Sunday, December 17, 2017

Western and Eastern Arthurs Traverse - Part 4

A 12-day traverse of the Western and Eastern Arthur Ranges in Southwest Tasmania by Kylie and Clinton Garratt.  Part Four takes us over the final section of the Western Arthurs visiting an Abel enroute and descends to the surrounding plains at Pass Creek.


Day 7 - Promontory Lake to Lucifer Ridge
A stunning sunrise inspired a pre-breakky photography session overlooking the lake.  On the ridge to the south we soon lost all sign of the trail but many gaps in the scrub and animal tracks made for easy walking as we sidled The Sculptor.  We soon gained a view down to Lake Venus and the pretty wetland to its north.


Sunrise on Carina Peak at Promontory Lake
Despite clear skies in most directions cloud seemed to be hanging around The Phoenix.  As we ascended in fog we eventually joined a faint, cairned pad which took us close to the highest point.  For the sake of peak bagging points we deviated briefly to the highest rock where Kylie posed with Millie, our trusty personal locator beacon.  We had been using Millie to send off an "Ok" signal to our families at each summit and campsite along the way.


Kylie and Millie on The Phoenix
Fog accompanied our descent past numerous contorted rock formations until sunshine greeted us in the saddle at the start of Centaurus Ridge.  From here the clouds revealed an encouraging glimpse of Bathurst Harbour and the Norold Range, a graphic indicator of our significant progress from west to east.

The first peak on Centaurus Ridge is the highest so, again shrouded by cloud, a short deviation, selfie and PLB message ensued.


Centaurus Ridge
Following that first peak, most of Centaurus Ridge is significantly lower and the track easily sidles the remaining lumps and bumps.  By the time we reached the foot of West Portal we were bathed in full sunshine making warm work of the long ascent.  Hat and sunscreen made their first and only appearance of the entire trip.


The slightly lower first summit of West Portal taken from the true summit.
The summit route sidles the first peak then descends to avoid the cliffs on the left of this picture.
Where the range swings north along the Crags of Andromeda we gladly ditched packs to head up the highest Abel in the range, West Portal.  After a small peak is sidled an attractive plateau is reached.  Just beyond the plateau cairns seemed to lead ominously down the south side of the peak.  Hoping we had already passed the first peak mentioned in Chapman a fruitless upward climb confirmed there was indeed another higher peak which required significant loss of height to approach the airy climbing gully.


West Portal selfie
While we enjoyed what would be the highest point of our entire journey Federation Peak appeared from the clouds giving us a brilliant, albeit brief, view of the entire Eastern Arthur Range.


Easter Arthur Range from West Portal
After shouldering packs our path meandered through the Crags before reaching another distinct 90 degree turn in the range where Lucifer Ridge droped spectacularly away into the cloud swirling below us to the east.  With only two kilometres to Lake Rosanne it was tempting to push on but Chapman informed us half of that would be through dense forest.  Given our knowledge of how gnarly Western Arthur forests can be we decided that would not be fun in the failing light and found a suitable place to camp.


Eastern Arthurs from Lucifer Ridge
The sunny day and our location on the ridge top meant very limited water.  After watching the last direct rays of sunlight illuminate the Eastern Arthurs, Kylie pitched the tent in the strengthening gale while I slowly filled our water bladder from the only water in sight.  The pool was barely five centimetres deep so, painstakingly, dozens of careful dips with a pot yielded the water needed to see us through the night.

Day 8 - Lucifer Ridge to Pass Creek


During the night we were 'treated' to a classic south-west Tasmania lashing.  Torrential rain accompanied howling gales as Hughie tried vainly to blow us off the ridge.  Had we been ensconced at Lake Rosanne we would not have 'enjoyed' the full benefits of that night-long buffeting.  In the morning water was everywhere.  Barely metres below the ridge crest countless rivulets were tumbling noisily toward unseen valleys far below.  The irony of last night's water collection exercise was amusing.

As predicted the dense forest was indeed slow going.  It would have been a tangled, torch-lit affair had we continued the night before.  We were happy with our choice.

Lake Rosanne
Lake Rosanne and its characteristic monolith appeared eerily from the mist right on cue as the obvious track swung north.  Without any apparent track heading our way we continued east following the broad ridge crest.  After crossing a slightly scrubby saddle we picked up a faint track which we followed successfully over several humps on Lucifer's lower slopes.  An almost total lack of vegetation following recent fires made for easy going while a couple of brief pauses in the deluge allowed for a couple of pleasant snack breaks.


