Mount Barrow

Oh my poor neglected  blog!  Where was I?  Joy Falls...  Hmmm...  That was back in September.  What was next?

When I was at Uni in Launceston, Mt Barrow was a regular haunt for walks, runs and bike rides.  It's been a while and when a friend was interested in a walk, I made the suggestion.

After a night camped at the picnic area below the mountain I decided upon an early morning jog to South Barrow and back.  I was trying to get fit for the Kentish Triple Top Mountain Run in November so this was a good opportunity to put some uphill kilometres under my belt.

Despite working in IT, technology is the last thing I want to see after hours.  I've always said I'm a map and compass man and that's the way I'll stay.  However, I've found the GPS capability of my phone is cool for tracking my runs.  Consequently I was proudly able to view my achievement as being 10.7kms with 500m elevation gain in 1h 13m 24s.  Cool!

Another cool aspect of the run was the ice.  Despite leaving after sunrise on a bright sunny morning, a whispy layer of cloud clung to the plateau.  Puddles were still sporting their intricate ice patterns.  At the transmission towers on South Barrow I was in for another icy treat.  Just as I arrived the sun burnt off the last of the cloud and instantly there was an almighty crash.

At first I thought a worker was wielding a giant tool but as the crashes continued I realised great showers of ice were tumbling off the towers onto the fenced off buildings below.  The signs warning of falling ice are not joking!  Chunks of ice over a metre long were tumbling off the support cables.

By 11am I was in Launie to collect my friend for a more conventional trip to the Barrow.  We drove to the summit car park and enjoyed a leisurely stroll to the summit.  A very civilised aluminium stair case had been installed since my last visit which made most of the altitude gain a 'walk in the park.'  A highlight of this walk was a fresh-looking circular star pattern on a rock which I assume is the result of ice shattering the dollerite (pictured above - for other pics go to my Facebook Page).

Joy Falls

I had a ripper trip to Joy Falls and the unnamed falls on Tier Creek recently. Easiest access was exactly as per the map extracts posted by Walkintas on bushwalk.com. In fact, rather than print a 1:25,000 map, I just copied screen shots to my phone and followed that.

Joy Falls

The spur road to Joy Falls (Joy 3) is too overgrown for a car but made for easy walking. At the end of the spur I just kept going in the same general direction for a few minutes. The ground soon sloped steeply downward and I reached some cliffs which gave an excellent view of the falls a short distance up the valley.

Joy Creek above the falls

Being a rather mad waterfall bagger, I contoured around to the top of the falls where some interesting scrambling was needed to see the whole fall plunging away below me. Very impressive but dangerous too. The cliffs are extremely crumbly. I returned to the car by walking up the other side of the valley and using old logging roads via Kangaroo Plain.

Joy Falls from above

The curvy track leading to the unnamed falls on Tier Creek was drivable as it has recently been logged. I left the car at the point closest to the falls and walked a few metres to the edge of the coupe where the terrain dropped away very steeply. These falls were just as spectacular as Joy Falls but harder to view. I had to do some nasty scrambing to reach a point halfway down the falls on the far side where both main drops could be viewed from one place.

Where Tier Creek drops suddenly from view.  I had to scramble down to investigate further.

The two waterfalls were interesting geomorphologically. They both feature a distinctive alternate route over the cliffs which is likely to have been the original waterfall before the current cleft opened up to let the water escape at a lower level. I expect the crumbly nature of the rock in that area means these falls probably change path quite rapidly.

Upper falls on Tier Creek

I'm suddenly inspired by NE Tas waterfalls. I've been to Lilydale, Ralphs & Mathinna Falls but there's a host of others to visit such as Meetus, Lost, Hardings, Kohls, etc etc. Hopefully there will be some more rain in the NE before the summer dries things up. Fun fun fun.

Lower falls on Tier Creek

Little Hugel, Hugel & Rufus

Forecasts promising drizzle in the north but mostly sunny conditions south of Cradle tempted me to cross the north-south divide and do a walk at Lake St Clair on Saturday.  I read the posts on here about traversing Mt Hugel and decided to give it a go.  I had not previously done any of the walks from Cynthia Bay beside the Overland Track north to Echo Point.
I left the NW coast at 4:00am, travelling to Cynthia Bay via the Highland Lakes and Marlborough Roads, hitting the track in the dark at 6:30am.  At 8:00am I arrived at Shadow Lake just in time to see sunrise light up Mt Hugel which was beautifully reflected through a hole in the ice.

The track up Little Hugel has been wiped off recent maps but is still fairly easy to follow.  The boulders were very icy in the shady climbing gully but I maintained steady progress, arriving at the summit around 9:30am.  The views along the Cuvier Valley past Mt Olympus included Mounts Gould, Byron, Manfred, Cuvier and The Guardians.

