Bushwalk Australia

eaded up to mt thetis before christmas; had read chapman's track notes;

"walk west from pelion hut for 1.1km to a bridge crossing a creek then continuing for another 200m to a semi-clearing where the unmarked track branches off to the left"

we found the clearing no problems but being impatient track hunters we eventually bushbashed (not pleasant) up and found the track near the top of the ridge.
so to add to chapmans notes;

as soon as you get to the clearing look for a blaze consisting of three horizontal cuts in a tree on the left of the track; turn here and you should soon find a pad leading into the scrub with a marker on a fallen tree about 5m into the scrub line. the track is marked occasionally but is not easy to follow initially. it gets better on the ridge; it is also very scratchy (scoparia) in places.

there is some beautiful camping on the thetis end of the ossa-thetis saddle; on grass near pencil pines - definitely worth the trip up if the weather is fine

hope this helps
cheers

Here's a picture of the turn off heading "north". The blaze is on the tree on the left. There are also some really nice campsites in the Pencil Pines if the wind is howling over the saddle .

There is a marker on a tree about 40 metres from the Overland Track that shows the start but it is a bit hard to see from the track.

Just back from Thetis. The track is pretty overgrown and has a few windfalls, but is basically okay to follow. The key marker on the Overland Track is a smallish tea tree, right on the side of the track, which has a notch with three horizontal marks cut into it. You might just make it out in mjd's photo (thanks for that info Martin). It's about 200 metres west of the first main creek out of Pelion (after the Old Pelion turnoff). Then about 30 metres into the forest is a red painted tin-lid style marker about head height on a gum tree. Thereafter you head into the scrub, making sure you take your time and sniff around for track markers (varying from tape to tin lids to reflective plastic) rather than going on a compass bearing. The scrub is thickish here and there, but nowhere near SW standard (see pic below).

After some (very welcome) sections of sub-alpine meadow, there's a second scrubby patch high up under the saddle's sedimentary rock-bands. This one is a little harder one to negotiate, as markers are fewer. Take your time and you'll eventually break out into the clear. With a little care you can squeeze under the second cliff line and avoid most of the scoparia that will try to block your way.

The camping is great - 'though water is unreliable. We found some in pools above the saddle, and there's an established soak south of the pencil pine grove where we camped. We had a glorious time, in fine, hot weather, exploring Paddys Nut, Thetis, Ossa etc. 20 years ago I also went to Achilles, Leonards Tarn and Perrins, but in hot conditions and with older bones, I didn't feel I needed to go back

The climbing/scrambling/walking is challenging but fun. These are big mountains, with huge views and boulders to match. In my experience only Pelion West (which is notorious!) has bigger boulders that Thetis and Ossa. I've uploaded some photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/auntyscuttl ... isRMMTrip#

cheers

Peter

Is it feasible to attempt to get to Leonards Tarn from the Arm River Track in one day? I'm considering going in this way to do the circuit.

That's about 10 hours walking all up. You'd want to be fit .
EDIT
A bit more detail: Arm River to Thetis turn off 4h; to Ossa-Thetis Saddle 2h; to Leonards Tarn 3.5h

I ended up camping on the Ossa-Thetis saddle, ran out of time. The track was easy enough to find and follow. The blaze on the tree is now covered by an orange reflective marker, and a diamond shaped marker on a stake if you are coming from frog flats direction. I am very keen to get to Leonards tarn to climb Achilles and perrins. The fagus looked quite speccy there!