POW and Diamond Peak

[mjdalessa]

Where abouts does the Jane River Track start and how far does it go in?

[ILUVSWTAS]

Its marked on all the maps. 1:25000 1:100000 and 1:25000 Just check any of those out and you'll see

[flyfisher]

The start of the track usedto be really easy to find but it's now been disguised and the bridge isn't there now but a bit of care and you'll find it. Couple of blokes I know took 2 old landrovers through the river and went on down years ago, boy they were keen.Same fellas drove the huon track to blakes opening and beyond.
When I went down the Jane there was heaps of machinery etc. and a reasonable hut. Years ago tho..

[ILUVSWTAS]

We found it recently with a bit of scouting, the Hi-lux we were in would have been struggling to get over the trench that now lies inbetween it though.

Walked the Huon track earlier this year, you'd be struggling to get a car through to Blakes let along beyond now!

[flyfisher]

Walked the Huon track earlier this year, you'd be struggling to get a car through to Blakes let along beyond now

Yeah these blokes (from H V 4wd club) did an overnighter and were well equipped (chainsaws winches etc)

We found it recently with a bit of scouting, the Hi-lux we were in would have been struggling to get over the trench that now lies inbetween it though.

Last time I saw it the highway end was missing out to the first big log.

When I went down it was all there but we wheeled our m/bikes over as the deck was slippery and had a few holes in it.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Yup JRT is pretty overgrown now! I hear it's still easily followed if walking, but even pushbikes would struggle.

Thats interesting about the YOYO track though. There were lots of logs and trees over the track but they had all been recently chainsawed through. We thought it was PWS but maybe it wasnt? It sure made for a pleasant walk on a track I'd heard was pretty unpleasant.

[flyfisher]

Thats interesting about the YOYO track though. There were lots of logs and trees over the track but they had all been recently chainsawed through. We thought it was PWS but maybe it wasnt? It sure made for a pleasant walk on a track I'd heard was pretty unpleasant.
[/quote]
The blokes I know went in there around 1980 ish so it wasn't them this time. They said one log they had to cut was about 2 metres diam. so they hacked and split it out then stacked it against the cut out so they could drive through the gap. Have to be easier to walk.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Thats for sure!!

there was fresh sawdust underneath alot of the said logs. they had only been cut very very recently!

[stu]

Sounds like a great trip Rachael, don't be nervous, be excited...we are all jealous

Good, that makes a change!
Bought a yabby tube today, seems like very cheap insurance. Next question, how much water do people generally carry if water is a problem, and how do you carry it? (I suppose I should check to see if there is a thread on this already).

Rachael, if water is going to be a problem then carry as much as you can comfortably carry - on the Franklands most of the time we set off with 4-5L.
On one afternoon when an "un-named" member of our party couldn't go on I volunteered to carry his load of water as well (up a big hill) - 9L all up on top of a 10 day pack (this was only on the second afternoon), heavy is a slight understatement, I'd probably have been around or over 40kg that afternoon...of course when we got to camp there was a little flowing stream so I didn't need to carry any water; Murphys Law - still, best to be prepared.

When you get the chanc, drink your fill at the source as well, best to be hydrated & carry your supply than drink it along the way.

re. how to carry it - I had a 2L Dromlite (flexible bladder) a 2L Platypus (flexible bladder) & my standard 1L Sigg bottle - I think multiple bladders / vessels are better just in case you spring a leak or similar, also easier to disperse the load around your pack. Water purifying tablets are also a very good idea, just in case your water source is a little on the 'festy' side, also take Gastrolite or similar powdered re-hydrating drinks for hot, dehydrated days and/or gastro or similar bugs, which I suffered mildly from for 3 days on the Franklands.

On our recent trip to Mt Shaula we all slurped like thirsty dogs from a scungy little pool that you'd normally not even consider drinking from, luckily no after-effects from that one; sometimes you just have to be an opportunist!

[Taurë-rana]

I've now packed, Hobart today then start walking tomorrow - most of the day will be spent driving and boating and waiting for other people so the first day shouldn't be too hard, but probably wet I've only got 16kg of which 4kg is food, doesn't include tomorrow's lunch and a few bits of fresh veg for tomorrow's tea. No water included either so it's a good starting weight. The only thing I'm concerned about not having is an extra jumper -
shirt and shorts to walk in, two l/s lightweight thermal tops, two long john thermals, 1 Brass Monkey fleece trousers, 1 s/s lightweight top,1 heavier Icebreaker jumper, a windbreaker vest and my down jacket - I'll just have to keep my jumper dry.
I've also thrown in spare shorts as I'm wearing boardies which are incredibly comfortable but not sure about how they'll go in scrub.
I can't fit another thing into my pack so tomorrow's lunch will be on the outside of it I think. It's supposed to be 72l so should be big enough but isn't. I think if I go for walks longer than a week I'll have to find a friend or two There'll be plenty of room once I've eaten everything though.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Have fun Rachel!! Very jealous!! hope the weather improves for you over the next few days!!