Clear skies made the traverse of the plateau north of Hugel a simple off-track navigation task with some delightful tarns and patches of rock solid 2-week old snow making progress very quick.  By 11:00am I had completed an extremely cold and windy climb onto Hugel's summit.  Strong northerly wind gusts and a nasty drop on the summit rock's south side prevented any heroic standing up for my self-portrait.  I stayed on the summit just long enough to enjoy the views west to the Eldons, Goulds Sugarloaf and Mt Gell before retreating out of the gale.

After an early lunch in a sheltered nook below the summit, I discovered why the traverse south to the Rufus saddle requires a head for heights according to the authors of The Abels.  While the boulders aren't huge, they are large enought and, in contrast to the upright summit rigde, are consistently tilted at 45 degrees making crossing them awkward.  As an extra challenge, many of them were still ice covered on sun-deprived sections of the ridge.

After a fun slide down a long snow bank on the final descent to the Rufus saddle, I commenced climbing southward with the assistance of the well made track at 1:00pm.  30 minutes later I had climbed past the curious sandstone outcrops and found myself ducking for cover behind the summit cairn on Mt Rufus as the northerly gale ripped over the mountain.  This walk would easily be the coldest conditions I have ever experienced from a northerly!

A leisurely stroll down the eastern flank of Mt Rufus had me back at Cynthia Bay at 4:15pm.  On my way home, sunset on the King Williams was a treat.

I must be getting a little sensible in my old age as I pulled over near Bills Creek in the Victoria Valley for a 30 minute snooze when I felt a little weary around 5:00pm.  This was enough to refresh me so I could safely enjoy the wonderful drive over Mt Arrowsmith , 'Gormy Hill' and the Anthony Road back to the coast.  I love those corners!

7 hours driving, 10 hours walking and 3 peaks in the bag.  A satisfying day in paradise.  I love Tassie!

Follow this link to my pics...

Cradle Summit at Night

I couldn't resist yesterday's snow forecast and despite it falling late in the weekend I was determined...

At 3pm I left the Dove Lake Car Park.  There was no snow on the ground yet and rain was falling very heavily.  Visibility was reasonable with the mountain outline peering through through wind blown sheets of floaty of precipitation indicating the freezing level was not far above me and descending fast.  Sure enough as soon as I turned onto the Marions Lookout Track the rain turned to heavy snow.

By the time I reached the Plateau snow was settling and a good thick cover greeted me at Kitchen Hut when I arrived at 4pm.  Encouraged by my good pace I continued onto the summit track, enjoying the snow drifts becoming deeper as I climbed.  The wind howled across my path.  At one stage a currowong hopped along the track ahead of me for quite some distance.  It must have been enjoying a repreive from the gale.

At 5:30pm I reached the summit cairn and quickly used the last traces of daylight to retrieve my torches ready for the descent.  Soon after leaving it became apparent there would be no trace of my upward journey with snow settling very heavily now.

I made a couple of navigational blunders boldly heading down the wrong gully just below the spot where the track broaches the skyline and again soon after that point.  Each time it was a race to follow my tracks back to the last post before the footrpints vanished.  In daylight the posts are obvious but by torchlight, they are a narrow and non-reflective target easily hidden behind boulders.  An additional challenge as I hunted for each post was the barrage of icy bullets being driven by the howling gale straight up the side of the mountain and into the small face slit in my jacket.  Ouch!

Back at Kitchen Hut the snow was back to a predictable horizontal rather than upward flight path and was now easily deflected by my hood.  Ploughing through fresh snow over the plateau and all the way down to Dove Lake was a sheer delight.  Knee deep drifts disintegrated before me with the slightest kick as the powder was so fine and light.  At the car it was funny to discover my jacket, mittens and backpack had all frozen solid.  The jacket held its shape when I stood it on the ground!  I've checked the Mt Read log for last night.  When I was on the mountain wind gusts were 70kph and apparent temperature -14.3.  Cool!

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Castle Crag

Last week I set my sights on Castle Crag. I’ve often looked at it from Lees Paddocks or the Overland Track and wondered about tackling it as a long day walk from Wadleys Hut. After some other commitments on Friday evening, I set out from Lake Rowallan at 9:00pm and took exactly three hours to wander in to Wadleys Hut by torchlight. As I crossed The Paddocks, the frost on the chest high grass looked like a myriad of stars twinkling in my torchlight.

In the morning, a colourful sunrise and heavy frost were a beautiful treat. At one stage, Castle Crag was bathed in its own pink spotlight while the other mountains modestly hid their heads in whispy mist. I was feeling good about my objective.

At 7:30 I reluctantly left the comforts of the hut, shouldered my pack and headed out to cross the large ‘top paddock.’ The blazed route led me through beautiful river-side forest before crossing Pinestone Creek and crossing a short stretch of tea tree and cutting grass. A distinctive bend in the river was a lovely spot for a rest as the route would shortly leave the Mersey and start climbing.

