First Snow in the High Country

The first proper snow of the season changes the High Country quickly.

A track that felt familiar in autumn can feel like another place once the cold has settled into the gullies and the snow has found the higher ridges. The roads grow quieter. The bush loses some of its colour and becomes sharper around the edges. The gum trees hold white along their limbs where the wind has not shaken it loose. Even the sound of a car on a gravel road seems to carry differently in that cold air.

After a good fall the country north of Melbourne starts pulling at you a bit. It does not have to be a big trip. A run up toward the snow line can be enough. The valleys sit under mist in the morning and the higher ground shows itself in pieces through the cloud. The track might be wet underfoot and the lower sections can be all mud and leaf litter before the snow begins properly higher up. That change is part of the pleasure. You watch the ground alter as you climb.

Winter makes the High Country feel slower. It is harder to rush when the wind is coming through the trees and the road edges are wet from thawing snow. You notice smaller things. Water moving under ice at the side of the track. Snow caught in the low scrub. The pale trunks of gum trees showing through grey weather. Mud on the boots. Cold hands that take longer than they should to work properly.

There is usually some discomfort in it and there should be. A winter day outside is better when it makes you earn the good parts. You get back to the car with wet cuffs and cold fingers and a bit of grit on everything. The heater feels better than it has any right to. A plain view across the ridges feels more important because the weather only gives it to you for a minute before it closes again.

The High Country does not need to be dressed up too much in winter. A quiet road is enough. So is a snow-dusted ridge or a line of gums vanishing into mist. The best days are often made of small things that would not mean much anywhere else. A clear break in the weather. A sheltered spot out of the wind. A warm meal at the right time. The sound of boots on wet ground.

With a bit of snow already through the hills it feels like the season might have a few good days in it. More early starts. More muddy tracks. More cold gullies and white ridgelines. More reasons to head north when the forecast looks worth chasing.

A simple day outside can feel larger up there once winter has settled in.