That Mad Belgian

[NickMonk]

Quite incredible. I can't believe his determination!

[NickMonk]

About a km to go to Louisa River camp.... At 11.15pm. What a superhuman effort in his condition.

[mikeb]

11AM start, Midnight finish - LouPhi rewrites the bushwalking rulebook once again!

[GPSGuided]

3.5kg for his packraft.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Well, I was totally wrong yesterday when i said he couldn't possibly do it in 4 days because he couldn't average the required 21 km/day.
He's done 22km and still going after 10 hrs. It looks like he doesn't plan to stop until he gets to Louisa River camp.

The end is in sight, that gives a bit of a boost to the energy levels. He's on a good track now too which will throw the average from the rest of his trip straight out the window. My prediction of out on the 23rd is still on... though I suspect he will camp at Sth cape bay the last night to give the supporters a chance to drive down the next morning to meet him as hewalks out at lunchtime on the 24th.

[north-north-west]

And after two long hard days, he now has to get over the Ironbounds.

There has been a generous offer from one member of this forum to meet, feed, collect him if he finishes between Sun PM and Tues. Not sure if the offerer is happy to be outed, or keep the offer on the quiet.

Did s/he manage to convince Margot Robbie to go along?

[MrWalker]

The end is in sight, that gives a bit of a boost to the energy levels. He's on a good track now too which will throw the average from the rest of his trip straight out the window. My prediction of out on the 23rd is still on... though I suspect he will camp at Sth cape bay the last night to give the supporters a chance to drive down the next morning to meet him as he walks out at lunchtime on the 24th.

The end in sight inspired him to do 26.5km yesterday. All he has to do is repeat that a couple of times and he's done.
So he should be out on Saturday evening instead of Sunday.
I can't imagine him camping at Sth Cape Bay, no matter what time he reaches it, when there is only a "short" distance to his next meal at Cockle Creek.

[Warin]

Well, I was totally wrong

The end is in sight,

Fresh food is in sight .. he can smell it. Along with a hot shower. And a bed that is clean and warm.

Motivation is a marvellous thing.

[beardless]

On 13 September in my ignorance I commented:

Does anyone know the reason for the 21 September deadline. Is that 50 days? When his food will run out? Or something else?

I think he will make the Southern Ocean.

If he can get past the impoundment in the next couple of days and can add a couple more days I would back him to complete the south coast track.

A couple more days from 21 September would be a finish at some point on Sunday 23 September. I think I will stick with that prediction.

[Overlandman]

Day 48
20 Sept. Very cold night at Melaleuca. So tired, fell asleep after breakfast till 9:20. Then late start. Hard to get here tonight. Hunger, back hurts and worst wet socks ever. Pain like sandpaper.

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

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

Almost there Lou-Phi
Proud of you mate.

OLM

[Mowser]

I reckon he might have a crack at getting to Surprise Bay or Granite today. Would be a MASSIVE day but he'd then almost certainly get out Saturday night. I know at the end of a 26 day epic we found it extremely hard to stay put at SCR for the night. Looks like he's set himself some waypoint goals for the day?

[mikeb]

I reckon he might have a crack at getting to Surprise Bay or Granite today. Would be a MASSIVE day but he'd then almost certainly get out Saturday night. I know at the end of a 26 epic we found it extremely hard to stay put at SCR for the night. Looks like he's set himself some waypoint goals for the day?

I think you're right. I've walked from Surprise to SCR then decided to just keep on going to Cockle Creek rather than camping as planned - when you are determined to finish, the last stage is relatively easy peasy.

[wildwanderer]

Well, I was totally wrong

The end is in sight,

Fresh food is in sight .. he can smell it. Along with a hot shower. And a bed that is clean and warm.
Motivation is a marvellous thing.

I reckon he might have a crack at getting to Surprise Bay or Granite today. Would be a MASSIVE day but he'd then almost certainly get out Saturday night. I know at the end of a 26 epic we found it extremely hard to stay put at SCR for the night. Looks like he's set himself some waypoint goals for the day?

People are commenting like there is some kind of luxurious Taj Mahal complete with spa bath and Margot Robbie serving 24 hour room service awaiting our courageous adventurer at Cockle Creek..
Isn’t it just a campsite with untreated tank water…. With nearest shops 20km away..

If there is no one there to meet him, there’s no point busting his gut to get there early.

[doogs]

Did s/he manage to convince Margot Robbie to go along?

Hey Lou Phi

robbie.gif (487.88 KiB) Viewed 14503 times

[jmac]

Some interesting speculation; I still reckon his best plan is NRL end of Prion Beach today, SCR tomorrow, out middle of Sunday.

Matt and I once came all the way from PB Camp at the top of New River Lagoon in a day, carrying packrafts; so it can be done, but we weren’t half as wrecked as LP is.

[Azza]

Being wreaked and lugging a huge pack up the Ironbounds with little food is going to be a struggle.
Its probably going to take him most of the day.
I'd say getting across New River Lagoon to the Prion Beach Camp Site would be a good target.
Probably doesn't need to pull another mid-nighter.

[Mark F]

There are a couple of pins on the map placed about 9:35 this morning which may indicate his intentions. One on the eastern side of New River Lagoon and another at Osmiridium.

[mikeb]

Cockle Creek.PNG (440.27 KiB) Viewed 14440 times

Trying to channel Lou-Phi...