Once the route reached Kia Ora Creek, rather than cross over, I stayed on the northern bank and proceeded upstream until I reached the spectacular Kia Ora Falls. After plenty of photos and the obligatory crawl behind the curtain of falling water, I climbed out of the valley and crossed the button grass plain to join the Overland Track near the private hut at 11:00am.

Once I joined the main ‘highway’ heading south, the first group I met were 2 couples with small day packs. I wrongly assumed they were doing the Overland Track from south to north. Imagine my surprise when they told me they had just climbed up from Lees Paddocks. They had spotted my bare footprints in the frost on the deck of Wadleys Hut and must have been fairly close behind me when I turned off to go to Kia Ora Falls. They had continued up the blazed route to where it joins the Overland Track and were doing a ‘lap of Pelion East’ by heading over Pelion Gap, down the Arm River Track and back to Lees Paddocks via Reedy Lake. I loved listening to their stories of extreme day walks they had completed.

By 1pm I arrived at Du Cane Gap and paused for half an hour to do lunch and contemplate the goal which lay tantalisingly close. The description in The Abels said once the dolerite skyline was reached it would be a pleasant change from the scrub. I figured that was their way of saying the scrub is less than pleasant. They were right. There was no real easy way through. Even once I reached the dolerite it was still necessary to engage the scrub between boulders. By the time I reached the high point of Falling Mountain, the pure rock hopping felt great.

I reached the highest point on Castle Crag in exactly the two hours The Abels said it would take from Du Cane Gap. Cloud had started to envelope the Du Cane Range to the west but the views to south, east and north were stupendous. Especially eye catching was the view over the deep trench of the Mersey River in the vicinity of the waterfalls, along the face of Cathedral Mountain, to Lees Paddocks and Mount Pillinger.

The descent took 1.5 hours and, with Bert Nicholls Hut only 45 minutes down from the Gap, I figured I could afford to make tomorrow’s walk slightly longer and opt for the comfort of the hut rather than pitch the tent at Campfire Creek as originally intended.

In the morning, I set out around 7:30am again, stopped in to the base of Hartnett Falls around 9:00am, passed Kia Ora Hut at 11:00am and paused for lunch in a snow-shower on Pelion Gap at 1:00pm. In the forest near Kia Ora I met 4 Queensland gentlemen doing the Overland Track. They liked the sound of the private huts and I think there may be some conspiring going on when they get home to see if they can bring their wives back to do the track with a significant increase in the level of luxury involved. Good luck fellas. I’m sure Cradle Huts would love to see you next year.

From Pelion Gap, I was starting to tire and, while maintaining a reasonable pace, I was ready for the walk to end. I passed Pelion Hut at 3:00pm, Reedy Lake at 4:15pm and arrived at Lees Paddocks at 5:30pm. The last of my chocolate spurred me on and I finally arrived at the car at 7:30pm after spending the last couple of hours walking by torch light once again.

Reynolds Falls and Recondite Knob

I've always loved Reynolds Falls ever since spotting it in a Wilderness Society book about areas just outside the World Heritage Area. I previously visited on a through trip from the Mt Cripps area. In late March this year I had a free weekend and planned another visit to this beatiful valley.

Before starting my walk, I decided to investigate a set of falls marked on the map near Moina on Hinman Creek. They are off the stretch of road known locally as Black Jack Straight tucked in behind a block of private land. Being careful to avoid trespassing, I walked to the escarpment from a spot north of the property boundary. The falls themselves did not disappoint. The small stream plunges a good 40 metres or so over a spectacular overhanging cliff. There is also some historical interest here as the water race from Weaning Paddock Creek to Moina can be seen crossing the top of the falls.

I descended to the base of the falls from the north and discovered an old rope marking a route back up the cliff to the south. I returned to the car by following the water race south until I could safely complete my circumnavigation of the private block, returning to the road at the point where the high voltage power lines cross.

With one ripper waterfall under my belt, I arrived at Cradle Mountain Lodge, shouldered my overnight pack around 10:00am and ventured over Speeler Plains. Once I reached the end of the vehicular track I had lunch around 1pm and ditched my big pack, taking the basic day walk items with me. With 6 hours until dark I figured that would do for the 16km round trip from there. As it turned out, I was a bit optomistic.

The track was quite tricky to follow in places as I made the descent through magnificent myrtle and delegatensis forest. The falls were awe inspiring. The Vale River plunges out of a giant notch in a tall cliff with a thunderous roar. Time was against me. The 8km descent had taken 3 hours. Despite this, I couldn't drag myself away and it was 4:30pm before I commenced the 800m vertical climb back up to my overnight pack knowing full well I would be flirting with nightfall.

I didn't fancy attempting to follow the poorly defined track by torchlight so I tackled the climb with a strong sense of urgency and made it to my pack at 7:30pm using every bit of dusk to find my way back to the vehicular track by natural light. Once I had my pack, I followed the branch track up towards Back Peak where the terrain levels out and some lovely flat patches made for a good campsite.

