The meeting place was for 12.00pm in the car park at Corin Dam. The morning started out fine with a sunny clear sky, but things changed during the drive over, with temperatures dropping and clouds forming across the mountains. Our party was made up of mostly walkers I was familiar with and these included Sean and his wife Julie, John Evans, Sarah Kearns and Gerald Dodgson. The new member was Chris Cartwright. We wasted little time in signing the walk's register while Sean gave us a quick run-down on the activity and then the fun really began. Our destination this evening was Pryors Hut, approximately 8km walk away.

We immediately started ascending some steps that headed westwards onto a steep climb. We would be ascending for about one hour and over two kilometres as the narrow track took us on a lung busting journey through the forest up Stockyard Spur. The early section of this track zig zagged in a series of switchbacks complete with wooden steps that gave us tantalising views of the dam's reservoir, but soon the track basically headed straight uphill and it wasn't long before some of us were taking minor breaks to catch our breaths and allow our racing heartbeats to settle.

The problem now though was that it suddenly started raining, not heavily but enough to get us rather damp. While others stopped to put on raincoats I didn't bother as my shirt was already soaked with sweat. I could change into my rain jacket at our first stop-over. Thoughts about getting out my neck warmer were rejected as I wanted something warm once we got to the hut. We slowly persisted with the ascent, finding any excuse to stop and look at something interesting while we caught our breath.

Sean could see light at the end of the tunnel, it was possibly the open area at the top of the ascent where we would be taking our first major break and soon the ascent levelled out as we came to more open forest and the last climb to the clearing at the top of the ridge. We arrived at exactly 1.45pm, just as the rain let up. It had taken us less than 70 minutes to arrive which I thought was quite impressive considering the ascent we had just done. I still pulled out my raincoat and put it on as it was now quite chilly and I had a rather wet shirt. I needed the jacket to keep me warm rather than dry. The clearing had been created as a makeshift helipad for bush fire fighters.

We moved on, now following a dirt road along level ground for about 200 metres before it descended to a low gully before ascending on the other side. Here we noticed small patches of melting snow beside the trail. As we reached the top the snow got thicker, covering the road, though at this stage the wheel ruts in the dirt were clear, however, as we ascended higher again the entire road and surrounding countryside became thick with snow and our momentum slowed as we struggled through 6-8 inches of snowfall. The snow drifts slowed everyone down but we struggled on gamely.

Eventually the trail descended gradually to meet up with the Mount Franklin Fire Trial just below Little Ginni Mountain. It was 3.15pm and Sean was keen for us to walk to Mt Gingera this afternoon after we had dropped packs at Pryors Hut, so we didn't stop. We turned left and headed south for just over one kilometre and there on the right was Pryors Hut. The time was 3.30pm. The hut looked small, but it had a large dining area with a sumptuous fireplace and a small back room we could use to sleep in if we so desired. Outside was the obligatory drop toilet, though this one was out of order and the door padlocked. We were going to have to go bush for our calls of nature this trip. There was also no water tank and if we required water we would need to access a nearby creek to gather water. The hut is situated on the NSW/ACT border with the hut's front steps the only part in the A.C.T.

Sean was still keen to walk to the summit of Mt Gingera, a walk he now estimated as being a 90 minute return, but only John showed interest. The rest of us were worn out enough from all the ascending today and we suggested doing the side trip tomorrow morning, myself included. So Sean and John headed off, leaving the rest of us to organise our cooking gear in the kitchen, get the fire started and pitch our tents outside. The fire was hard to start as much of the wood was damp, but with a few of us fanning the fireplace and adding sheets of newspaper we got a good fire going.

I was in two minds about my sleeping arrangements. With my recent head cold I felt it would be better if I slept indoors and not risk refreshening the flu which had been so hard to get rid of. In the end my decision was made for me when I wandered outside to find most of the prime tent sites taken and they were on the long grassy laneway which was well soaked with run off from the surrounding snow drifts. I went back inside and set up my sleeping mat and sleeping bag on the floor of the back room. I had the added bonus of being the only member of the group to wuss out and not 'tent it' tonight.

At around 5.10pm John and Sean arrived back from their walk to Mt Gingera. They had made the summit but had been unable to catch any views through the low clouds. It would be John who would take the group tomorrow morning and we were warned to be up and ready to leave by 7.00am. In the meantime we busied ourselves with cooking dinner. We were also joined by another walker, a young parks ranger from Canberra's north who was spending his weekend walking solo to one of his favourite walking areas. He introduced himself as Nick and we had a very interesting conversation with him during the evening. We sat around the now warm dining room eating our dinner and enjoying a few treats while a variety of our wet clothing was drying in front of the fireplace. A couple of hours good conversation followed while we were entertained by a small mouse that poked its head through a hole halfway up the dining room wall.

