. But other walks excitedly intersect - a walk with related geographical and historical contexts - 2003 fires and alpine huts + a special connection with Elynn Mitchell, author of Silver Brumby + a brief walk with Wordsworth. The book is a smorgasbord of wonder for the senses, enhanced by richly crafted expression, sprinkled with humour. Who would believe that the town of Guthega's name could easily become the author's word for a range of emotions. For the 2020 pandemic-riddled reader, it even has a final, wry pass at sanitisers and toilet rolls, ironically connected to this great walk. In short, this book offers a refreshing escape from routine. A great experience!

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! Food for thought for a fellow resident of an ever evolving newsroom...

[Russ Grayson]

LONG JOURNEYS by foot across wild country are journeys external and internal. Their pleasures and struggles are those of the trail and the mind.

So it was for Anthony Sharwood during the summer of 2019. Jaded with his job as a sports journalist, Anthony set foot on the Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT) to walk its 655km length from its southern extremity at the Victorial town of Walhalla to Tharwa in the ACT. He didn’t complete the walk but that was not because the hardships forced him to quit. This was the summer of 2019. East Coast Australians know what happened then.


THE TRACK
To walk the AAWT takes between five and eight weeks. It is one of Australia’s premier long-distance trails. It is no walk for the novice. That is not only because of its length, it is because the name ’track’ is a misnomer. It is a track only where it follows established walking tracks. Elsewhere, it traverses informal trails, fire trails and rough service roads and no trail at all. Competency in navigation is a basic requirement for following what might better be described as a route rather than a continuous track.

If anyone thinking of walking it imagines the tracks name to connote something like the long-distance tracks of the USA, New Zealand or Europe, or even Tasmania's Overland and South Coast tracks, they are in for a rude surprise. Many of those tracks are well-signposted and have hospices and hut wardens who supply meals, huts to overnight in or are close to towns where walkers can resupply. Not so the AAWT. It passes through no towns at all although in NSW it passes close to some ski resorts. This limits resupplying with food and other needs. Anthony talks about how, before he set out, he and his father hid 20 litre plastic drums full of food and propane cartridges for his Jetboil bushwalkers stove. These they placed around a week walk apart.

THE OUTER JOURNEY
Anthony starts out by climbing into the ranges a few kilometres out of the small Victorian town of Walhalla, starting in forest and ascending into snow. Walkers of Australia’s high country—a term applied to the mountains of the Great Dividing Range where it reaches its highest elevation in the Victoran Alps, NSW’s snowy Mountains and the ACT’s Brindbellas in the country’s south east—know that moist weather fronts speeding in from the Southern Ocean are pushed upwards when they reach the ranges, their moisture falling as cold rain and snow even in summer. That is the snow Anthony walk into as he set foot on his adventure.

His journey moves from snow into one of Australia’s hottest, driest summers as he walks northwards. He sees how dessiated the country is. In parts, the country has been burned by bushfires, leading to some sections of the AAWT being closed. Fortunately, he finds a mobile phone signal and asks for advice on a bushwalkers’ social media, securing lifts around the closed sections and meeting people in the towns he overnights in.

His descriptions of the small, out of the way towns at the foot of the ranges, the people he meets and what he tells of their lives makes the book more than a straight-forward tale of a long-distance bushwalk. There’s Riverman, one of the people he shares an out-of-town campsite with while awaiting a lift. Anthony realises he lives in his ute-converted-into-a-basic-camper and leads a peripatetic life between the mountian country in summer to the coast in winter, using bourbon as a pain killer for a back injury and telling tales that end in violent encounters.

Others he meets are farmers, one of whom moved his family to a small town at the foot of the ranges because he likes the conservative vibe of the place. Anthony asks whether this signals a shift of conservative-minded people out of the politically and culturally progressive cities to rural areas, and whether this is a new form of the urban-rural divide that persists in the Australian mindset. He discounts that, saying that rural areas are losing population to the cities.

Anthony’s descriptions of the mountain country he traverses paint a picture of country alien to most Australians. He talks of the difficulties of the unmaintained parts of the track, the pleasures of fast walking in the undulating country of the Snowy Mountains, of route finding where there is no track at all, of steep descents into river valleys and tiring, steep ascents out of them. Such descriptions are a necessary part of any story about mountain travel, however It is the encounters with the people he meets in the towns he diverts to and those walking the track that enliven the book and make it more than the narrative of travel by foot in rough country.

Anyone who has followed long-distance walking trails has tales of fellow walkers met. While still in the Victorian section, Anthony encounters two women heading in the opposite direction. For one of them, this is her third traverse of the AAWT. She is a fast walker, she says. She must be one extraordinary woman. At another campsite he meets a New Zealander who has walked up to the headwaters of the Murray River, to where it is a mere creek. His canoe is a few kilometres downstream. He intends to paddle the river its full length to its mouth. That is one major paddling journey.