[north-north-west]

Two and a half hours today, and he's starting the second steep pitch of the Ironbounds. Not bad going - average speed, about 1kph.

[Mechanic-AL]

Don't know how keen Margot Robbie is going to be about getting up close to LouPhi ???
I know I wouldnt want to be sharing a car ride with him back to civilization either.
He is going to PONG !!! and he'll probably need a paint scrapper to get his clothes off !!

[Mountain Rocket]

Gotta be close to the top of the Ironbound now, would be a huge effort to push past Prion imo, but hey he's surprised me before.

Go Lou-Phi!

[north-north-west]

Still averaging a bit over 1kph. be a long day at that speed to get past Prion.

[rangersac]

At least for tonight's night time exploits he'll have a nice easy beach stroll to finish up, rather than that f*#%ing treacherously slippery boardwalk coming into Louisa river

[mikeb]

Watching him plod slowly up and down the Ironbounds makes me wonder why a low level coastal route has never been constructed - anyone know why not? It doesn't look too bad in the aerial images - most of the western and southern facing slopes are open and easy, then a track could possibly follow the contour around the larger valley in the middle then be routed over the 840ft saddle behind the minor headland.

[north-north-west]

Watching him plod slowly up and down the Ironbounds makes me wonder why a low level coastal route has never been constructed - anyone know why not? It doesn't look too bad in the aerial images - most of the western and southern facing slopes are open and easy, then a track could possibly follow the contour around the larger valley in the middle then be routed over the 840ft saddle behind the minor headland.

A big part of the philosophy behind Tasmanian tracks was always minimal disturbance. Going over the Ironbounds requires less cutting than a low-level route would, and the vegetation down there is a lot thicker than you would think from aerial imagery. Plus it gets you closer to the range summit and peakbagging has been a thing for a long time.
Then you would also have the issue of crossing the Louisa River near its mouth, or keep the crossing where it is and add a hell of a lot of squelching across the Louisa Plains (which means more damage as those sorts of plains turn to bog if you give them a hard stare).

By and large, the track takes what is overall the easiest and least damaging line. And the variety of a couple of decent climbs adds to the challenge.

[bushwalker zane]

A big part of the philosophy behind Tasmanian tracks was always minimal disturbance. Going over the Ironbounds requires less cutting than a low-level route would, and the vegetation down there is a lot thicker than you would think from aerial imagery. Plus it gets you closer to the range summit and peakbagging has been a thing for a long time.
Then you would also have the issue of crossing the Louisa River near its mouth, or keep the crossing where it is and add a hell of a lot of squelching across the Louisa Plains (which means more damage as those sorts of plains turn to bog if you give them a hard stare).

By and large, the track takes what is overall the easiest and least damaging line. And the variety of a couple of decent climbs adds to the challenge.

Very well said.
Also:

...turn to bog if you give them a hard stare...

Love it.

[Axie77]

Watching him plod slowly up and down the Ironbounds makes me wonder why a low level coastal route has never been constructed - anyone know why not? It doesn't look too bad in the aerial images - most of the western and southern facing slopes are open and easy, then a track could possibly follow the contour around the larger valley in the middle then be routed over the 840ft saddle behind the minor headland.

A big part of the philosophy behind Tasmanian tracks was always minimal disturbance. Going over the Ironbounds requires less cutting than a low-level route would, and the vegetation down there is a lot thicker than you would think from aerial imagery. Plus it gets you closer to the range summit and peakbagging has been a thing for a long time.
Then you would also have the issue of crossing the Louisa River near its mouth, or keep the crossing where it is and add a hell of a lot of squelching across the Louisa Plains (which means more damage as those sorts of plains turn to bog if you give them a hard stare).

By and large, the track takes what is overall the easiest and least damaging line. And the variety of a couple of decent climbs adds to the challenge.

The seaside and just around the corner on the eastern side are very steep at some sections, requiring significant engineered solutions.

The Ironbounds are considered an achievement for many walkers with stunning views on the right day. And absolutely a nightmare on the bad days.

[tastrax]

Watching him plod slowly up and down the Ironbounds makes me wonder why a low level coastal route has never been constructed - anyone know why not? It doesn't look too bad in the aerial images - most of the western and southern facing slopes are open and easy, then a track could possibly follow the contour around the larger valley in the middle then be routed over the 840ft saddle behind the minor headland.

Its been investigated a couple of times and when you add in the costs for rehabilitation of old track then the numbers are horrendous, plus as others have mentioned there is some very steep country on the lower level traverse of the Ironbounds.

[mikeb]

I'm not convinced that the track does follow the easiest and least damaging line - tracks up and down slopes=erosion. Its taken a huge amount of trackwork over decades to manage erosion on this section and this work is ongoing.

The Louisa Plains could easily be avoided by benching around the lower slopes of the Ironbounds, similar to the section of the PDT around the end on the W Arthurs or the section of the SCT around the NE end of the New Harbour Range. And the section through the rainforest would be shorter than the current descent through the rainforest.

More likely a (literal) case of path dependence - that once you have done something one way, you get locked in, and it becomes hard to change and do something different, even if that might be/have been a better option. In this case the early track cutters routed their escape route for shipwrecked sailors up an open lead and over, when erosion and large numbers of walkers weren't considerations, and we have become locked in through our past investments and the significant cost to reroute.

[GPSGuided]

What’s a track if there’s not an epic climb? Might as circle round and round on a beach or on the plain.