Pass Creek
The further we descended the ridge the more the sound of Pass Creek taunted us from below.  When we finally emerged from the cloud we could see the creek was still within its banks but the flow would make our crossing a lively affair.  A fixed rope made for a safe, albeit entertaining crossing with the bracingly cool, swift flowing stream around knee deep.


After the rarely used track from Kappa Moraine and the even more rarely used route beyond Lake Roseanne the track from Cracroft Crossing to Luckmans Lead felt like a superhighway.  By early afternoon we had reached Pass Creek campsite (which is well past Pass Creek) and were very happy to setup camp, dry out and ponder the Western Arthurs behind us and the Eastern Arthurs ahead.

Western and Eastern Arthurs Traverse - Part 3

A 12-day traverse of the Western and Eastern Arthur Ranges in Southwest Tasmania by Kylie and Clinton Garratt.  Part Three sees us traversing the infamous Beggary Bumps, bagging a fog-bound Abel and moving beyond Kappa Moraine.


Day 5 - High Moor to Haven Lake
Pre-dawn on the tent platform revealed the fog had retreated since last night and there was almost no breeze.  Considering this would be our highest camp for the whole trip we were being treated to delightfully benign conditions - perfect for an early morning assault on Mount Columba.

High Moor from Mt Columba with the not-so-distant Sirius Ridge and Pegasus Minor peering from the mist.
A quick stroll and scramble led to the summit in time for a sunrise which was almost imperceptible through cloud draped over the surrounding peaks.  Views back along the range were mostly obscured although Pegasus Minor and the south ridge of Mount Sirius protruded from the mist.  These peaks, which cradle Lake Oberon, appeared deceptively close as memories of yesterday's efforts made it feel they should be further away.  A map check proves they are a mere 2.7 and 3.7 kilometres distant from my early morning vantage.

Beggary Bumps from Mt Columba
Looking at the range ahead it felt appropriate that cloud was blocking all the major peaks.  It was as if today's obstacle course, the notorious Beggary Bumps, were being highlighted as the only thing which mattered.


Tilted Chasm
From camp the first couple of 'bumps' are quickly engaged.  Relatively easy ascents, descents and sidles soon lead to the appropriately named Tilted Chasm.  A lively, steep descent through the chasm leads into one of many arduous patches of dwarf forest which speckle the mid-sections of the range before yet another sidle and ascent leads to The Dragon.  Along the way we speculated as to how this feature got its name.  The many contorted rock patterns in the area could potentially look like a fire-breathing, winged beast.


The Dragon?
A lengthy sidle around The Dragon was followed by more up and down in steep forest.  At one point there were clear tracks heading both up and down.  It is generally a good rule of thumb to try the up track first.  At least if/when you discover it's the wrong option you have a downhill walk/scramble back to where you first faced the dilemma.  In this case the uphill track led to the affectionately named Lovers Leap.  At this point you emerge on a 4 metre high cliff facing a lower ledge a tantalisingly short but committing leap away.  While it was tempting to 'test-drive' this obstacle I remembered Chapman saying it could be bypassed with a steep scramble down and up.  Back down we went.  Twenty minutes later we arrived at the lower half of Lovers Leap making all of two metres forward progress in that time!


Zig Zag Cliffs above Lake Ganymede with Mt Columba above.  Lovers Leap is near top right.
Having dealt with Tilted Chasm and Lovers Leap my subconscious was clearly getting a little over-confident.  A break in the cloud revealed a lake, seemingly close below us and, beyond it, a distinctive peak which I had seen in Chapman's photos of Haven Lake.  Had we just nailed the Beggary Bumps an hour quicker than 'Chappy slow time'?  A check of the notes revealed I was indeed getting ahead of myself.  The contours on the map belied the series of little bumps yet to be encountered.  The next two hours were spent going up and down like a yoyo.  In several places only a step or two seperated the bottom of one awkward descent before engaging with the next challenging climb.  Kylie looks back at the Beggary Bumps as a highlight of the entire traverse.  Masochist!


Approaching the summit of Mt Taurus with the Beggary Bumps in the background.
In one of the steep descent gullies toward the end of the Beggary Bumps Kylie was leading when she heard an ominous crack.  I had straddled the top of the chasm with my feet on a narrow ledge and my arms holding a tree branch.  The branch gave way and Kylie looked up just in time to see my pack-laden body swing through 180 degrees and back as I became suspended by my arm pit in a fork of the tree overhanging the five metre vertical drop.  Amazingly my feet swung back onto the ledge I had been descending towards and, apart from increased heart rate and dented pride, all was well.  Much thought was expended considering how else this may have worked out.  It was also a great example of why we were always careful not to end up directly above or below each other.


