Mountain Rainforests in Northern Australia

Took this shot as I was climbing the highest mountain in Queensland, Mount Bartle Frere. As we hiked the near vertical trails for 12 hours, we encountered not a single other person. Instead, we were greeted by snakes, frogs, and the occasional bird.

The biggest mistake was only bringing a few granola bars in my backpack, and a small waterbottle. We were fortunate enough to stumble upon a mountain stream, that we refilled our bottles with, but as we continued to climb even that became depleted.

Another thing we noticed as we climbed was a distinct drop in temperature. Once we passed the treeline, we became acutely aware that our tshirts, that seemed so hot at the bottom of the hike, were not going to protect us from this biting wind. We took refuge in an evacuation shelter near the peak, where we ate the last of our granola bars, and prepared for our descent back into the warm forests thousands of feet below us.