Heatstroke, Hiking, and Happiness on Tasmania’s Overland Track

There I lay, immobile, shaking uncontrollably, experiencing the worst case of heatstroke in my life. Feet pounding, legs jelly, and my head swirling with a high temperature and unregulated emotions. Propped up on my pack, which I had dumped onto the first free tent platform I saw when I finally arrived at camp over an hour ago, I questioned everything: Why did I agree to put myself through this? Will I even be able to finish this hike? Are the photos and stories worth putting myself through this level of discomfort?

Some people go to resorts for their holidays—maybe they have the right idea, I chided myself. Yet there I was, barely at the halfway point of the Overland Track, unable to fathom how I would make it through tomorrow, let alone the next day, or the next, or the next. So why was I here? Well… it’s the Overland Track.