Questions.....OLT Locked in for Dec 16

[weeds]

Hi

Just spent the day planing this trip......stuck on my start date, we have a finish date (need to run dates by my sons mum before booking)

At this stage we are on the track for 8 days (7.5 is we catch the bus to Hobart) Leaving Ronny Creek early a.m. on Day 1 and catching 11:45am bus at Lake St Clair on the 22nd Dec.

I'm waiting for my map to be delivered.....

Q1. Echo hut to Cynthia Bay 12.5km from what i read? is this achievable on the last day to catch the 11:45 bus?

Q2. I'm a little lost on the planing once we arrive at Windy Ridge end of Day 5......we have Day 6 & 7 to get to Echo Hut. I would like to get up to the Labyrinth.
- Do we by-pass Narcissus and go to Pine Valley Hut? But I'm guessing this leaves us short?
- How far is it from Pine Valley Hut to Echo?
- Do i need another day in my itinerary and stay up top (no huts i assume) to explore this area, whats another day of food?
- Is there another way down to Cynthia Bay without going past Echo Hut?

Q3 Have i read right its an option to backtrack on Day 2 when leaving Waterfall Valley to Barn Bluff given its a shorter day if doing Cradle on Day 1?

Oh, Q2. is optional for us i.e. keeping time/days up our sleeve in case we choose to sit out a day of bad weather.

Day 1 - Ronny Creek to Waterfall Valley via Cradle Mountain
Day 2 - Back track and do Barn Bluff (if this is the go) Waterfall Valley to Lake Windermere
Day 3 Lake Windermere to Pelion
Day 4 Pelion to Kia Ora via Mt Ossa
Day 5 Kia Ora to Windy Ridge
Day 6 Windy Ridge to (hopefully Pine Vally and beyond)
Day 7 ???
Day 8 ??? (this day isn't planned at the moment as i have no clue without a map)
Day 9 Echo point to Cynthia Bay

Last day on the track needs to be Dec 22nd

Cheers

[Lizzy]

I'm sure you'll get much more current answers but when I walked the OLT 20 odd years ago we did it south to north with a similar timeframe. Day 1- Cynthia Bay To Echo Point. From there we went to Pine Valley and base camped there over the next couple of days and visited the Labyrinth and Acroplolis. Back to the OLT from there and continued North visiting the waterfalls, Ossa, Lake Will etc.
Must do it again....

[Lizzy]

My old Chapman book says;
Windy ridge to Pine Valley 10km, 3.5 hours
narcissus to Pine Valley 9km, 3 hours
Pine Valley to The Acropolis 6km, 5 hours return
Pine Valley to The Labyrinth 6km, 4 hours return- you could spend ages up there
Narcissus to Cynthia bay 16km, 5 hours- echo point is 5 km from Narcissus

[weeds]

Thanks Lizzy, I have ordered Chapmans book about to order maps......

Although will not see them for at least two weeks as I'm away with work

[johnw]

Q1. Echo hut to Cynthia Bay 12.5km from what i read? is this achievable on the last day to catch the 11:45 bus?

I would say yes depending on what time you are happy to depart Echo Point. A few years ago but from memory we took around 3 or 3.5 hours without rushing and it's relatively easy going. That said we overnighted in one of the cabins at Cynthia Bay so didn't need to hurry.

[Hermione]

Have a look at LISTmap while your waiting for your hard copy to arrive, it can be quite useful in the planning stage of a walk. You might want to consider spending two nights around Pine Valley so you're not too rushed. Also I still like spending a night at Narcissus, partly to adjust to the end of a walk and also because I always see platypus there, even when the river is almost frozen. If you're walking with your son how old is he?

[weeds]

Q1. Echo hut to Cynthia Bay 12.5km from what i read? is this achievable on the last day to catch the 11:45 bus?

I would say yes depending on what time you are happy to depart Echo Point. A few years ago but from memory we took around 3 or 3.5 hours without rushing and it's relatively easy going. That said we overnighted in one of the cabins at Cynthia Bay so didn't need to hurry.

No sleep in on the last day than????

[johnw]

Q1. Echo hut to Cynthia Bay 12.5km from what i read? is this achievable on the last day to catch the 11:45 bus?

I would say yes depending on what time you are happy to depart Echo Point. A few years ago but from memory we took around 3 or 3.5 hours without rushing and it's relatively easy going. That said we overnighted in one of the cabins at Cynthia Bay so didn't need to hurry.

No sleep in on the last day than????

Sadly no, if you want to make your bus connection . Pity as it's a spectacular location. I'm a always a bit conservative and would probably allow about 5 hours to include any contingencies. Arrive at Echo Point early if you can and enjoy it before your last night.