At 7.30pm everyone retired to their tents for hopefully a good night's sleep. I was left alone in the hut and as a precaution I shut the door to my back room. It was quite warm enough without the heat from the fire. I set the alarm on my iPhone for 6.00am and got into my sleeping bag and fell asleep almost immediately. I woke three times during the night, twice to the sound of possums fighting on the roof and once after rolling off my Thermarest mat onto the hard floor. I didn't check what time they were, I just got back to sleep. My alarm woke me at 6.00am. I looked up to the window and saw it was still dark outside.

IÝ put my down jacket and boots on and shuffled out to make breakfast. It wasn't too cold outside and all the tent sleepers claimed they weren't cold at all. After rushing breakfast down I went into the back room and packed up all my gear. My shirt was dry, but I packed it away, happy to wear a thermal top under my raincoat for today's activities. I also put my beanie, neck warmer and gloves on and grabbed my camera bag. My rucksack was ready packed for when I returned. Grabbing my trekking pole I joined John and the others out front. At 7.05am we headed off.

There were five in our group. Apart from myself and John there was also Sarah, Chris and newcomer Nick. Gerald, Sean and Julie opted for a sleep-in this morning. It was still overcast but there was no sign of any impending rain. The sun had come up at 6.45am, hidden behind the cloud cover and as we headed south through the snow covered Mount Franklin Fire Trail, John gave us a history lesson during the first part of this walk, pointing out the old arboretum and border markers. His knowledge of the history of Canberra's surrounding countryside and the A.C.T. in general is quite diverse, second to none and always interesting. At a spot about one kilometre down the road we pass Snowy Flats Creek where the trail turns a sharp left. Here, on the right is a small footpad heading into the scrub.

We follow this, allowing Nick to go on ahead so we don't slow him down. We cross a fence line and continue upwards. Strangely this section of track is devoid of snow, but not for long. After crossing a fast flowing feeder to Snowy Flats Creek and coming over a small rise we are faced with a sea of white and it's all deep. John says the footpad contours the ridge in switchbacks to make the ascent easier but up ahead we see Nick has stopped and put on a pair of snow shoes and he had taken the direct route to the top. We decide to follow him, strangely it looks like John and Sean went the same way yesterday as there are previous footprints mixed in with Nick's snow shoes.

Again our progress through the snow is quite hard, though certainly not as bad as yesterday. We were all glad we took the option for a sleep before doing this side trip. We took several breaks during the ascent as the snow was very deep up here. Chris was having more trouble with his worn out boots, slipping on the compacted snow we had already walked through. We were now walking through mountain snow gums, some magnificent looking species are found here and most of them stunted near the end of the tree line. At 7.50am we stepped onto the rocky summit of Mt Gingera (1847 metres). Nick was brewing up a morning cuppa.

The views were obscured by thick mist but what we could see was just magnificent and it really didn't matter that we were almost in a 'white out'. What remained of the old trig lay on the snow covered rocks in front of us while John tried to inform us of the surrounding peaks names as the mist momentarily cleared in the morning breeze. A lone snow gum stands on the summit. We spent 15 minutes up top before bidding farewell to Nick and heading back down the mountainside. The descent was almost as slow as the ascent, this time taking care not to slip over head first into the snow drifts. Chris was having great trouble and claimed he was able to almost ski down on his bald treads.

We arrived at the road and headed back to the hut, arriving back at 8.35am and surprising Sean with how quick we did the walk. A quick group photo at the hut was taken before we set off up the snow covered trail at 9.05. The turn-off was made onto our return trail and the first section was tough going in the thick snow, especially as the first few hundred metres was a slight ascent. By the time the trail descended to the gully we had thankfully (now) seen the last of the snow for today. The ascent up the other side was tough as we had expected and Chris, Sarah and I took our time, taking breaks as we needed. Sean and Julie were now tail-end with John who was obviously finding the descents much harder on his dodgy knee. We arrived at the clearing/helipad to find Gerald happily resting and we waited for the others to catch up.

A five minute rest was called for before we set off on the last leg of our walk, the big steep descent back down Stockyard Spur to the cars. Here my trekking poles came into their own as they took the stress off my knees and ankles during the descent. We had to be careful with some sections that had logs across the trail as reinforcement as they were quite slippery in the wet conditions. Carefully we made our way down. We passed plenty of people coming the other way, the first group a large family that included three children and then a large group of teenagers rushing up the mountain in the hope of seeing some snow. We arrived back at the car park at exactly 11.20am and I wasted little time in getting out of wet boots and clothing and into some warm dry clothes for the drive home. Thanking and farewelling Sean and everyone for their company I headed home as the sun finally broke through the clouds to finish off what in the end was a pretty enjoyable though challenging walk.