In the morning, I set my sights on Mt Remus. I started walking half and hour before sun rise and had the joy of seeing a light mist rising over frosty ground as the sun peeked over Heap of Rocks. Once again, I had bitten off more than I could chew. Mt Remus proved to be too far away to achieve in the time available. (I had to be in Burnie for a 3pm meeting that arvo - It wasn't quite a free weekend.) However, I was happy to bag the Abel, Recondite Knob.

At 10:00am I had progressed 2km beyond the knob and reached thick scrub at the end of the very last remains of the vehicular track. From here Remus looked tantalisingly close but I made a hasty retreat back along the vehicular track which I lost in button grass before getting to Speeler Plains. I decided to shun the track and head cross country to a spot just north of Carters Tarn where I picked up the Pencil Pine Track and followed it downstream to join the Enchanted Walk, finally arriving at my car by 2:00pm.

Click this link to see pics of my walk on Facebook...

BBPAC17

BBPAC17 Photo Album

Mt Ossa from The Paddocks

Despite BBPAC17 being an extremely active camp, I spent most of it in an office directing traffic which was roaming by the bus load far and wide over this wonderful island.  Consequently, I got to the end of camp feeling emotionally and spiritually drained but physically I felt ready to tackle a mountain marathon.

Pine Hut Plain

Mt Ossa was my chosen goal.  I would do it as a two day walk and camp somewhere high.  For added challeng I decided to tackle it from the Lees Paddocks track making the round trip 42kms with about 1200m of climbing.

Lewis Falls

I started walking at lunch time on Monday, crossing the Mersey River suspension bridge, passing through Pine Hut Plain then taking the obligatory detours to Lewis and Oxley Falls.  On the drive in, the damage from the floods only a few days earlier was amazing.  Surprisingly, the upper Mersey catchment appeared to have escaped the worst of the rain.  The river was in strong flow but not that far above it's normal summer levels.

Oxley Falls

As I arrived at The Paddocks and passed Lees Hut, rain set in making the lush fern growth annoyingly damp as I climbed the poorly defined track to Reedy Lake.  Once I climbed above the rain forest the ferns were replaced by equally annoying wet scratchy scrub.  The silver lining to this cloud was the stunningly beautiful fields of scoparia in full flower.

Dean Bluff and Mersey River from The Paddocks

At Lake Ayr, the Arm River Track felt like a super highway.  By 4pm I quietly scooted past Pelion Hut without pausing.  Overland Track walkers would mostly be inside socialising and discussing just how painful the climb in and out of Frog Flats had been.

 Richea Scoparia at Pelion Gap

A bit later, I arrived at Pelion Gap.  The rain had gone but it was replaced by a howling wind with gusts strong enough to make it almost impossible to stand.  At one point I was caught off guard and had no choice but to accept an ignominious dumping onto the boardwalk.

Pelion East from my camp site

I looked at my phone and remembered the promise I made to my family that I would ensure that I stayed high enough to get phone signal.  Unfortunately, Mt Pelion East was just robbing me of a line-of-sight connection with Mt Claude so I shouldered the pack and headed up Mt Doris.  A buzz in my pocket confirmed I could meet my committment as I climbed onto a shelf on the north-eastern side of this diminutive peak.

Packing and gearing up under the tent fly before braving the pre-dawn elements

Earlier in the day I had visions of camping on the summit.  It was only 6pm with plenty of daylight at my disposal but (a) my legs were saying call it a day and (b) I suspect the wind would make a summit camp darn near impossible.  A pretty tarn on the shelf kept me company as I battled to pitch the tent.  Just when I thought I had the fly in place, a huge gust caught it causing the elastic to fling my pegs away in all directions.  after 20 minutes of peg hunting I changed tack and managed to get the tent erect and extremely well anchored.

The highest rock in Tassie 

It was an uneasy night's sleep with all the emotion of camp still running around in my head.  At 3:30am it was clear I couldn't sleep any more so I fixed breakky, packed up the tent and returned to the track by torchlight.  Sunrise on top of Tassie was my new goal!

Sunrise self portrait on top of Tasmania at the summit of Mt Ossa

As my tiny pool of light made its way around Doris' southern flank I was delighted by how much the sunrise was starting to have an impact even at 4:30am.  By 5:00am I was on the main boulder field below the climbing gulley and it was light enough to proceed without the headlamp.

Summit pool on Ossa plateau

At 6:00am I stood atop the summit obelisk looking at the subtle glow from a sunrise which was happening somewhere beyond the cloud which was settled all around me.  Thankfully the howling gales of the evening had given way to a more forgiving breeze.  Without anyone to share the experience with I did not linger long, returning to my pack at 7:30am.

The sun bursting through with Doris, Pelion East and Dean Bluff lining up to mark my route home

From 8:30am I passed a steady stream of Overland Track walkers as they departed Pelion Hut.  By the time I arrived at 9:00am there was only one solitary camper who was yet to get underway.  After crossing Douglas Creek I looked back over my shoulder with a certain degree of satisfaction that Ossa's head was still enveloped in cloud.  However it was lifting so I also smiled to myself that other walkers climbing at a more sensible hour were almost certain to have a good view for their summit moments.

