Mt Emmett from Forth River/Patons Road

[Mowser]

Has anyone done or know anyone that's attempted Mt Emmett from the Forth Valley? Patons road still looks ok on foot/bike but might be a good way to walk Emmett. Might make a good off track weekend mission. If anyone has any info please PM me. Cheers.

[Paul]

Can anyone avise how far up Patons Road, toward the old Wolfram Mine, is accessible by 4wd ?

Thanks,
Paul.

[teak]

The Parks website shows that Patons road is closed 2.5 kilometres past Lemonthyme power station to all unauthorised vehicles.

[Hot073]

Patons road is only really accessible now by bike or walking,you can drive in about 2 km from power station ,from there it’s another 23 km to wolfram mine,done this trip many times!

[ILUVSWTAS]

Patons road is only really accessible now by bike or walking,you can drive in about 2 km from power station ,from there it’s another 23 km to wolfram mine,done this trip many times!

Interesting. Is the old track to Pelion still evident in any places from there?

[bushwalker zane]

Interesting. Is the old track to Pelion still evident in any places from there?

I'd be interested too! I recall my Dad talking about when he did this walk (probably around 30-35 years ago) and saying it was getting pretty overgrown then...

[north-north-west]

I shall let you know if and when i ever get around to doing it. It is on the hit list (like a lot of things).

[Hot073]

I’ve heard of the track to Pelion and looked for it a couple of years ago when in there!Id say it’s overgrown as I didn’t find any trace of it!
I believe it’s called the Forth Valley Track and used to come out at Old Pelion Hut.

[north-north-west]

I shall let you know if and when i ever get around to doing it. It is on the hit list (like a lot of things).

Time for the update.

First, Patons Road.
The first 8.2km (acc to the GPS) of Patons has been flashed up recently: some parts have been widened, the surface improved, culverts installed, a neat little ford to replace the washed-out bridge. This means that, provided the creek is not flooded, it's 2wdable (standard passenger car) to the NP boundary.
There is a gate at the 5km mark but, going on the evidence, it is seldom, if ever, locked. Just past the gate you will pass an army of Private Property signs. It's a public road so provided you stay on the road easement, the signs can be ignored. Once the NP boundary is reached the road narrows, there are "unmaintained blah blah experienced 4WDer blah blah" warnings and there are few places to turn or park, so due caution about decisions to try to push further in if the vehicle is not suitable.

The remaining roughly 20km to the mines is highly variable. Perhaps half of it is 2wdable. Perhaps half of the remainder is SUV-friendly. The rest is "experienced 4WDer" (or ATV or trail bike) terrain; steep bits, very rough bits, deep washouts, wet bits etc, all intermixed and frequently changing. And a chainsaw would be a good idea; northh of the boundary it doesn't seem too be prone to treefalls, but further south there have been some doozies.
It does make for a wonderful walk due to the vegetation and the river (which it gets very close to on occasion) - provided, that is, that you get it as it was when I walked in: vehicle-free. It seems the whole area is popular with the ATV/trail bike crowd so it's not a place to walk during long weekends or school holidays.

The mine area is interesting and has good camping. There is also a largeish clearing about 1.5 - 2kim to the north, which makes a good alternative campsite. Plus a few other spots including river flats that would be wonderful as long as there hasn't been too much rain.

Last edited by north-north-west on Tue 06 Apr, 2021 4:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[north-north-west]

Part two: Forth Valley Track.

TasPAWS (or someone) got their finger out earlier this year, and took to the track with brushcutter, chainsaw, marking tape and a *&^%$#@! of lemon squash. The previously overgrown sections (mainly in the higher bit between the top of the climb and Douglas Creek) have been cleared enough to be walkable. Most of the old snowpoles north of the forest are still there; where they are missing, tape or other markers (the aforementioned lemon squash cans) have been placed. Fallen timber in the forest has, where necessary, been cut or bypassed. The forest, however, remains the same: lush, green, leaf-carpeted and full of fungi. The zig zag climb up beside Douglas Creek is slow and seems to never end, but so what?

It's a great walk. It would make a really good loop with a car shuffle between Patons and the Arm River or Lees Paddocks trackheads.

[Lostwanderer]

This track has been maintained by the friends of Patons Rd.It is not however a public road and hydro Tasmania will be closing it emphatically in the next few weeks.They are digging up the road over the Lemonthyme Creek and diverting the already diverted Mersey River down the creek.There will be no escape for any vehicles left stranded on the road when this occurs.So it will be back to a long walk in.But at least no fear of being run over.