72 litre pack? hmm yeh you should be able to fit more on that. I use my 65L all the time now including our recent Franklands trip. I had 10 days food and carried 26kg. 72 should fit more than that!

[pazzar]

How long would you recommend to climb North Star from Lake Rhona? Would it be best to camp overnight at Badger Flat or is it possible to attempt as a long return day walk? I am heading up to Lake Rhona for 4 days and I am looking for some peaks that I could tackle in that timeframe.

[Taurë-rana]

I had a nice view of North Star on Thursday, but can't help you with times as I didn't go in from Rhona. I could see the route you would probably take though. At a guess I would say that doing it in a day from Rhona would be risky but I might be wrong.

When I get myself organised I will post some photos and account of our rather wet and incredibly windy trip through the Pleiades, which has been a huge learning experience for me.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Looking forward to it Rachel.
Good to see you back!

[pazzar]

Would you suggest taking the route to Badger Flat from Bonds Craig the shooting off to the south?

[Taurë-rana]

I’ve been trying to work out what to write about my trip to the Pleiades and Pokana Peak. It's hard to know what to leave out and put in. It was quite an experience for me, I realised that although I have done multi-day walks before, they generally haven’t been at altitude for most of the time, which this one was.

We were boated across the Lake from near the base of Clear Hill and dropped off at the foot of the Pleiades Range on a cool, showery day. That was fairly exciting with the tinny crashing over the Lake, and us huddled down trying to keep out of the wind, rain and spray. By the time everyone reached the shore it was quite late in the day so we walked (hauled ourselves) up the range for a couple of ours then camped on a shelf part way up. It was my first real experience of pitching a tent on low scrub and grassy hummocks. We were lucky that the rain eased while we made camp and cooked tea.

The next day we finished the climb up onto the range and started heading north, generally on the Western side of the range. The wind was very strong and made it hard to make progress at times, as well as making it cold. It was wet too. After a lunch where we got rather chilled, especially after climbing to the top of one of the many rocky outcrops, we set off again, but the weather was worse and navigation was an issue as well as being cold and wet so we ended up heading back to a saddle with a little bit of protection. I was very cold, went into my tent at 4pm and basically didn’t come out 'til the next morning. It took me until 1am to warm up and I was quite scared through the night – I had nearly all my clothes on, was in my tent in my sleeping bag and I was still cold. I couldn’t see how I could keep going if the weather didn’t let up. I don't think I was the only miserable person though.

The next morning we left late after waiting for the weather to improve, and it did sometime in the afternoon so we actually got some nice views. The wind was still ferocious though. Finding camp sites with enough flattish, sheltered spots for 4 tents was a bit of an issue, and this particular evening we ended up fairly spread out perched on the eastern side of the range with an amazing view. One of the group had his tent roped down with climbing rope so he didn’t get blown over the edge! I was really looking forward to waking up and watching the sun come up over the mountains but by the morning it was raining again, and the wind was still howling.

On we went, and the weather improved as we went so that we started getting views down into the valleys back towards Lake Gordon, and over to the ranges to the west – The Spires and the POW range. We left the Pleiades and headed ever closer to Pokana Peak, I don’t think this area really has a name. We camped behind a rock wall and had the luxury of being able to put things out to dry in the sun that evening!

The next day (Thursday)we were up bright and early on a glorious (though still windy) day. Waterproof pants were left off, goretex jackets were only needed when we stopped and we only had day packs so it was all very pleasant. Getting to the top of Pokana Peak was a real buzz after the huge effort to get there, and the views were superb. We then walked out across the plateau until we were among some interesting rocky outcrops with a good view of the Stars, Bond’s Craig and Reeds Peak and Mt Curly. We could also tantalisingly see all the mountains to the west – Diamond Peak and the POW range, Shining Mountain, Conical Mountain, The Spires, Frenchman’s, etc. Just a hop, skip and jump away it seemed!

After 3 hours pottering round on the rock outcrops, soaking up the sun, planning other trips, eating, drinking and chatting, we finally hauled ourselves off our comfortable scrub couches and headed back to camp. When we were nearly back, I went off with one of the group to head west up a ridge for better views of those ranges to the west, climb a spectacular outcrop of rock which needed climbing, and check out a lake which had beckoned from the other side of the valley – we discovered when we got down to it that it had a lovely forest of fagus and King Billy at one end of it.