Richea scoparia in flower on Mt Doris shelf

Growing eagerness to return home to family made me ignore the early warning signs of blisters as I powered past Lake Ayr and Reedy Lake.  The damage was done by the time I pounded down the steep slopes toward the Mersey River below.  Soon after 12:30 I bundled myself into the car and back out to my waiting family.

Old Blog Dead

It's been a while.  Almost 3 months in fact.  I've been extremely focussed on BBPAC17 where we were involved in running a youth camp for 370 people.

In recent months I've discovered my old blog is not just sick, it is now officially dead.  The URL has gone.  If anyone out there knows where http://www.blognow.com.au/ may have gone and whether the content is still out there somewhere, please let me know!

Paradise Cove

Yesterday some friends invited us to visit Paradise Cove with them.  We have lived back on the coast for a few years now and every so often we hear about this place.

Sadly Miss and Mrs TasTrekker were away but the boys and I jumped at the chance to visit this mythical destination.  A couple of hours before low tide, we headed east from the Penguin viewing platform at Lilico Beach.

The foreshore reserve varies in width so a GPS ensured we were steering clear of the surrounding unfenced private farmland.  The excitement started to build as we roudned the last hill and saw the double curve of Paradise Cove.  The first half is a rocky beach but the second half features a beautiful arc of sand seperated from the sea by an inter tidal lagoon and rock shelves.

This would be a great place to visit at high tide when the sea reaches the sandy arc.  However, steep cliffs either side of the cove prevent access without straying onto private property.

Sadly the small dunes of the cove are being devoured by sea spurge.  There are also problems with erosion where stock have wandered down steep banks to the foreshore.  On a good note though we noticed some shrivelled cape weed in the pastured sections of the coastal reserve.  Someone has done some hard work on that score.

On the way back, we marvelled at the columnar rock formations and wondered at the almost black sand of the next bay to the west of Paradise Cove.  To top off a ripper walk, a penguin at the viewing platform decided it would have an uncharacteristic stretch in the afternoon sun, much to our delight.  As if that wasn't enough, we rendezvoused with Mrs TasTrekker who was waiting at Don Heads with a delumptious hot dinner.

(Photos later)

Mt Roland

I love a family who is up for a challenge.  My wife and sons joined me for an assault on Mt Roland today.  The weather forecast was ordinary but we decided to have a go anyway.  Progress up the face track from Kings Road was slow, steady and dry until we reached the cliffs.

As we approached the top of the climb the rain set in and a nasty wind chased onto the plateau.  Just before the summit we stopped for shelter in a cave to have lunch in the dry.  At this point we decided to continue past the summit in the hope that cruising down the back of the mountain would be more sheltered.

Our decision was doubly rewarded.  As soon as we left the summit it became apparent the back track to Gowrie Park was much better maintained than the track up the front.  No more scratchy scrub.  Hooray.  Secondly our hunch about the wind was correct.  The back of the mountain was eerily still with mist preventing views more than a hundred metres or so.  The rain even stopped for long enough to get the camera out for the board walk section.

After descending past Reggies Falls and down the mossy valley of O'Neills Creek we connected on to the new track to Gowrie Park.  This new track adds as much as 3km on to the walk and made a tedious end as it gradually contoured its way below the face of Mt Vandyke.  Thankfully my mother-in-law was kind enough to respond to our request for a lift after our summit change of plans and we completed our circuit with the short drive back to our car.

Basil Steers Hut No. 3

From my old blog 4th October 2006...

Basil Steers' 1974 February Plains hut

Back in April I went for a trip to February Plains.  On that trip I found a classic, yet very run down, example of a trappers hut.  (8/11/08 - I now know this ruin was Basil Steers' No 2 hut after reading Simon Cubit's "High Country Heritage.")  As mentioned in that post, I have heard there are other huts on the plains but I didn't know how to find them.

In June I went back to the plains armed with information about how to find Basil Steers' most recent hut.  It was built in 1974 just before the craft of trapping skins in winter was outlawed in Tasmania.

On this trip I took my mountain bike to save some time on the approach.  The instructions I had were a little vague but sure enough I found the tell tale signs of chain sawed logs in the bush where a path had been cleared to take a horse drawn sled to the hut.  This was fine until I reached the open plains where there were no more sawn logs and no obvious sign of a track.

Photos I had seen of the hut showed it was in trees so I wandered around the edge of the plains in an anti-clockwise direction.  I should have gone clockwise because I was almost back to where I started when I caught a glimpse of the hut through the trees.

This hut is being very well looked after and has been completely closed in.  It is so luxurious that there is lino and carpet on the floor.  The bunks would sleep 8 walkers in comfort.  I'll certainly bring the family back for a trip another time.

