That Mad Belgian

[GPSGuided]

I'm inspired!

+1

Wish him well for the last stretch.

[Warin]

I'm inspired!

+1

Wish him well for the last stretch.

The 'last stretch' would be the SCT .. fair bit to get there yet.
I wish him well.

[Overlandman]

Either way, it's a ruddy good job he's been doing and I think he's given a lot of people some good entertainment!

I'm inspired!

+1

https://eur-share.inreach.garmin.com/louphi

http://www.louis-philippe-loncke.com

[Nuts]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-06/t ... e/10194388

ftr, 'The Mad Belgian' wasn't an original thought, it was quoted from someone, last time, who would very likely have been involved in any necessary rescue.

I wished/wish the guy luck, and pass that on in good spirits.

Other than, in the cold light of day, seeing yet someone else leveraging our wilderness, hopefully not more disregarded park service policy or our rescue services, for their own ends.


----

maybe too big a scare, must have been sorely tempted to launch his raft again?

[GPSGuided]

Curious, what kind of pack raft is he using?

[north-north-west]

Curious, what kind of pack raft is he using?

Kokopelli Rogue. Which he took delivery of just before starting the walk, with no time even for a tryout.

[GPSGuided]

Kokopelli Rogue. Which he took delivery of just before starting the walk, with no time even for a tryout.

Nice choice! Just around 3kg, impressive.

[Overlandman]

Day 34
6 Sept. Started early after drizzle. Could walk a bit on rocks in river, with drysuit even in water. So cold! Had water inside, fixed a tiny hole below knee. Now hard rain.

[MrWalker]

Despite his early start he didn't make great progress. Still 5-6 days to reach lake Gordon at that rate. But the terrain must be awful if he preferred to walk upstream in knee deep water.

[doogs]

Despite his early start he didn't make great progress. Still 5-6 days to reach lake Gordon at that rate. But the terrain must be awful if he preferred to walk upstream in knee deep water.

It's mainly buttongrass which would normally be fine but I think he's got to the point that he doesn't have the strength to cope with their undulation. We've go to remember he still has 35kg+ to lug around. I had a 35kg pack last summer, it was horrible, and that was on a reasonable track!

[Axie77]

His progress has been worryingly slow recently. I hope he's ok out there.

His food supplies weren't the best option. A lot of Backcountry - he'd have been better off with Strive which has bigger servings plus less weight and bulk in the packaging, so less waste to carry out. Lack of protein so he's loosing muscle mass and pushing on through so much bad weather earlier will have taken a major toll both mentally and physically.

Anyone prepared to pull the plug for him if he looks to be in too much trouble?

Does anyone knows if he has a back-up EPIRB in case of batteries run out on his Inreach devivce or breaks down?

[tastrax]

Given his sponsors I would say he has both a PLB and solar chargers to keep everything charged

http://www.louis-philippe-loncke.com/20 ... -trek.html

[north-north-west]

He's climbed up away from the river and onto Perambulator Ridge. Covered a fair bit of ground in the last half hour - much easier going up there.

[jmac]

Yes, making much better progress up Perambulator! There's a bit of scrub on the descent of the southern side, but hopefully he'll get to Curly tonight.

[bushwalker zane]

Woo! Perambulator! I wonder how long he'll stay on the ridge for? The stretch down there from Gells Gates to Curly isn't too bad from memory.

[north-north-west]

Would it be easier to head straight for the lake, or follow the ridge until north of it and descend what appear to be open leads down to the outlet?

[bushwalker zane]

Would it be easier to head straight for the lake, or follow the ridge until north of it and descend what appear to be open leads down to the outlet?

I'd say both are viable options really. There are okay pads leading up the valley to the lake, but the ridge shouldn't be too bad. I remember further west it was alright.

Follow the blue, Lou!

[bushwalker zane]

Looks like he's going into the valley!

Now, will he go to the lake, or out to Badger Flat?

[MrWalker]

Well that was fun, watching him break into a sprint along the ridgeline. Then he didn't have too much trouble scrambling down the hill through the "yuck" in the near dark.
Maybe he's not as totally exhausted as we thought.
Now did he find it so much better up high that he'll go via Mt Curly?

[GPSGuided]

Well that was fun, watching him break into a sprint along the ridgeline. Then he didn't have too much trouble scrambling down the hill through the "yuck" in the near dark.

Calling in the Predator UAV...

[jmac]

@Mr Walker, I still reckon after climbing Curly’s shoulder he’s better to drop down to the southern Badger Flat and walk across it to Pokana or the unnamed junction peak. I’ve looked at the Curly traverse from both Curly’s summit and the Three Lakes end and it looks hard; scrubby with a lot of up and down. Much harder than the satellite imagery implies, I reckon.

I’ve walked across Badger Flat and up and down Pokana a couple of times each; that route is both a known quantity and pretty straightforward. That to me seems the logical choice.

Great to see him making better progress all day today!

[north-north-west]

I’ve looked at the Curly traverse from both Curly’s summit and the Three Lakes end and it looks hard; scrubby with a lot of up and down. Much harder than the satellite imagery implies, I reckon.

Dan and I have been debating this recently. He reckons it would be a doddle. I know there is at least one nasty band of scrub at the cirque end, and it's impossible to get an accurate idea of what the rest of the higher section is without actually doing it. I tend to agree with you, although it would be interesting to give it a go. Maybe try a circuit loop over a long day from the lake?

[jmac]

Sounds fun! Must be someone who’s done it?

[north-north-west]

We may be able to ask - he seems to be going up the lakeside flank of the peak and aiming at the saddle north of the summit. Not an easy descent to the flats from there, so maybe he is now thinking of trying a traverse?

[doogs]

We may be able to ask - he seems to be going up the lakeside flank of the peak and aiming at the saddle north of the summit. Not an easy descent to the flats from there, so maybe he is now thinking of trying a traverse?

I've noticed that the track is probably about 50-100m out from his likely positions. Have a look at yesterday, he was most probably on the ridge top rather than on it's side.
I reckon he's in the valley floor 50m west of where his position is shown.
EDIT: Now he's changed direction, aiming for the shoulder of Mt Curly!

[tastrax]

Hopefully its not too wet out there and he is getting some nice views

https://earth.google.com/web/@-42.54583 ... 357441t,0r

[tastrax]

Actually its probably pissing down out there!

http://www.bom.gov.au/tas/forecasts/strathgordon.shtml

[Warin]

I reckon he's in the valley floor 50m west of where his position is shown.

Several issues with the location;

The GPS needs a clear view of the sky .. where he has it positioned in his gear may shelter it from seeing the sky, where he is in relation to trees, cliffs, hills and valley may obscure the sky.. and even when it has a clear view of the sky .. the movement of the GPS can lead to errors ..

The accuracy of the maps is fairly questionable too...

So I'd think errors of 50 m would not be unreasonable.

[north-north-west]

However accurate or otherwise the signal may be, he's fairly close to the summit of Curly, so he has stuck with the ridge so far. And, having gone that far along it, it may well be easier to continue to the cirque rather than dropping down and climbing back up again. It's only a little further and once on the main ridge leading to the Pokana/Pleiades junction it's very easy walking.

[Warin]

Actually its probably pissing down out there!

http://www.bom.gov.au/tas/forecasts/strathgordon.shtml

The radar is fairly good. Especially the red bits It does indicate what is happing now.
But it does not cover that SW corner. You can get an idea from the NW corner .. and the remainder on the SE corner
It is coming from the NW at the moment.
Looks fairly gentle now.

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR523.loop.shtml#skip