I slept surprisingly well in the whipping tent. I woke up a few times and always thought about getting up to climb the mountain, while getting an early start. However, the pitter patter of raindrops and the warmth of a sleeping bag, kept me nestled into my tent, despite the pools of water that were forming. I did unzip to check the visibility... but the fog lingered. After the sun came up, I could still hear the rain and decided to get up and out anyhow.
When I stumbled out of bed, I had a had time trying to decide if I should continue on to summit Mt Anne. At the moment, I couldn't see 10 ft in front of me, so the view would be no good. I debated whether or not the mountain would rise out of the clouds, but based on previous experience, I guessed not. Then I tried to decide if I should do it for the challenge and finally I decided that the logical thing to do would be to find another National Park, where I could see more of Tasmania. So, down I went.. not that this was easy. I ended up bending my hiking pole. I was blown off my feet because of the wind and my face was freezing from the wetness and wind. The boulders were slow-going. Slickrock is slick when wet. Once down from the boulders, I met a group of people that thought about going up Eliza. They had just entered the cloud/fog. I told them that they were welcome to try, but the view would be lacking, unless the clouds lifted up to some degree, while the sun continued to rise. I also made sure that they knew the forecast, which called for snow that night.. which is problematic on this rock without the right equipment. Then I asked if there was decent weather anywhere in Tasmania. They said the east coast. So, off I hiked and drove. First things first, I grabbed a Easter coffee.
I slept surprisingly well in the whipping tent. I woke up a few times and always thought about getting up to climb the mountain, while getting an early start. However, the pitter patter of raindrops and the warmth of a sleeping bag, kept me nestled into my tent, despite the pools of water that were forming. I did unzip to check the visibility... but the fog lingered. After the sun came up, I could still hear the rain and decided to get up and out anyhow. 
I finally made my way down to Tasy (where the 's' has a 'z' sound). I headed to the most remote location that I could, the Southwest NP. I had some friends let me in on the little secret, known as the Mt Anne Circuit. One problem. It requires good/sunny weather to cross a particular section. I began with my quintessential stop at McDonalds to get some coffee, Coles to get some groceries, and Anaconda to get some gas for my stove, then finally the ranger office for a Park Pass, in order of priority. 
Then, I walked into the cloud. There was a nice appealing hut 2/3 up the mtn, right before a difficult 1 hr rocky scramble up Mt Eliza. I skipped the hut and made my way up the mtn, discovering the swamp, or plateau on the top. It was very cold, wet, cold, windy, and cold. I'm not sure if you can make out the ripples in the water from the wind. Anyhow, I waded through the plateau to get to the next section of rock by Mt Anne. Night was coming quickly and the rocks were very slick from the fog/rain/snow. So, I thought about hunkering down. I found a good spot when I pushed my face into a bush after slipping on a rock. I setup camp and was too tired to start up the stove, so it was Snickers bars for dinner. Despite the torrential downpour that commenced and the tortuous wind that whipped the tent back and forth at a frequency of about 1 hz, I had no trouble falling asleep (to remind you, I got up at 3am to get to the airport in time). Bedtime was 7pm, just like my favorite Goddaughter. To be continued...