South Coast Track Upgrades in Progress.

[Overlandman]

From the Mercury

http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/ ... 387400a157

UPGRADE works on the South Coast Track, in Tasmania’s Southwest Wilderness, have begun for another year.

Regards OLM

[north-north-west]

Yeah.
And, as usual, they're leaving plenty of boggy bits in between the duckboarding.

[JohnR]

That's a good thing NNW. It certainly doesn't need 'upgrading' to another overland track.

Subject to erosion control, it should remain free of continuous duckboards and huts.

[north-north-west]

That's a good thing

Yes and no.
It just seems weird that one bit of mud or whatever gets a raised walkway and an even muddier bit at the end of that is left au naturel.

[DanR]

I'm hoping to walk this one in the near future. Sounds like the upgrades will make things a little easier.

[PatAries1971]

Have to reply, in the spirit of keeping the "South" remote.

Yes we do have to balance the environment with the remoteness of the SCT. However, it is a feedback-loop; the more improvements we do, the more ppl will visit and the more damage is done, needing more improvements, and so it goes. Eventually we will end up with homogeneous walking experiences differentiated only by the scenery we are viewing.

The idea of upgrading to another Overland? I'll have to beg to differ there. The remoteness, seclusion, and isolated solitude is one of the major attractions to walking the SCT (yes I've done both). It is OK to have a varied experience in two different parks.

It's also ok the SCT is not easy, nor I believe should it be made so. For me, I realise that one day I won't be up to walking some of the "big ones", and that's OK. The "big ones" shouldn't be changed just so I can. My cpl of bobs worth there.

[GregChinery]

Have to reply, in the spirit of keeping the "South" remote.

Yes we do have to balance the environment with the remoteness of the SCT. However, it is a feedback-loop; the more improvements we do, the more ppl will visit and the more damage is done, needing more improvements, and so it goes. Eventually we will end up with homogeneous walking experiences differentiated only by the scenery we are viewing.

The idea of upgrading to another Overland? I'll have to beg to differ there. The remoteness, seclusion, and isolated solitude is one of the major attractions to walking the SCT (yes I've done both). It is OK to have a varied experience in two different parks.

It's also ok the SCT is not easy, nor I believe should it be made so. For me, I realise that one day I won't be up to walking some of the "big ones", and that's OK. The "big ones" shouldn't be changed just so I can. My cpl of bobs worth there.

I can see both sides. We walked the SCT last January - beautiful weather so not much mud. Nevertheless, the number of fan-outs from people trying to avoid the mud were such that in many places it was obvious our human impact was quite deleterious to the natural beauty. The boardwalks are an important part of preventing this environmental damage and I for one applaud the work being done. There is no doubt that in the future we will have to put up with number limits and a more stringent permit regime. This is unfortunate, but last time I looked the human population just keeps increasing which means more people wanting, like us here, to experience nature in all its glory and diversity. It's about getting the balance right and I think if the boardwalks keep us off of parts of the track that WE are damaging then they are a good thing.

Also, there is a slight safety angle to consider. During our last SCT, my wife (she will hate me for mentioning this) was ahead of me, followed a branch of one of the fans and found herself a bit lost. She reckons she blew her whistle - I didn't hear it - then had to calm herself down and backtrack by following her own footprints. We re-united a couple of hours later. Just a minor hiccup, but it did cause her a bit of anxiety at the time.

[icefest]

Also, there is a slight safety angle to consider. During our last SCT, my wife (she will hate me for mentioning this) was ahead of me, followed a branch of one of the fans and found herself a bit lost. She reckons she blew her whistle - I didn't hear it - then had to calm herself down and backtrack by following her own footprints. We re-united a couple of hours later. Just a minor hiccup, but it did cause her a bit of anxiety at the time.

Couple things about this.

Firstly, the main reason you should stay in the middle of the track is so that you don't get lost (not to not make the false leads larger, or to minimise environmental damage).

Secondly, everyone in a group should have a way of navigating if they get lost. (If you split up a group you have two new groups.) Don't split up unless everyone can do this.

[Overlandman]

Update from ABC
Regards OLM

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-10/h ... ed/8109430

[Nuts]

Yep, any benefit to public use is a just consequence of golden handshakes and back room deals, bothersome bushwalkers on a budget would be excluded already if that were possible. As it stands 'upgrades' have to be done in stages with a few concessions which can be made look like conservation or inclusion but have a real purpose of paving the way for permit systems and private operators a private operator.. groundwork paid for by taxpayers benefited towards this outcome. It's a pattern playing out on all popular tracks and will spread from there as we all go looking for the wilderness left.

Happy to suffer stinking bog over sell-offs to greedy mates.

[sim1oz]

A few weeks ago I heard talk about recreating the Three Capes Experience along the South Coast Track. I hope it isn't true