[Paul]

How will owners of land further along Patons Road get access if Hydro block it at Lemonthyne Creek ?

Is there access via Dove River Road to Pallawah Road, to Patons Road ?

Paul.

[Lostwanderer]

Distraught landowners are in discussions with hydro forestry and parks atm but no one is leaping in to rebuild access.Guy Barnett has been asked to intervene.It is not possible to access the road via pallawah road even if they reinstate the pallawah bridge which is currently closed.Perhaps a kayak and a mountain bike?Cradle mountain canyoning we’re taking commercial tours in there and are a bit disappointed too.It has been suggested to hydro that they inform the public but as yet I don’t think they have done so.

[FLICKIT]

I'm keen to revisit the Wolfram mine sometime this year so I popped down and checked Patons Road on my way up over Borradaile today, Patons Road is blocked right at the start just above the power station and there is a sign which sounds promising

[north-north-west]

That culvert wasn't a problem when I was there - a bit rough, but drivable.

[FLICKIT]

Heading down there I passed a couple of cement trucks on their way back up and the gate was open to the top of the penstock, I wonder if they may be working on the penstock and they've removed the old culvert across the creek so they can divert a decent amount of water down that way into the Forth/Cethana, the water which would normally be going via the penstock to the power station.. There was also about 20 vehicles at the power station so I assume they're doing major maintenance at the moment...

[FLICKIT]

Also...

They are digging up the road over the Lemonthyme Creek and diverting the already diverted Mersey River down the creek.

From that I suspect this is what's going on:

Below Parangana in the Mersey the water isn't used at all, it's lost energy, they need the water over in the Forth for the string of power stations down there...
https://www.hydro.com.au/clean-energy/o ... rsey-forth

[Lostsoul]

Also...

They are digging up the road over the Lemonthyme Creek and diverting the already diverted Mersey River down the creek.

From that I suspect this is what's going on:

Lemonthyme.jpg

Below Parangana in the Mersey the water isn't used at all, it's lost energy, they need the water over in the Forth for the string of power stations down there...
https://www.hydro.com.au/clean-energy/o ... rsey-forth

Concrete trucks are in there doing repairs on pits and channels at the pipeline that runs into the power station

[FLICKIT]

Concrete trucks are in there doing repairs on pits and channels at the pipeline that runs into the power station

Cheers.. With all the tyre marks heading into the top of the penstock I suspected that's where they had been...

I think I'll leave it until late in the year before I return, give the Hydro time to do their thing, and give the ATV-ers a chance to clear all the windfall, lol...

[Tom Cloudsdale]

After hearing of this track over 15 years ago, and hearing of my father walking up 50 years ago, I was pretty keen to check it out.
A friend and I had two nights and wanted to walk Pelion West on the middle day.

The new bridge close to the power station is finished, and we drove to approx 2km into the World Heritage Area. We then rode bikes with panniers/trailers to the mine. This was approx 18km and we took it pretty slow, arriving in 2.75 hrs (1.75hrs return).
The track up to Pelion was easily found by walking along the old car track goes past the mine entrance. The track was easily followed, we were amazed at it's condition.
This took us just under 3 hrs.(1.75hr return)

Big thanks to all those involved with cutting and remarking the track, and for the earlier updates on this thread which gave me the confidence to give it a try.

[Lostwanderer]

Permits are now required for motorised vehicles to use Patons road but they are free and easily obtainable by phoning Parks

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[Dangs21]

Has anyone accessed Patons Road and onto Forth River Track and into the Pelion area recently? I'm planning on riding MTB as far as possible along Patons Road then Hiking into Pelion and up Mt Oakleigh and return. Just after some recent information on the tracks. Cheers

[vagrom]

I don't suppose anyone knows anything about the old Commonwealth Creek Track? Part of the mining history. Perhaps it went up the ridge south of the creek and debouched in the area of the present Hydrographer's Hut ?

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ww ... EzZ5cuYoxX

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Last edited by vagrom on Thu 07 Mar, 2024 9:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[E.G.]

I know enough about that track, called the Barn Bluff Track when it was made in 1902, to say that it would be completely overgrown now.
It crossed the Forth on Sloanes Bridge a little above the conjuction with Harnett Rivulet, went south along the edge of the valley, crossed Commonwealth Creek and went up and up and up. It was a dreadful pack track when it was new.