Mt Aldebaran from Mt Taurus
Once we arrived at the broad saddle marking the true end of Beggary Bumps we then had the relatively simple climb over Mount Taurus and down to the tent platforms at Haven Lake.  With my overly optimistic assessment of our progress earlier in the day and my near death dangle my head was in a bad place as we approached the top of Mount Taurus.  It took encouragement from Kylie before I made the five minute detour to claim my two peak baggers points.  I can't believe I almost passed it by.  The view back along the Bumps was most satisfying and Aldebaran looked decidedly stately presiding over Lake Jupiter far below.

Day 6 - Haven Lake to Promontory Lake
After greeting us on arrival at Haven Lake, steady rain continued through the night and into the next morning.  With the lure of peak bagging points and Abel status of nearby Mount Aldeberan we waited until midday to give the weather a chance to clear.  Eventually we shouldered packs and reluctantly gave Aldebaran a miss.  Even as we walked away we were already starting to speculate how we would deal with this item of unfinished business.  Perhaps another traverse.  Perhaps a short trip in and out via Kappa Moraine.  Time will tell.

Haven Lake with its distinctive unnamed peak.
Lake Sirona had a navigational challenge in store.  By now the rain had been replaced by thick fog.  The trail appeared to suddenly plunge into a bottomless abyss right where I thought we should be approaching the lake which, according to the map, was a mere 50 metres below us.  As Kylie climbed confidently down I looked at the map, studied the notes and reluctantly followed, worried we may be launching ourselves off the edge of the range.  Within moments the truth was revealed.  The sullen surface of the lake was blending perfectly with the surrounding mist making it invisible from the low ridge above.  The descent took less time than I had spent contemplating the dilemma.

Lake Sirona hiding in the mist.
Beyond Lake Sirona easy walking led to the tilted pyramid of Mount Scorpio's summit block.  Kylie kindly posed where the main track perches precariously above steep sloping slabs.  At the top the clouds would not part for a view but we did get a faint glory projected around us and the satisfaction of bagging another Abel.


Mt Scorpio
A rapid descent down Kappa Moraine then a more gradual descent past Lake Juno led us to Lake Vesta, our lowest point since ascending Alpha Moraine.  An impressive waterfall linked the two lakes while the surrounding cliffs reached imposingly up into the clouds.  This area featured dense regrowth following a relatively recent fire event.  It was only then that I realised the rest of the traverse had a total lack of recent fire.  The stunted forests along the range to this point had featured fire-sensitive, dwarfed, rainforest trees with an open understory.  I now found myself frustrated at the dense undergrowth getting my shorts wet for the first time in the whole trip.

Lake Vesta
With daylight hours dwindling we regained a hundred metres in altitude and made our way two thirds of the way around Promontory Lake.  After reaching the southern shore we set up camp just in time to enjoy the sun setting over the broody lake.


Promontory Lake

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Shadow Lake & Little Hugel

My last post described a failed trip to Lake Rhona* which ended up being a Florentine Valley Road recce with a short walk to Richea Creek.  I left that story with us camped in public forest at Catagunya looking for an alternate adventure.  We certainly found one!


Mount Olypus from Little Hugel
After checking Lake St Clair ferry prices we decided a trip to Shadow Lake would be a good option.  The walk traverses a variety of Eucalypt and Myrtle forest on the climb away from the Hugel River until a flat, sparsely vegetated area is traversed.


Hugel from Little Hugel
Upon arriving at the lake a number of large, established camp sites can be found along the track leading to Forgotten Lake and Little Hugel.  We selected a dry, sandy spot to pitch our tent and enjoy a relaxed lunch.


Sunrise on Little Hugel and Shadow Lake
In the afternoon we had a lovely walk up Little Hugel.  We encountered settled snow in the Pandani forest overlooking Forgotten Lake.  By the time we arrived on the dolerite scree slopes it was quite deep in places.  At the summit the sun warmed us up as clouds intermittently unveiled views to the north and east while the western horizon remained broody.  Mounts Hugel and Rufus peeked out for the briefest of moments while the bulk of Olympus was a more willing focus for our gaze.


Shadow Lake camp
Reluctantly we retreated back to our tent and settled in for the evening as flurries of snow started to look a little serious.  Much to our delight, while the sun was setting, snow started settling on our sandy patch.  By morning it was half a metre deep.


