This walk was a planned springtime walk to Valentimes Hut from Guthega Power Station on the 2nd of October 2010. A lot of the snow had melted but there were still large areas covered in atleast a meter of snow on Schlink Pass and above. 
I was accompanied by my friend Laura and we headed out from Guthega Power Station around 10am on the Saturday. It was a long weekend so we were due back on Monday arvo. The hike up from the powerstation along the pipeline is fairly steep and my friend who hadn't walked much was already a little red in the face. I realised at this point that I may have over estimated our combined abilities. Nonetheless we managed ok to make it to Horsecamp Hut for a couple of photos.
We then pushed on to Whitses Hut. By this time there was snow on the ground and on the track which made the walking a bit slower. We didn't have snow shoes and there were occasional signs of cross country skiers trying to ski on the snow at the edge of the track. Whitses Hut was on the other side of a cold creek and closed anyway, so we headed up over Schlink Pass and on to Schlink Hut. At Schlink Hut we met several cross country skiers who we chatted to for a while before bunking down in one of the rooms for the evening.
\On Sunday morning we headed out in good weather towards Valantines Hut. Turning off the Schlink trail towards Valentines Hut we had to step up onto thick snow. From this point onwards the going was a bit tougher. My friend at this point said she was having knee pain which was definately concerning because the plan was to walk the whole way back to Guthega Power Station on Monday. We pushed on the various depths of snow, sometimes on the firetrail and sometimes not. It got easier as we descended along Duck Creek and eventually the snow thinned out to nothing again.
Early Sunday arvo we arrived at Valentines Hut. With plenty of time we ditched our gear in the hut and went to explore the Valentines Creek falls. We took a few photos and enjoyed the serene views. We had dinner and a bit of wine and discussed the walk back tomorrow. My friend hung her boots up to dry.
First thing in the morning we woke, packed our gear, had brekkie and got ready to head out. Unfortunately my friends boots rubber rands had changed shape from the heat of the stove and were now slightly deformed. Nonetheless, they still fitted and that was all we could manage at the time. We hit the track, and having experienced the worst the track could offer the day before, made it easily back to Schlink Hut for lunch.
After lunch we headed down Schlink pass for the final slog home. By the time we got to the dry section beyond Horse Camp Hut, I was starting to get buggered. My friend on the other hand was fine. She was striding ahead of me and I had to step it into gear to catch up. When we got to the car we both sat down in my car and my mate took her boots off. Her white cotton socks were now pink and I could see why she was so eager to finish the trip. She'd spent the whole day with bloody blistered feet. Not the best end to the trip but atleast we had time to go to the bakery in Jindabyne for a berry danish pick me up.