On the way home, I stopped by Gads Falls beside Lake Parangana.  The top of the falls can be glimpsed from the road and are way up on the mountainside.  I looked forward to getting a closer look.

The marked trail leads through a narrow valley below the falls clad in dark rainforest.  After a short walk, I arrived at the first set of falls.  These were quite pretty but I knew I was still well below the falls you could see from the road so I kept climbing.

I don't think the 'official' track continues past the first set of falls but I was clearly following a well worn path that soon rewarded me with a second fall.

I still felt as if I was a long way below the top falls so I continued upward.  It appeared I was no longer following a well worn track.  The sides of the valley were now dominated by slippery banks of shale scree.  With a fair amount of difficulty, I made it to a 3rd set of falls.

Even worse scree made the next part of the climb extremely difficult and I still had not glimpsed the top falls since leaving the car.  Above the scree I reached a section of cliffs reaching into the valley from the south.  From a precarious vantage point on these cliffs, I could see a 4th and 5th set of falls where the valley kinks to the north a little.

To my great frustration, the shape of the valley was now preventing me from seing the ridgeline above.  The falls I could see from the road were still out of site!!!  From here, I had a choice between some serious rock climbing or a big descent to tackle the valley from an entirely different approach.  At this point, common sense overruled my 'waterfall bagging' ambitions and I carefuly made my way back down to the car.

As I drove along the road, I didn't dare glimpse back at the waterfall gracing the skyline.  I'm sure it would have been taunting me.  A closer look will have to wait for another day!

Mount Barrow and Barrow Falls

From my old blog 28th July 2006...

Last week, I drove to Mount Barrow while I was showing a corporate guest around a rainy and gloomy Tamar Valley.  The only walking that the weather and our equipment permitted was a quick lap of the nature trail at the picnic area immediately below the mountain.

We drove to the car park at the top of the road and observed the driving rain and howling gale from inside the car before wending our way back down through the dozen or so hairpin bends.  The picnic shelter and hang gliding launch ramp were just visible through the mist.

Previous visits to Mount Barrow have not been so bleak.  On several occasions, I have climbed the steps from the car park to the buildings and transmission towers perched on the summit ridge.  From here it is a short rock hop along the cliff tops to the summit.

The short ridgeline traverse is a great introduction to the decaying dolerite caps that adorn so many of Tasmania's highest peaks.  Ice and snow in winter add to the fun and care must be taken to avoid the north facing cliffs that plunge away close at hand.

Clear weather offers uninterrupted views in every direction.  Farmland and forestry operations dominate the middle distance with Launceston and the Tamar valley a little further away.  On the horizon, the long, dark line of the Great Western Tiers leads the eye away to the distant Black Bluff and Mount Roland.  Bass Strait is visible as are the numerous peaks of the northeast with the Ben Lomond massif brooding beyond the communications tower on South Barrow.

Below Mount Barrow are the Mount Barrow Falls.  When I visited 15 years ago, this sizeable fall had no track to it.  I accessed the falls via State Forest to the north as part of a mountain bike ride from Launceston.

I have since found the Mount Barrow Road runs through part of the Mount Barrow Falls State Reserve.  This is well downstream from the falls so I am not sure whether a good access route exists from this direction.  There’s room for more exploring another day!


As mentioned above, I have not managed to get any Barrow pics organised.  While I had hoped to use my own photos, a quick search on the Internet found a couple of photos that beat anything I have to offer hands down...
I now know the National Library of Australia have a good collection of historic photos available on-line.  Among these are photos of...  you guessed it...  Mount Barrow and Mount Barrow Falls.

Mount Barrow by Frank Hurley

Mount Barrow Falls by Stephen Spurling

Do the photographers' names ring a bell?  Hurley is best known for accompanying Sir Ernest Shackleton on his infamous expedition to Antarctica and the amazing Southern Ocean rescue that followed.  I am not so familiar with Spurling's work.  There is a Mount Spurling just west of the Mountains of Jupiter on Tasmania's Central Plateau.  I guess this was named after him?

Dove Lake Circuit

From my old blog, 17th June 2006...

It’s the tail end of June school holidays in Tassie and I have had the past couple of weeks off work.  The break has been dominated by all manner of family activities with barely a day to spare.

With so much to do in the two weeks, I knew opportunities to head bush would be limited.  Therefore, with not much happening on the first weekend, it was time to plan a family trip into the mountains.

The weather forecast for Sunday and Monday was terrific.  One cool, crisp, still, clear sunny day followed by another.  The Cradle Mountain area was chosen for our family foray and a 2 bedroom, 8 bunk cabin behind Waldheim Chalet was duly booked.

After a pit stop at Railton, we bypassed Sheffield and continuing cautiously through the icy hairpin bends of the Cethana Gorge.  Next stop was my in-law’s ‘shack’ at Moina.