Kylie clearing a path
Thoughts of spending a second night and/or returning back via Mt Rufus were quickly abandoned as we wallowed through delightfully deep, fresh powder all the way back to Cynthia Bay via the most direct route.  What seemed scant vegetation the previous day presented a much more formidable obstacle with every branch and sapling bowing under the weight of the snow making the track tricky to locate in places.


Snow monster on my back
We returned to our car just as roads in the area were being declared open so an uneventful but stunningly beautiful drive back to Hobart quickly ensued.  Settled snow accompanied us all the way back to the southern end of the Fourteen Mile.


Fourteen Mile Road
* We have since had a successful winter trip to Lake Rhona.  How we dealt with the flooded Gordon is, as they say in the classics, another story.

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Richea Creek

With three days off in early July Kylie and I set our sights on Lake Rhona.  It had been a record dry June in many places so, despite being winter, we thought we had a chance at crossing the Gordon River.  We had heard mixed reports about whether the crossing log was usable so we decided seeing is believing.

Tiger Road bridge
Much of our first day was spent looking at various closed roads.  Following instructions from our trusty Abels and Southwest Tasmania guide books we headed along Tiger Road in the Florentine Valley.  In the theme of seeing is believing we passed a permanent-looking sign warning of bridge-induced road closure.  Sure enough the Tiger Road bridge over the Florentine River is fatally compromised with at least one of the main bearers in the drink (above).  While this closure did not appear on John Chapman's South West Tasmania update page, we did find it on the STTas (Sustainable Timber Tasmania - formerly Forestry Tas) Road and Track Closures page.



Contrast between temporary road sign budget of Parks and Forestry
So...  Back down the road and up Eleven Road where the bridge is sound.  Another permanent-looking sign warned of the road being closed at "Twin Lakes Bridge."  Nothing with that name appeared on our maps so that was bit of a mystery.  Just over the road from the sign a much-less permanent looking Parks and Wildlife Service sign (laminated A3 paper stuck to a tree) indicated we were on the correct road to the Lake Rhona walking track.  Ironically, there were several more intersections to negotiate without even a 'budget-basement PWS sign' to help.  At least these turns were as per the guide book instructions.  Perhaps this is an indicator of the difference between the budgets of Forestry and Parks.

We drove past the amusingly named Mother-in-laws Road just before arriving at the car park for the Richea Creek Track.  After a quick bite of lunch we optimistically shouldered our three-day packs and headed down to meet the Gordon River.

Gordon River at Richea Creek
Time for another broken bridge.  We could see the origin of the mixed messages.  The log is still there but broken near the far bank.  The river was flowing over the log by up to half a metre for a section of about 5 metres.  On this day the log was treacherously slippery so an epic straddle or a very dicey crawl would be needed and that's before reaching the submerged part.  We did not feel terribly brave at this point and resigned to missing out on Lake Rhona this trip.

 

Mr Chapmans notes talk about wading the river 20 metres upstream.  However, the Gordon is a big river at this point and it was flowing strongly.  Looking from the bank it appeared over two metres deep and, again, neither of us were in the mood for a swift-water swim to find out.

Twin Lakes Bridge
Back up at the car park we decided to investigate the Twin Lakes Bridge mystery*.  We suspected it would be at the far end of Tiger Road where it crosses the Florentine River to rejoin Florentine Road.  Sure enough the bridge at that location was closed.  No obvious droopy bearers this time but the surface has not seen much love for a long time.  Surprisingly this does not rate a mention on the STTas road closures page despite this being the route described in The Abels as access to Wylds Craig.  At the bridge there was still no reference to Twin Lakes.


While in the area we scooted up the road leading to the 'new' access track to Wylds Craig.  A large log over the road stopped us about 600m before the track.


After failing to cross the Gordon we had plenty of time to dream up plans to fill in the remaining 2 days.  We hit the Maydena shop for extra supplies (to allow us to stay away an extra day) en route to a sneaky little camping spot in State Forest (Permanent Timber Production Zone**) at Catagunya.  Where we went from there is another story...

* I found Twin Lakes!  A map searched revealed the "Twin Lakes" to be a pair of tarns near the summit of Mount Shakespear just north of Wylds Craig and about 5km as the crow flies NNW of their namesake bridge.
** Tasmania no longer has any State Forest.  Instead we have Permanent Timber Production Zone (PTTZ).  How's that for a politically charged term?  The label is even more ludicrous considering over half of the PTTZ is not available for timber production due to stream side reserves, wildlife corridors, buffer zones, etc.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Mount Field Snow

Time for a break from Western Arthurs...