Anthony’s writing gains an increasing sense of impending threat as we heads north into the snowy Mountains. The first hint comes when he notices ash and burned leaves falling from the sky. He figures these come form a bushfire to the west of the ranges, uplifted on updrafts of hot air to fall in places distant from their source. The sense of threat builds as he notices how the smoke of distant fires is tinging the sky. He smells smoke and realises it comes from fires a long way off. But, as he moves on, the sky takes that sombre rusty colouration so well known to Australians during bushfire season. The country is burning. This is the summer of 2019. From southern Queensland to southern Victoria, forests and towns burn in the most extensive, most intense, most destructive bushfires the country has seen.

Now, near the mountain known as Jajungal in the northern Snowy Mountains, Anthony realises that the fires are close. He is getting more than a little concerned. Anthony is at a hut when he hears an unusual noise. It is a fire services helicopter. One of the crew gets out, comes over and says they are looking for a solo walker who is following the AAWT.

THE INNER JOURNEY
Anthony’s inner journey will be familiar to long distance solo walkers. It reveals how the inner journey affects the outer journey, how the mind takes walkers from depression to exuberance, or the other way.

For many, long distance walking provides the mental space for deep thinking and making life-changing decisions. For other, and this was how it was with me when I did an off-season solo walk along Tasmania’s Overland Track decades ago, before it was deluged with walkers and regulated, it is immersion in the process of walking, camping, then walking again next day that occupies the mind. Immersion in process, I guess.

Reading Anthony’s thoughts on the trail will interest anyone wondering about the psychology of solo, long-distance walking.

THE BOOK
Through the book, Anthony introduces readers to brief histories of some of the places he passes through. He reminds us that towns reliant on the extraction of natural resouces like minerals or timber can be emphemeral. Walhalla, once home to thousands, is now home to few. The slopes once denuded of timber are again forested. Later in the book, closer to the end of his walk, he writes of the history of the Snowy Mountains, the controversy over the high number of the wild horses known as brumbies damaging the terrain, the hut builders and people like novelist Elyne Mitchell and Klaus Heuneke, author of Huts of the High Country and other books. Anthony reveals that there is an authentic culture of the high country that is embedded both in history and place.

I guess it was my earlier years as someone who enjoyed hard walks which accounts, in part, anyway, for my picking up Anthony’s book. There was much in it that I could identify with. Anthony writes of how he is attracted to the mountains. How they are his favoured terrain. That is how it was for me, too, although the coasts now have an equal attraction.

There are plenty of books about long distance journeys by foot in wild country. Most are about the long-distance trails in the US, records of journeys made and the reasons for making them. They are interesting, however a book about long-distance trail walking in Australia brings the experience close to home, close to the minds and experience of local readers. In doing that it is revealing and refreshing.

[Fan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Living in Sydney, I haven’t heard about Australia Alps which crossing New South Wales and Victoria until I have read this book. It was a very informative and inspiring read.

Waling with author on Alps trail, I am listening to author’s talking on AAWT’s history, mountain literatures, native species and ecosystems, the mountains, peaks and huts, the people then and now. The walking AAWT track is a journey author choose to take, It also provides a scene where we readers could somehow find ourselves in it.

My favourite part in the book is when author was trying to find the old jeep track, being in rolling ground area, by following on Chapman’s Bible, author was trying to make various decisions: look around, gather information and reasoning. It described the situation so real, I think this is definitely a moment that author owns, it was his unique experience at that time on that day at that location and how his brain was functioning.

I like this quote from the book: Exploring rivers at various stages of their life is one of the best things about hiking. Rivers run young and old at the same time. They are nature’s time machines.

[Nat White · Rating 3 out of 5]

One day I’d love to walk this trail for many of the reasons explored by Sharwood. Some of his descriptions of the high country evoke the sublimity of his experiences, which multi-night hikers might recognise. Lots of interesting details and a thoughtful exploration of the sad situation faced by this landscape through climate change. Alas, Starwood’s previous day job of journalism hinders some of the potential of this book. He draws conclusions about resilience and outlook in a few sentences and offers little about how this extraordinary experience affected him. This means the book uncomfortably straddles the divide between guide book and narrative. If I ever get close to walking more of the AAWT, I’ll dig this one out again, but just for the details.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not finish. Read a little over half of this fascinating memoir written by a sports editor from Australia who sets out solo to hike the Australian Alps. Wonderful detail and information about the mountains of Australia which are in such contrast to any other mountains in the world. Of course an adventure hiking tale is always going to pique my interest. The detailed descriptions of the flora, fauna and the author’s experiences are eminently readable. Another bonus—wisecracking wisdom flows throughout. The book was just a little bit too long and in-depth for me to stay with until the end. I would however recommend it to readers who enjoy very well written contemporary adventure memoirs.

