From the walls of Jerusalem to the overland track in Sept

[Michael_from_sydney]

Hi, I'm considering walking solo through the walls of Jerusalem onto the overland track in September solo. I've done the overland track solo in season once before and not familiar with the walls. Where can I current information to inform my decision as to whether to do this and if so which would be the simplest and best marked tracks so that I can find my way and enjoy the experience? Rather than getting lost, disoriented and frightened and feeling like ive landed into the latest Blair witch project?!! Haha no but seriously can anyone help with advice?

[Mark F]

There are any number of threads on this site about what you propose - please do a search - try "Never never" as the search term. Basically you can follow tracks to Junction Lake and then have to negotiate an untracked section to connect to the olt - either down the Never Never or over the Traveller Range. If you are not experienced in off track walking then September is not the time of year to start due to the weather - heavy rain and snow quite likely. The Never Never route requires crossing the Mersey which may be impassable due to flooding and the Traveller Range is wonderful in good weather but not a place I would choose to be in bad.

[Warin]

Reading Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair And Walls Of Jerusalem by John Chapman ?

Tried a search on 'Never Never' and got lots of off topic hits .. go to the 'Advance Search' and search on 'Never Never Walls' and limit it to the Tasmanian forums will get better results (less bad ones)..such as
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=25207&p=320885&hilit=Never+Never+Walls#p320885
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=25800&p=326929&hilit=Never+Never+Walls#p326929
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=25345&p=322511&hilit=Never+Never+Walls#p322511

[bauera]

Michael, given your comment " Rather than getting lost, disoriented and frightened and feeling like I've landed into the latest Blair witch project?!!", I suggest you avoid the Never Never. Instead consider walking from Lake Ball (in WOJ) to Lake Meston then follow the track round the northern side of Mt Roogoona to Lake Bill and from there to the Mersey Forest Road. A mere few kilometres of road walking (south) gets you to the Lees Paddocks Track (to Lees Paddocks) from where you can take Lees Track to Pelion Plains and join the Overland Track.
The Never Never can be quite confusing and there are multiple pad braids all over the place. If the Mersey is high it can be a very wet walk and may be quite the challenge.
Some parts of the alternative I have suggested can be a little poorly marked in a few places but I think it is a nicer walk with less navigational difficulty than Never Never. Generally speaking the tracks are clear and easy to follow. You will have to put a bit of thought into navigating your way along Blizzard Plain after Lake Bill and to finding the start of Lees Track (north of Lewis Lees Hut) but you should be able to work it out.

[philm]

The Lees track is a good option but you will need to finish the walk before 1 October 2018 as after this you will need an Overland Track Pass to walk out from Pelion Hut to Lake St Clair. The Never Never can take a while and is not a great place if you do not have a lot of experience in off-track walking - there may be plenty of water and many false pads. The other alternative from Junction is over the Traveller Range and down at Du Cane Gap to meet the Overland Track - this route is off-track and very exposed if the weather turns bad.

[Michael_from_sydney]

Hi there, thanks so much for this, I've adjusted my plans based on your advice and will go in the summer and go via the Never never thanks again

[Michael_from_sydney]

Ok noted thanks so much for this I'm going to do it in the summer months instead now. I'm getting the never never is not easy to navigate so I'll keep that in mind. Ta!

[north-north-west]

How hard you find the Never Never depends on how good you are at following sometimes faint and often braided pads. Overall, it's hard to go badly wrong as you simply follow the river. There are plenty of crossing points both above and below McCoy Falls.