Pandani Grove, Lake Dobson
Looking ahead to the first week of school holidays two days stood out from the forecast.  With 12 year old Henry keen for an overnight hike it was easy to pick the best time.  As for location, options abounded.  We selected Mount Field which did not disappoint.

Lake Seal
We lunched at Lake Dobson car park watching families sledding on the modest, fresh cover of snow before setting our around the lake and through Pandani Grove.  After passing Eagle Tarn we headed towards Lake Webster via a small side-trip to Lake Seal, the furthest extent of Henry's previous exploits in this area.

Twilight Tarn and Tasmania's first Ski Lodge dating back to the 1920s
The snow cover dissipated as we slowly descended 150 metres in height but white surroundings soon returned as we quickly regained the lost altitude on the short climb to Twilight Tarn, our home for the night.  Henry opted for the tent rather than the hut and, with a forecast well below zero, I figured we had more chance of heating the small confines of our Hilleberg than the palatial interior of Tasmania's first ski 'lodge'.

Cooking dinner (shepherds pie) inside the vestibule.  The stove had a kinda sinking feeling.
With the tent pitched and darkness encroaching we settled into bed at 4:30pm knowing it would be 15 hours before full light would return.

Sunrise at Twilight Tarn
Slow dinner preparations on the old faithful Trangia filled in time until our fashionable dinner timeslot of 6pm. (Kylie has her new-fangled, matchbox-sized, super-fast gas cooker on the Overland Track this week.)  After dinner, a couple of Canasta hands killed more time until we were both ready for sleep at 7:30.

It was a typical long winter's night's sleep for me.  I woke at 11:30pm thinking it must be almost morning.  I then nodded straight back to sleep, waking next at 5:30am wondering whether to start breakky and pack up in the dark.  Next thing I knew it was 7:30am and light was well-and-truly unpon us.

As forecast, it was cold.  (Understatement of the day!)  Highlights of the morning included thawing shoes and discovering sheets of ice lining the inside of the tent!

Newdegate Pass with the namesake lake and hut in the foreground
Once we were on the track it was sheer delight making first tracks in the snow, marvelling at intricate elongated snow crystals and watching 'tadpoles' swimming under sheets of sloping ice.  Early in the trip we had entertained thoughts of heading through Newdegate Pass to The Watcher but deep drifts of snow and no evidence of recent traffic that way deterred us.  It was just as well.  Tarn Shelf was enough of a challenge with route-finding tricky in several places.

Wallaby and quoll(?) tracks

After 2 morning teas and a lunch break we passed 2 other groups as we approached Rodway Shelter.  Early in the afternoon with sun still blazing in a cloudless blue sky we passed many family groups and even a snow-border reveling on the slopes between the ski fields and Lake Dobson.  After doing most of the loop without seeing a soul it was quite a culture shock.

Tarn Shelf and the Rodway Range (Where's Henry?)

Sunday, July 09, 2017

Western and Eastern Arthurs Traverse - Part 2

A 12-day traverse of the Western and Eastern Arthur Ranges in Southwest Tasmania by Kylie and Clinton Garratt.  Part Two bags a pair of Abels, takes us past the famous Lake Oberon, introduces us to John Chapman's "difficulties*" and leads us on to High Moor.

Day 3 - Square Lake to Lake Oberon
After the balmy night at the foot of Alpha Moraine our second night was more typical of South West Tasmania.  Cold wind and intermittent showers made the morning's chores a bracing affair.  The sound of a helicopter accompanied our pack-up.  It seemed to be hanging around the range.  Perhaps a search.  Hopefully just an exercise.  As we hit the track the familiar red and yellow livery of a Westpac Rescue Helicopter passed overhead.

Just before reaching the top of the rise above Square Lake we dumped packs to ascend our first Abel for the trip, Mount Sirius.  The showers had now changed to snow which dusted the surrounding landscape beautifully.  The upper slopes of the peak provided a brilliant place to view the braided mini river system feeding the lake's tannin stained waters.


Lake Oberon from Mt Sirius

Selfie atop Mt Sirius
Back at our packs, we only had to hump them 150 metres before dropping them again for the ascent of Mount Orion.  After carefully reading descriptions in The Abels and Chapman we felt confident.  An easy ascent using a vegetated ramp leading directly to the summit.  No worries - or so we thought!

