Sometimes you look at a mountain or hike and think it won’t be that hard. At other times, it is harder than it looks. Summiting Cradle Mountain in Lake St Clair National Park is definitely the latter.

The thing is, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Everyone says this isn’t an easy summit, and even the woman who sold us our registration passes reinforced the ‘this is a tough summit’ message.

The good news is, you don’t have to complete a full summit to appreciate the hike in and around Cradle Mountain as the changing landscapes in this part of Tasmania and incredible vistas enroute mean you don’t have to go all the way to the top.

There is one than one route to the top and with the added benefit of shuttle buses that move around every 15 minutes, you don’t need to start and finish at the same point. In my opinion, any hike that has minimal backtracking is a win!

The day we set out was a little cloudy, but as we ascended, we had bits of sunshine, but a lot of wind…

We started out early but just parked in the main car park and used the shuttle bus to get to the starting point of our choice. We decided to head off from Ronny Creek and finish at Dove Lake in the afternoon. This is a slightly longer route but provides more different landscapes along the way and considering I am definitely looking for the journey AND the destination, this seemed the way to go.

This route took us up to Crater Lake, Marion’s Lookout and Kitchen Hut before Summit, then down via Wombat Pool, Lake Lilla and finishing with some epic views from Dove Lake before grabbing a shuttle back to the main carpark (and a well-deserved wine at Cradle Mountain Lodge).

The hike started out easily enough after signing in at Ronny Creek (safety first of course) with gentle boardwalks surrounded by small creeks and native bushland. If you come back here at dusk, you will find this area lousy with wombats!

The scenery then changes as the elevation increases. There are a couple of small waterfalls and dense forest – the temperature is noticeably cooler in this section.

Soon after this section, you get to Crater Lake, marked by a cute little boat shed. The lake is immense and you get a reprieve from climbing until you reach the other side – then you start the UP to Marion’s Lookout.

This section of the trail is steep and you will have to do some rock scrambling. There is a chain in sections to help you get up the bigger steps – very handy for those of us with shorter legs and not to mention those we met attempting The Overland Trail with giant packs as this is where the trails intersect.

Working up that sweat is all worth is for one of the best views of the day – panoramic vistas over Dove Lake on one side and Cradle Mountain peak on the other.

From here, we headed towards Kitchen Hut. This was a relatively cruisy walk with flatter sections and boardwalks but it was exposed to the elements and the cold wind was seeping through my layers. As we walked on, Cradle Mountain was at times completely enclosed in cloud – and simultaneously seemed very far away…

Kitchen Hut is a spot for emergencies and not somewhere you can stay, but we sought a break from the chilly wind and ate our packed lunches inside. This is also the only bathroom on the trail so make the most of it (I would recommend BYO toilet paper in busy seasons).

This is where the summit to Cradle Mountain proper really starts and just looking at it from here, you can see how steep the section is going to be.

After about 20mins of rocky incline you reach the point where it is all-rock scrambling. I am talking big, sometimes wobbly, sometimes jagged rocks with limited trail markers on white poles as you make your way up. You need hands and feet to scramble up here.

It was a little over half-way through this rock-scrambling – close to what is referred to as the false peak - and with shaking legs that I decided to take a break and decide if I had it in me to make it to the top. Thankfully my wonderful hiking partner didn’t hate me for deciding I didn’t.

In good weather conditions, I would say that the Cradle Mountain summit walk is definitely worth it. I have heard the 360-degree views are incredible, but we were in the clouds, with high winds and low visibility. We probably turned around not far from the top, but I had to choose safety over ticking a summit off the list.

We headed back down to Marion’s Lookout (the only backtracking we did all day) and then turned off at Crater Lake to go down towards the Wombat Pool and Lake Lilla. This section of the trail was busier than any others and I have seen that a lot of people do the hike both from and returning to Dove Lake.

Walking along here, past Wombat Lookout, it is easy to see why it is referred to as the scenic route down some steep steps from the Wombat Pool to Lake Lilla.

From Lake Lilla, there are a few steps down but it is mostly flat and about 20mins before you reach Dove Lake. Time for the legs to begin rejoicing.

One of the last stops before you get to rest your legs is Dove Lake Boatshed – arguably the most famous photographed location in all of Cradle Mountain.

All up it took us a bit over eight hours to get to Dove Lake – not including our paddling time at the lake to refresh our feet in the icy waters. What an epic day and maybe one day I will go back and try the Summit again… but if I don’t, i still have incredible memories of this stunning part of Australia.