The ‘shack’ sits on a 5 acre clearing beside Lake Gairdner, which is formed by the Wilmot Dam at the confluence of the Iris and Lea Rivers.  On this particular morning, the frost was very heavy and sheets of ice had formed around the lakes shore.

Back on the road, we had a quick stop at the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre to pick up our key and then it was on to Dove Lake for our walk.

The walk starts by crossing the lake outlet where the Dove River is born.  The dramatic Glacier Rock is a worthwhile detour but care must be taken to keep children under a tight rein so they don’t get too close to the edge.

Along the eastern side of the lake, 7 year old son and 5 year old daughter jostled for the lead while our one year old son sang happily from his perch on my back.

Less than an hour’s walk brought us to a lunch platform situated amidst giant button-grass tussocks right below the part of Cradle Mountain known as Weindorfers Tower.

After lunch, the track changes as it sidles some cliffs with water lapping below the walkway.  The spectacular ballroom forest is a feature of the western shore where ancient species of alpine plants seem to cling impossibly to the steep slopes of the Cradle Plateau.  Once again, it was less than an hour of walking that returned us to the car park.

A short drive led us around to our accommodation.  It soon became apparent that a permanent electricity supply had been connected since our last visit.  A new walking track linking the Visitor Centre with Cradle Valley provided an opportunity a couple of years ago to bring services such as power, sewerage and communications into the park.

Once settled in our cabin, we strolled around the nature walk through Weindorfers Forest dominated by huge old Pencil and King William Pines.

Waldheim Chalet at Cradle Valley

Next day, we packed up and returned to the Visitor Centre where we walked around what the children call the ‘Wheelchair Walk.’  A 500 metre long ramp/boardwalk leads through several types of alpine plant community before arriving at a lookout beside Pencil Pine Falls.

The prehistoric looking plants at the back of this frosty scene are Richea Pandanifolia or Pandanis to us normal folk.  They are also called Giant Heath and are the world's largest heath plant.

From the Cradle Mountain area, we decided to return home via Burnie on the North West Coast.  The new road (about 15 years old) heads over the Black Bluff Range where we took advantage of the cloudless skies and walked to a lookout just a short distance uphill from the highest point on the road.  At the lookout, a plaque lists the major mountains and their distances.

Our final outdoor stroll was a brief visit to the ghost town of Guilford.  In the past, this was a busy spot at the junction of the Emu Bay Railway from Burnie to Mount Bischoff (Waratah) and its southern extensions to Rosebery and Zeehan.

One of the great things about bushwalking in Tassie is the wide range of bushwalks available.  The wilderness that provided such a challenge to early explorers is still largely intact and opportunities abound for the hard-core walker.  However, as this weekend illustrated, there is plenty of walking suitable for those with more tame ambitions such as families with small children.

Family Fireworks Fun and Bright Lights on the Bluff

From my old blog, 25th May 2006...

Yesterday, the 24th of May, was the old Empire Day.  When I was little I never realised what cracker night was celebrating.  Apparently it was Empire Day.  I'm still not much the wiser.  I guess it's celebrating the British Empire that was the predecessor to the British Commonwealth.

My extended family used to get together at our cousins' house, secluded in a quiet country gully behind Burnie and have a bonfire and cracker night celebration.  Sometime after that (I can't remember how long ago) safety regulations made it much harder to get hold of crackers.  Family cracker nights became a thing of the past.

The little town of Westbury where I live now has a population of about 1300 people.  Last night I reckon 250 of them turned up at the showgrounds for a bonfire night with a fireworks display and sausage sizzle.
It was a great night and the fireworks display was beyond my expectations.  My children are aged 7, 5 and 1.  We all had a ball.  For a small town, Westbury seems to be able to celebrate rather well.

During the day, there was an odd celebration of another kind.  Quamby Bluff is a mountain just behind Westbury.  There has been an arty focus on the bluff in recent months.  Yesterday, someone had the idea of taking a large composite mirror up on the mountain and flashing it to a photographer circling the mountain in the helicopter.  I think this was all done in the name of art.

Someone at Weegena, a good 40km away called the hikers on top of the mountain and asked them to aim the mirror that way.  Another phone conversation confirmed that they had seen the flash and taken photographs.  It will be interesting to see the results.

Quamby Bluff is a moderate half day walk with a little bit of rock scrambling on the way up.  I've climbed it a few times before.  I'll blog about that another time.

Old Blog is Sick

It appears my old blog at http://blognow.com.au/tastrekker is dying.  When I tested this evening, the last few posts appeared but older entries would not display.  I was able to log in and start copying the entries from my earliest posts but after grabbing a few the site stopped responding.  I'm about to have a go at grabbing the source from one of those old posts and uploading it here...

Cathedral Plateau

Twin Spires

Last weekend we had planned to do another overnight walk with the whole family. The plan was to set off after our children's soccer games in the morning and walk in to the Scott-Kilvert Hut at Lake Rodway in the afternoon. On Friday night, a couple of our children showed signs of having nasty colds. We decided this was not a good start so we abandoned the family walk idea. Instead, we decided I would toddle off on my own for a solo walking treat.