[weeds]

Have a look at LISTmap while your waiting for your hard copy to arrive, it can be quite useful in the planning stage of a walk. You might want to consider spending two nights around Pine Valley so you're not too rushed. Also I still like spending a night at Narcissus, partly to adjust to the end of a walk and also because I always see platypus there, even when the river is almost frozen. If you're walking with your son how old is he?

LISTmap?? Will have to google

Umm, I have ever seen a platypus in the wild

No.1 son will be 16 and 50 weeks and Wendy will be with us as well.

The 12 and 15yo's have declined the invite.

[Hermione]

LISTmap is a Tas government thing http://maps.thelist.tas.gov.au/listmap/app/list/map. You can search for landmarks/features and zoom or out, there's a drop down menu on the right hand side that lets you toggle between maps and aerial or satellite photos. It's good for getting a perspective on how things fit together. A 16 year old should be fine, in fact I'd give them some of my gear to carry. I'd actually suggest being flexible with your days, you might find you'd like a rest day earlier in the walk at Pelion for example, or the weather might be rubbish and you decide to wait it out so you can climb Barn Bluff the next day. To see you a platypus in the wild you need to be lucky and or very patient and quiet, the first time I sat on the jetty at Narcissus long after everyone else had given up in disgust. No doubt all the Tassie locals on hear have seen hundreds of them, but coming from WA they are pretty exciting.

[bumpingbill]

Q1. Echo hut to Cynthia Bay 12.5km from what i read? is this achievable on the last day to catch the 11:45 bus?

Yep. Just leave with plenty of time. Best to be on the track by 7am, and if you've got any spare time you could have a look around the bay

Q2. I'm a little lost on the planing once we arrive at Windy Ridge end of Day 5......we have Day 6 & 7 to get to Echo Hut. I would like to get up to the Labyrinth.
- Do we by-pass Narcissus and go to Pine Valley Hut? But I'm guessing this leaves us short?
- How far is it from Pine Valley Hut to Echo?
- Do i need another day in my itinerary and stay up top (no huts i assume) to explore this area, whats another day of food?
- Is there another way down to Cynthia Bay without going past Echo Hut?

Do you have to stop at Windy Ridge? Only ask because it's a) not a great hut and b) not that far from Kia Ora.

Kia Ora to Pine Valley is a 9.5KM all up, so a pretty easy day.

If you want to go up to Pine Valley and spend some time, why not just go from Kia Ora to Pine Valley? It's about a 20km walk all up. Though you do seem to have a few days spare, so this may not be necessary.

To get to the turn off to Pine Valley, you walk south from Windy Ridge. The turnoff is about 5.5km down the track, several KM before Narcissus.

To answer a few more of your questions, it's about 14km from Pine Valley to Echo Point.

And the main track goes past Echo Hut, so you pretty much have to take that route.

[Mark F]

Consider doing day 4 - Pelion to Du Cane. This extends Day 4 by about 1 hour and shortens day 5 by the same which helps balance the days out.
Day 5 - Du Cane to Pine Valley.
Day 6 - The Labyrinth etc
Day 7 - Pine Valley - Echo Point.

Du Cane hut is for historical interest (and I like to think a memorial to "Black Pete") but not for accommodation. There is a helipad you can camp on or other grassy spots. It was the standard stop rather than Kia Ora in the "olden days". Very few people camp here and it makes a quiet camp after the bustle of the main huts.

[weeds]

Thanks for the tips so far.....will have a detailed read tonight.

Re: 16yo, he out walked the whole family on green gully, when his younger brother tripped and split his head on Day 2 he carried his pack for the rest of the day.

[philm]

If your 16 y old is relatively fit and his pack is not too heavy he will be fine
My daughter completed the track with me when she was 14 years and carries about 14 kg in the pack. She was a rower so was fit at the time

[north-north-west]

Consider doing day 4 - Pelion to Du Cane. This extends Day 4 by about 1 hour and shortens day 5 by the same which helps balance the days out.
Day 5 - Du Cane to Pine Valley.
Day 6 - The Labyrinth etc
Day 7 - Pine Valley - Echo Point.

Agree with this suggested change to the itinerary. New Pelion to DuCane via Ossa is still a fairly easy day. And Windy Fridge sucks.

Du Cane hut is for historical interest (and I like to think a memorial to "Black Pete") but not for accommodation. There is a helipad you can camp on or other grassy spots. It was the standard stop rather than Kia Ora in the "olden days". Very few people camp here and it makes a quiet camp after the bustle of the main huts.

I haven't been past DuCane hut for some years, but last time I'm sure there were tent platforms there. Surely they haven't been removed?