Back at the campsite the other four had very kindly moved my tent as the wind had changed and they were worried it would blow away. It was still a beautiful evening but the wind was now coming straight down across our campsite, and one of the blokes said it was the windiest night he had ever had and he’s been bushwalking a long time. The wind on the other side of the rock wall was even stronger and sounded like an express train.

The next day dawned wet again, and we packed up and headed off the range down towards Lake Gordon. We started off going through button grass, tea-tree, bauera, cutting grass etc, 5 min each at the front pushing through then dropping to the back. Eventually into rainforest, but still quite hard finding a route and pushing through, and the potential for injury due to rotting logs and slipperiness was quite high. It was beautiful though, especially once we were following a creek. It took us 5 hours of slow progress to get out of the scrub to where we could see more than a few metres ahead, and we were well and truly over it. Unfortunately we still had numerous bands of scrub to push through before reaching the lake shore, so it was a long day. The rain finally stopped by the time we made camp on a flat, grassy area with as much water as we needed a few steps away, and no wind!

The next day saw a clear morning and the boat ride across the lake was a pleasure.

I learnt a lot about off track walking (and tent pitching), and the adequacy or otherwise of my gear – my tent runs with condensation and my sleeping bag is very wet on the surface by morning which could be a huge problem after several days of being unable to dry it out. I can also now sleep through very high winds and know my tent will be OK, and it doesn't actually leak in the rain.

I was pleased with my walking fitness - it was reasonably hard work – the easiest walking involved constant lifting the legs over button grass/low scrub, and it was very up and down. I was probably carrying about 17kg and could have carried more.

We didn’t take our goretex jackets off very often, and I wore long sleeves and long johns the whole time. Overheating wasn’t generally a problem, even on the one sunny day we had! Staying on our feet because of the wind, was. My biggest issue was getting cold, especially wet and cold, and it probably didn’t go much below 5C although the wind chill factor would have been very high. It was nice having a down jacket, but I haven't solved the issue of what to wear at camp if it's raining and you're wet and cold but don't want to put dry clothes on while cooking and eating tea.

One advantage of the rain was that there was a lot more water around than there would have been otherwise – even so we drank from yabby holes and got water from shallow ponds, and often had a bit of a walk from where we camped. We didn’t need to carry a lot though.

Did I enjoy it? When I was warm and we were on top of the world and could see forever, there was no better place to be. When I was cold, it wasn’t so good. I enjoyed the company, and trusted the people leading the walk because they were so experienced and I knew that they would look after anyone who got into trouble. The weather was a bit disappointing but that’s SW Tas, and it was a good learning experience. You can know in your head that the weather can be bad, but actually being out there in it reminds you of just how nasty it can get, and it could have been a lot worse. Somebody suggested it would be a bit like childbirth - that we'll forget the bad bits quite quickly and soon be looking to go back out.

I'll post photos when I've sorted out my 150 odd!

[stepbystep]

Nice one Rachel - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and all that!
Sounds like Pokana Peak made it all worthwhile.
Can't wait to see some pics from this area.

[Taurë-rana]

Can't wait to see some pics from this area.

I'm working on that, slowly! How was the East Coast?

[stepbystep]

How was the East Coast?

All good, highly civilised, many short walks and long beach strolls....nice as a change of pace

[scrub master]

Good to hear you had a succesful trip. Sounds like the conditions you got were the exact opposite of us. Don't know which I'd prefer, both can be equally demanding.
I'd be interested to see your route, particularly the way you got up onto the Pleadies. If it's any better than the way we went, it would be a useful reference for our next trip in there (hint, hint guys ). Would also be keen to see some of your shots. I should really extract the digit and put a couple of mine up soon as well

[Taurë-rana]

The way we went up on to the Pleiades was not bad at all, certainly much, much, much easier than the way we came down from the other end! I'll have to try and work out where it was and send it, it was a bit hard to see where we were a lot of the time at the start of the trip I think lots of rain the week before going in would be nice, with maybe a bit of rain overnights to refill the ponds and yabby holes!

[Taurë-rana]

Actually, just rereading your earlier post, I suspect we went into The Pleiades a lot further south than you did, and made our way along the range, only reaching the Pokana area on the 4th day (due to a late start on the Sunday and the bad weather). The way we came down sounds more like the way you went up, and I shudder to think what it would have been like in that heat with no water!

[ILUVSWTAS]

it would be a useful reference for our next trip in there (hint, hint guys ).

No need for the hints SM. You know im itching to get into this area!!

Well done Rachel and thanks for posting your report!