A thin layer of snow prevented us seeing tracks on the ground but cairns soon presented the way up.  Just before reaching the peak cloud moved in restricting visibility but we could sense the cairns were leading around to the left.  We had read about a route continuing on to Epsilon Moraine and Procyon Peak and were worried about going too far in that direction.  As if to answer our uncertainty, cloud cleared to the north sufficiently to see we were indeed starting to sidle around past the summit.  It looked possible to climb the icy slopes above us but first we had to swing our legs out and around a protruding rock with the dark waters of Square Lake tugging at our heels from 220 metres below.  After an airy climb we were on the peak and very happy to be safe.  As if to tease us, the clouds lifted to the south revealing the easy and completely unexposed route we should have climbed.  Oh well.  At least the descent was a breeze.

Happy to safely summit Mt Orion after a precarious climb. Dorado Peak and Mt Pegasus behind.
We arrived back at our packs in a particularly heavy snow shower.  When the flurry finished the view was superb.  Dombrovski's famous poster pic must have been shot in this vicinity.  I could remember his shot featured pandanis and here, directly in front of us, a delightful array of pandanis covered in fresh snow made the perfect foreground for our picture post card photo (below).


Lake Oberon and Pegasus Minor with snow-dusted scoparia and pandanis.
After much oooing, aaahhing and photo taking we continued.  A track marker comically pointed straight down which seemed an apt description.  Much to our surprise, superb trackwork including extensive duck-boarding made the steep descent a breeze.

Amazing trackwork leading to Lake Oberon
By early afternoon we had the tent set up and were enjoying hot soup when we had a visit from the Westpac helicopter.  A father and son with zero bushwalking experience had been missing since the day we started.  The log book entry before ours indicating intentions to do the Oberon circuit in a day were not super gnarly trail runners after all.  They had chosen the shortest circuit walk from a sign which showed many walk options but, to people unfamiliar with the area, provided no information about walk durations.  When the crew left us our hearts were heavy.


Day 4 - Lake Oberon to High Moor
After a restful afternoon and night at Lake Oberon we enthusiastically made our way back to the main track which soon led us to the first of the "difficulties" (John Chapman's choice of word*).  A 10m high wall with a tricky little climbing gully had to be negotiated.  The stunning views were briefly forgotten as we made a series of moves attempting to safely get outselves and our packs to the slope above.  Looking back now, in hindsight, our antics were quite comical.  It was also great our pack hauling rope got some action - it would turn out to be the only time it appeared for the whole trip.


Lake Oberon sunrise
Easier climbing led us high onto Mount Pegasus.  Just before the summit we reached the cave.  My height was an advantage on the wall below.  However, this time it was Kylie who nimbly clambered through the narrow gap in the cave ceiling.  I found it quite awkward to duck, climb and haul my pack all at the same time.  Tallness is not always an advantage.

At the top of Mount Pegasus it was hard to believe we had spent most of the morning going only a quarter of the way around Lake Oberon.  The camping area looked a mere hop step and a jump away yet we had been toiling for hours! (Actually, it was only about 2.5 hours but it felt like more).

In contrast to the apparent lack of progress during the morning it felt like we only took a handful of steps over Mount Pegasus and the view dramatically changed.  Clouds opened up to allow a view of the snow-clad range ahead all the way to Mount Scorpio and even the distant West Portal.  Below us it appeared Lake Oberon had suddenly been swapped for Lake Uranus.
Lake Uranus, Dorado Peak, Mt Capricorn and Mt Columba viewed from Mt Pegasus.
Distant peaks include Mt Scorpio, West Portal and Mt Aldebaran.
Mount Capricorn lives up to its name with the track leading between the diminutive yet shapely horns.  A small detour left led to the true summit with a great view back to the horns.  In the next saddle we were greatly saddened to hear the rescue helicopter again.  Day four of the incident.  Not good!


The horns of Mt Capricorn
With the morning characterised by slow progress up Mount Pegasus the afternoon was a stark contrast with distance almost melting away until we approached High Moor.  At 950 metres this is the highest formal campsite on the range.  We arrived in thick fog accompanied by an eerie stillness which added a certain mystique.  The tent platforms are delightfully sheltered to the south and west while being open to what must be amazing views, on a clear day, to the north and east.  An ideal location to ponder tomorrow's mission - the Beggary Bumps.


High Moor campsite emerges from the mist
* In John Chapman's introduction to the Western Arthur Range (South West Tasmania, Fifth Edition, 2008, page 142) his final comment regarding track standard states, "In poor weather, many groups abandon their trip at the start of the difficulties at Lake Oberon."