[Felicity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have walked a number of parts of this track the longest being 7 days from Mt Hotham to Omeo where we too had to be rescued but not by helicopter or because of fires but because of a broken ankle. I loved the book it made me desire walking more of it. I also enjoyed the detail and informative approach of the impact of climate change and the brumbies are having on this harsh unique and wonderful landscape. Not my usual style of book but thoroughly enjoyable. I did play along with my copy of the Australia Alps Walking Track book on my lap and looking at the maps as I read. This made it even more real for me as if I were there.

[Leesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an incredible journey through our incredible landscape to rediscover yourself.
I loved the way the author is serious and comedic (I actually loved the dad jokes!) all at the same time.
An avid High County hut enthusiast and lover of the High Country, I can imagine the surroundings so vividly from the descriptions - the timbers, the bushes, the creeks and lakes.
We were in the high country during those fires, racing out of the Wonnangatta Valley on New Year’s Eve as choppers did water drops overhead. Every place we had visited, including our favourite destination, Kiandra was burnt behind us.

[Angelica Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book in general as I am familiar with many of the trails and huts he passes through. However, I do think there was quite a bit of unnecessary waffle and would have preferred to read more on his insights on taking himself away from the writing desk and how he felt about returning to work after the hike. What changed? What happened to his wife's holiday home? I am not getting the grit and tears feeling that I got from Cheryl Stayed's 'Wild'. As an accomplished journalist - I would have expected more from Sharwood.

[Philippa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories from the Aussie bush are part of an Australians identity. It doesn’t matter if you are a new immigrant or 4 th generation or Indigenous, the stories are part of us. I’ve walked many, many sections of the Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT). In some parts it’s an easily followed road and in other sections a track, or even a track marker would be helpful so to describe it as ‘track’ is optimistic. Yet it’s there and ‘hats off’ for to those who walk the full length or attempt to.

Anthony Sharwoods journey from the south end of the track in Walhalla, Victoria, to Kiandra in the north of Kosciuszko National Park is both a wonderful tale of walking this track, beautifully written, and a history of the names, the places and the stories that are part of this country. He has met with Klaus Hueneke and John Chapman, names most bushwalkers will hold in high regard simply because of their huge contribution to walking in this country. He writes personally, sharing his humour and his feelings. 30 plus days solo walking is not easy but he is not doing an ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ as he eloquently explains but rather simply, switching off for a period so he can switch on more thoughtfully.

This book is titled ‘From Snow to Ash’ so I assumed he would be walking from the Snowy Mountains in the north to the dry south. Wrong! This is a tale of beginning in dry country to the south that gets hit by cold weather, as happens, in Spring and then heading north into the bushfires, country we normally associate with snow, cold and windy weather even in summer. But the climate is changing, and without even mentioning that C word, Sharwood addresses the big issues affecting our land and way of life.
This is an excellent easy read.
5 stars.

[Tina Jameson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting for its reflections on the environment, the history of the area and its characters, some famous, some totally unknown. At times I felt the style was patchy - best when recounting histories and stories, but chatty and a little shallow in regards to the Authors personal emotions and experiences...I don’t feel I know him well even after accompanying him (virtually) along his AAWT journey. He has however encouraged me to add some destinations to my bucket list.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had just finished reading White Butterflies by Colin McPhedran. This seemed self indulgent and pathetic. It was amazing in the detail of our beautiful Australian landscape, and probably had I read it at any other time I would have enjoyed it more...... A little to introspect for my taste. It took me a few weeks to read, which is a long time for a book to be finished for me, it just didn't engage me enough.

[Nicole Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read and well written. Some funny moments about a long trek through the Australian mountains which turns into a journey of self discovery. I'm just not sure if getting lifts with strangers constitutes walking the Australian Alpine track. Found it interesting in terms of what he took, food drops, his kit and the huts he stayed in along the way, as well as the ever changing landscape and weather.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read about walking the Australian alpine trail and walking it during the summer from hell 2019 -2020. A relatable, at times funny read. Sharwood highlights the fragile environment of Austalia's sensitive alpine regions. The fires that cut his walk short highlight just how fragile this environment is.

[Tamara · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's something about a white man who abandons his role as father (something a wife and mother would've been scorned for) to go gallivanting in the bush with little to no experience and need to be evacuated.
There's something more telling about a white man who responds so aggressively to a single negative review and insults his readers because he doesn't agree with their opinion.