[johnk1]

Gday Weeds.

Answer to Q3.

If you are leaving early am on Day 1 you will have plenty of time to do Cradle and Barn Bluff on Day 1.

If whatever reason you don't do both on Day 1, it is easy to back track on Day 2.

JK

[north-north-west]

Make sure you book a seat on the bus - and that it's running the day you arrive at Cynthia Bay.

[weeds]

Make sure you book a seat on the bus - and that it's running the day you arrive at Cynthia Bay.

Yep have that sorted......although easy to miss the days that it runs and that the Friday service is 7pm only.

We are considering private transfer to give us more time...either way we are finishing the walk on a Thursday which is a day the bus runs sonar least we have choices.

I have triple checked everything as I'm hoping to book the walk, flights and accommodation on the 1st July.

[weeds]

Map has arrived I believe......will be able to look at all the suggestion above....keen to plan something a little different to the standard 5/6 day walk.

[weeds]

OK....I have a plan to at least start with

Day 1 - we arrive the day before and plan spending two nights at Cradle I.e. One full day, might even summit Cradle or do we start the walk and spend an extra day up pine valley......
Day 2 - Ronny Creek to Waterfall Valley, summit Cradle
Day 3 - Waterfall Valley to Windermere via Barn Buff
Day 4 - Windermere to Pelion
Day 5 - Pelion to De Cane via Mt Ossa
Day 6 - De Cane to Pine Valley (will we have time to visit the falls??)
Day 7 - Pine Valley for the day, do Mt Acropolis and maybe Labyrinth Lookout
Day 8 - Pine Valley to Echo Hut
Day 9 - Echo to Cynthia Bay

[Mark F]

You should have time to visit the falls on day 6.

Also consider that if the weather is really bad on day 2 consider going around the eastern side of Cradle and stay at Scott Kilvert. Day 3 pop up onto the cirque and you could do Barn Bluff and through to Windermere.

[weeds]

You should have time to visit the falls on day 6.

Also consider that if the weather is really bad on day 2 consider going around the eastern side of Cradle and stay at Scott Kilvert. Day 3 pop up onto the cirque and you could do Barn Bluff and through to Windermere.

Er don't think I seen that option on the map.....

Off to have a look.....

[Strider]

Do you mean Kia Ora instead of Du Cane? Du Cane hut is a historic site no longer in use.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[north-north-west]

You can still camp at DuCane. Great place for it, too.

[philm]

There are platforms at DuCane great spot to camp better than the hut at Kia Ora - small, smelly and full of humidity when full
Great tent platforms around Kia Ora but DuCane is a magic spot to camp

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

Day 7 - Pine Valley for the day, do Mt Acropolis and maybe Labyrinth Lookout

Pretty big day... basically up and down twice. PV to Echo pt isn't that far, so if you're bent on both the Acropolis and Labyrinth you could do the Acropolis on day 7, back to hut, collect packs and up to Labyrinth to camp (at Lake Elysia); then on day 8 back down to PV and onto Narcissus then Echo Pt. Still makes Day 7 a pretty big day (esp. since it means lugging packs up into the Labyrinth) but if the weather is good and you're up to it fitness-wise a high camp in the Labyrinth is well worth it and it might be a better use of time?

[weeds]

Do you mean Kia Ora instead of Du Cane? Du Cane hut is a historic site no longer in use.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Not planning to camp in any hut if possible.....

Good point as I assumed we could still camp there.

[weeds]

Day 7 - Pine Valley for the day, do Mt Acropolis and maybe Labyrinth Lookout

Pretty big day... basically up and down twice. PV to Echo pt isn't that far, so if you're bent on both the Acropolis and Labyrinth you could do the Acropolis on day 7, back to hut, collect packs and up to Labyrinth to camp (at Lake Elysia); then on day 8 back down to PV and onto Narcissus then Echo Pt. Still makes Day 7 a pretty big day (esp. since it means lugging packs up into the Labyrinth) but if the weather is good and you're up to it fitness-wise a high camp in the Labyrinth is well worth it and it might be a better use of time?

Thanks for the tip....I figuring it will be one or the other.

The wife will be bringing here sketch book along so we may well just kick back while she sketches which means skipping Pine Valley.

[stepbystep]

Looks like a good schedule, day 4, if conditions are nice you'd have an option to climb Mt Oakleigh after arriving at Pelion.

[weeds]

Looks like a good schedule, day 4, if conditions are nice you'd have an option to climb Mt Oakleigh after arriving at Pelion.

Thanks......Wendy is starting to wonder how much more are we going to pack in........I figure that we may not be back for awhile.