Day 1
So off I went, heading off from the Lake Dobson carpark at about 9:50am under blue skies. The track down to Lake Webster was pretty straightforward and there was still some remnant snow from the cold front a few days earlier in places. I made good time, and was at the creek outlet in an hour. Now, the Abels book describes where the turnoff to Mt Lord is in relation to this point, but I’m not gonna post it here on the public forum. The turnoff was pretty easy to locate though, so you only need a vague description of what to look for and you should be fine.
- Lake Webster
The old pad was wet, overgrown, and covered in cobwebs! I made it to Valhalla Creek without any dramas, lost the pad near Cascade Rivulet, relocated it, and ended up having lunch on a lovely plain next to a bubbling creek (which I think was the Cascade Rivulet further upstream). It was a magnificent spot, with not a soul in sight. Back on the trail, I plodded along at a solid pace, reaching the ‘saddle’ between Freezing Hill and the Rodway Range, where the was a bit of ‘pad locating’ required, before popping back out onto another open moor. Lanes Peak lay off in the distance, but Mt Lord was hidden. A short time later, the well-known markers made their first appearance. Star pickets with rusted cans on the top made for a unique way to navigate! There were some lovely groves of pencil pine and a couple of annoying streams to cross where the inside of my boots got soaked. The clouds came over which made everything look rather gloomy as I arrived at the campsite the Abels book describes; about 500 metres short of Lake Emmett.
- Where I had lunch
- Line of markers
It was just after 2pm when I left the campsite, where I had set up the tent and was now only burdened with a small ultra-sil daypack with the essentials inside. With high cloud overhead, the moor was looking a little grim and featureless, and I stumbled my way across the plain with my feet sinking in to the soft ground on a regular, but unpredictable basis. Once I reached the final slopes of Mt Lord, I came across this rather strange note attached to a bit of scrub. Anyone know who put it there or why it’s there? I thought it was a marker at first!
- Any ideas?
The last 700 metres or so up to the summit…Gee whiz. The amount of scrub there was not what I was expecting. Abels book was vague; in fact it gave next to no instructions on the recommended route except to head up from the east. I did that, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. It was a constant battle against chest-head high scrub, the occasional outcrop, and tough eucalypts. I was in a sea of a scrub, and it lasted for much longer than anticipated. I came across a false summit, and then was above it! I could see the rock cairn and rotting stake that marked the summit maybe 100 metres away. I turned away from it briefly, and was gobsmacked by the view back towards Mt Field West, Florentine Peak, and the rest of the K Col area. A short time later I was on the summit, and had made it to 50 Abels. It was now about 3:45pm, and sunset was less than 2 hours away. The views though; phwoah, outstanding! As I mentioned before, the mass of dolerite to the south was the highlight for me, although the Denison Range, The Thumbs and Clear Hill were looking impressive. Wylds Craig, and Frenchmans Cap were also fantastic, although I could only see their outlines as the sun was getting low. Lanes Peak to the north was to be honest, a little unimpressive, and I could see a logging coupe down on the slopes below. Lake Emmett was just visible and Mt Field East was also out the back on the horizon.
- View towards Mt Field West, Florentine Peak, Rodway Range from the summit
- A zoom shot of Frenchmans Cap
After a celebratory beer, and a text from a friend letting me know St Kilda had tied with GWS (better than a loss I guess!), I made the return trip through the scrub. I found some cairns, so I followed them down. They petered out after a while, but heading downhill was a lot easier. Gravity hey? It took me 1hr 40 to get up, 1 hr 20 to return to the campsite (just on sunset). I had dinner, and settled in for the night. It was such a still night at my sheltered campsite; not a single sound.
Day 2
A windy morning greeted me, a complete opposite to the day earlier. I shelved plans to bash my way up to the Rodway Range, to meet up with Newdegate Pass and then down to the Tarn Shelf (to see the Fagus). Instead, I returned the way I came, and then headed up to the Tarn Shelf via Twilight Tarn. The moors were far more pleasant in the morning sunshine, and I was very much appreciative of my time alone. I reached Twilight Tarn at about 11:15am, a bit over 2 hours after I left my campsite. Wanting to have lunch in peace, I had an early lunch there, and was surprised at the presence of a toilet at the hut! It was a magical spot with plenty of history judging on the interior (the hut and tarn, not the toilet!
). I’d never climbed up to Lake Newdegate via this track; only down it. It was a solid climb with some picture-perfect scenery. I didn’t stay long at Newdegate Hut, and made my way up onto the Tarn Shelf.- Twilight Tarn Hut
Scenery was wonderful. The slopes of the Rodway Range were bathed in orange, and the tarns glistened in the sun. The downside: the never-ending stream of walkers coming the other direction. Now I can totally understand why everyone was there. The weather was perfect, it’s the time of year to see the fagus, and it’s the middle of the school holidays. Nonetheless, I was feeling the ‘loss’ of wilderness. I’m out there to enjoy the scenery, and to take in the remoteness amongst many other things. The plethora of visitors did take some of these feelings and emotions away. The rest of the walk down was a breeze and I arrived back at Lake Dobson at about 1:45pm. The carpark was packed.
- Fagus
- Tarn Shelf
This was a terrific walk, with some memorable highlights, and some lows thrown in as well (scrub on Lord, masses of people on Tarn Shelf). I’m looking forward to my next trip out into the Tasmanian bush
