Kathryn Conlin was 12 years old the first time she walked Cradle Mountain.
Now aged 71, the Burnie woman is unsurprised to see thousands of people queuing online to book their spot on hikes in the region, reflecting on how it became her "great love" in life.
The Overland Track booking website was overwhelmed last week by people competing in queues of at least 4,000 others.
Speaking to ABC Northern Tasmania Breakfast, Ms Conlin recalled her first trip to Cradle Mountain with her father in the 1960s, after moving to Tasmania from Sydney for his job with the Devonport Bank.
Living above the bank together, their weekends were coloured by father-daughter expeditions that each time ticked off a new Tasmanian mountain.
"I lived for the explorative weekends, as I was in my third change of high schools and friendships were had to find at first," Ms Conlin said.
When they climbed Cradle Mountain, like many others, she fell in love with the place.
"I thought, 'This is my mountain, and it will always be my mountain'," Ms Conlin said.
Life at a crossroads
After moving back to Sydney, Ms Conlin's next trip to Cradle Mountain wasn't until 1991, when she was 40. It was the year her marriage broke down.
She said the mountain called her to "do something special" for herself.
"I sat in my unit and thought, 'What do I want to do?' And I thought, I'll go to a solo on Cradle Mountain on Christmas Day," Ms Conlin said.
"So I prepared for that, I got fitter at the gym. And that's exactly what I did."
As dawn broke on December 25, 1991, she drove down to Lake St Clair and signed the walkers' register.
"This was how it happened; Cradle Mountain was my great love in life," she said.
The Cradle Mountain hike is about 12 kilometres return and takes most people about seven hours to complete, according to Trail Hiking Australia.
Ms Conlin said she had always dreamed of walking the 65km Overland Track, which usually takes walkers about six days and includes Cradle Mountain, but her health deteriorated and she suffered from heart issues and multiple sclerosis (MS).
"It was always the plan but I think my health issues that exacerbated over the years would not allow me to do that. So I just admire it from afar," Ms Conlin said.
Ms Conlin also cares for her current husband, who has dementia.
"Negotiating all those things now in my life — it's just another mountain," she said.
"That's the way it is. I love Cradle Mountain, everything's to do with Cradle Mountain for me in my head."
Huge demand from hikers
Prior to European arrival on Australian soil, the Big River Aboriginal tribe lived in the Cradle Mountain area undisturbed.
The Overland Track now has a wide fan base, including trail runners who complete the track in a matter of hours.
A Parks and Wildlife spokesperson said 34 hikers set off each day of the season running from October 1 until May 31 — equating to 8,296 people over the whole period.
On July 4, the day bookings opened this year, 5,126 people logged on to their devices to nab their spot, the majority from mainland Australia, around one fifth from Tasmania, and around 200 international visitors.
As for Ms Conlin, her ultimate wish is to — in time — make Cradle Mountain her final resting place, saying she wants her family to scatter her ashes across the breath-taking terrain.
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