Grail Falls

As these opportunities are rare, I thought carefully about my destination. The forecast was fine so a mountain walk would be very appealing. There was also some snow left on the higher peaks. Even better! After some contemplation, I eventually chose to walk up the Moses Creek Track to the Cathedral Plateau.

Lunch spot beside a frozen Challice Lake

In my first few hours' walking, I climbed steadily out of the Mersey Valley into the picturesque surrounds of Chapter Lake. The dark silent waters of the lake contrasted to the brilliant white gushes of Grail Falls as they crash into the valley with a mighty roar. A cairned route leads up to the ledges above the falls and then on to my lunch spot where I could see Convent Hill over a mostly frozen Challice Lake.

Cathedral Mountain

My original plan was to setup camp at the lake and take a couple of half day walks exploring the Cathedral Plateau from there. Instead, as I was feeling fit and the weather was great, I decided to continue on with my full pack. A small rise took me to Tent Tarn where I lost the cairned route.

Sunset over Pelion East

I tip-toed through the fragile cushion plants south of the Tarn and then headed up hill towards Twin Spires. I did not go far before the thick scrubby vegetation was starting to get me down and for the first time in the walk, I could feel the weight of my pack. The scrub looked marginally better further south so I sidled a bit and much to my surprise, I came across the cairned route again. It must have recommenced at some point after Tent Tarn.

The moon watches over the pre-dawn sky as Pelion East, Barn Bluff

and Cradle Mountain peek out from their cotton-wool blankets.

My reunion with the cairned route was timely as I had just reached the snow line. As I got higher, it became apparent that the route was leading me to a high point on Cathedral Mountain itself. This point turned out to be almost 500 metres back from the edge of the escarpment. The views of the surrounding plateau and mountains were terrific but I was looking forward to seeing the view over the brink to the Mersey valley below.

First light catches Mount Ossa

Rather than heading directly to the cliff tops, I headed towards the Twin Spires, the northern peak of which is the highest point on the Cathedral plateau. There was just enough snow cover for this to be a very easy traverse. The last serious snowfall was almost two weeks ago so the compact icy surface was almost like walking on a footpath over or between the shrubs and boulders.

Sunrise over the Walls of Jerusalem

It was not until I reached the very highest point of the Twin Spires that I gave myself the satisfaction of looking down to the valley below. The roar of the Mersey River drifted up and the grassy flats of Lees Paddocks looked like a giant golf course. The private hut at Kia Ora stood out with the peaks of the Du Cane and Pelion ranges providing a stunning backdrop.

First light reaches Twin Spires

With light starting to fade, I quickly found a level patch of snow about 15 metres from the summit where I could pitch my tent, cook dinner and settle in for the long dark night. In the morning I woke an hour before sunrise, cooked a delicious breakfast and headed outside in the pre-dawn light. The moon smiled down on the peaks to the north-west which rose out of valleys filled to the brim with layers of cotton wool fog.

Twin Spires camp site starts to thaw

Cradle Mountain was the first peak to be set ablaze by the rising sun. A few minutes later as the sun eased its way over the Walls of Jerusalem, Mount Ossa was the next peak to glow. As I watched in awe, one by one the other mountains caught the suns rays. In the meantime, the dense fog was starting to rise out of the valleys. To the north, upward-flowing waterfalls of cloud were pouring over the cliff-lines of Deans Bluff and Bishops Peak. Soon, I too was enveloped by the rising blanket and my sunrise show was over.

Fog pours out of the Mersey valley over Bishops Peak

On my return, I foolishly headed straight down towards Tent Tarn and predictably got buried in the scrub I had encountered 20 hours earlier. A detour back to the cairned route to Cathedral would have been quicker and far less scratchy. Oh well, never mind. I shouldn't complain. The scrub here is no where near as bad as other parts of the island.

Looking from South Twin Spire to Mount Ossa

After descending past Grail Falls, I returned to the car via a taped route which follows Moses Creek down from its Chapter Lake outlet. I had done this route as a day walk previously but again found myself marvelling at the amazingly steep path taken by Moses Creek as it plunges over an almost constant succession of waterfalls before suddenly leveling out for its final approach to the Mersey River.

North Twin Spire from South Twin Spire

My walk finished on an uncertain note. When I last went to the Moses Creek waterfalls, I branched off the Moses Creek Track after it crossed Jacksons Creek to pick up the taped route. This time, heading in the reverse direction to my previous visit, I followed the tapes expecting them to swing east any minute to join the other track. They didn't! When I finally reached the confluence of Jacksons and Moses I came to an unpleasant realisation. By following the tapes all the way to the end, I now faced a very steep climb back to my car as I had descended more than I needed. The short, sharp climb to the car was not the ending I had expected but my sense of satisfaction and achievement overpowered my aching muscles and before I knew it, the car park was upon me.
 

Chapter Lake