Mt Olympus trip

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Mt Olympus trip

Postby L_Cham_67 » Tue 05 Dec, 2017 2:57 pm

On November 19 earlier this year, during a spring heatwave throughout Tasmania, I decided to tackle Mt Olympus, with the hope of camping on the summit. A few days prior, I bought myself a new handheld GPS and gave myself a bit of practice with it in the days leading up to the trip. I left Hobart a bit before 7am and arrived at Lake St Clair at around 9:30 I’d say. I did have a moment of panic on the drive up, where I had planned on refilling my car at Hamilton, only to find it was a Diesel only station! Fortunately, some advice from the local bakery was that there was a petrol station in Ouse.

Anyway, I left the visitors centre a bit before 10am, and it was already starting to get warm. 3 minutes into the walk, I saw my first snake of the trip – a large tiger slowly making its way across the wide track. I passed Watersmeet and began heading in a northerly direction up the lake. I wouldn’t say I raced along the shore of Lake St Clair, but it was nonetheless a quickish pace through some nice forest. I did forget how much the track undulates though, making it slightly harder work. It was an absolutely fantastic day. The breeze was light, and the small waves on the lakeside gently lapping against the rocks was a very soothing sound. It took me 2.5 hours to reach Echo Point Hut, where I sat down on the sandy beach, and enjoyed lunch.
IMG_1421.JPG
Echo Point

Onwards I went, counting the major creeks as I went. After 3 major creek crossings, I spotted a little waterfall upstream, plus a piece of tape up the slope. It was time to leave the Overland Track behind. I got my GPS out, and began the steep ascent. And boy was it steep! With a 17kg pack on, I was feeling it in the legs, that’s for sure! My progress was halted by an imposing wall of sandstone cliffs. I decide to explore a bit off to the right, and sure enough, came across a breach. It wasn’t going to be easy though. I didn’t bring any rope with me, and while there was tape marked (which alleviated any concerns about it being the wrong route), it did still look rather daunting. Someone had left a piece of rope tied into a loop which could act as a foothold near the base of the climb up, but I chose not to use it, in fear of getting my foot snagged. I took a few deep breaths, grabbed hold of the best placed roots, and went for it. My knee took my weight, as I heaved myself onto a mini ledge about one third of the way up. The next stretch looked even tougher though. It’s hard to explain, but I had to head left once I had reached this point instead of straight up, as slippery vegetation and a lack of handholds prevented me from making a beeline to the top. The handholds were harder to find here (for me anyway). I was starting to feel extremely nervous about the consequences of making a mistake here. But the determination to reach the summit was too strong. I just went for it. I lifted myself up another metre or so, and despite not having my feet in an ideal position, I quickly shifted my hands to a stronger, more comfortable position. This gave me the height I needed to place my foot in the cradle of two roots, and haul my body over the top and onto the leaf litter above. I’m pretty sure I just lay there on the ground for a few minutes, waiting for the nervous feelings in my stomach to fade away. Once they did, I continued on my steep upward trend, passing through two more line of cliffs where the tape was located. These next two were far easier though and I had no issues whatsoever.
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A rather poor photo of the tricky cliff
cliff.JPG (102.97 KiB) Viewed 15403 times

The vegetation was becoming scrubbier and I had to a lot of ducking and weaving to avoid getting caught on low-lying branches. At times I came within metres of the creek, where some spectacular waterfalls were located. It was hard to photograph though, as they were bathed in sunlight. One final, small cliff awaited. It was barely a cliff to be honest, more just a steep scramble with no handholds, as the roots in the ground looked like they’d be ripped out of the ground if any weight was placed on them. Once that was negotiated, I began to veer away from the stream, and the tape petered out, leaving me amongst the scrub. It wasn’t too thick though, which I was pleasantly surprised about. There were some deep, dense patches, but these were easily avoided. I think the worst I found myself in was some knee deep scoparia and overhanging branches blocking the view ahead. My GPS did an excellent job in keeping me on a bearing for Lake Oenone, and I found myself on some pads, which helped avoid the scrub, but not the cobwebs!
break.JPG
Taking a break on the climb up

I knew Lake Oenone was close, but every time I saw what appeared to be the top of a ridge, I was left disappointed. It was like coming to false summits in a way. As I walked, there were some outstanding views up to the southern part of My Olympus, and I could also catch glimpses of Mt Ida if I turned around. The scrub began to recede, and I found myself walking across open spongy grass, surrounded by native pines. It was a glorious place, and I eventually reached the shores of Lake Oenone, 2 hours after leaving the Overland Track. I took a well-deserved break in this phenomenal location. I was drenched in sweat, and a swim was extremely tempting, but I admit, I was still being lured by the summit, and there were a lot of mozzies around which eventually had me leaving Lake Oenone after a 15 minute break.
oenone is close.JPG
Lovely area near Lake Oenone

I climbed up to the ridge located north of Oenone. It was pretty open as I climbed up, and I found a pad which followed the narrow ridgeline. The Du Cane range made an appearance, as did Lake Helen and Lake Laura (as well as Lake St Clair obviously). The walking became quite technical, and I lost the pad as I did my best to stick to the ridgeline, but to no avail. The boulders became quite awkward, large and exposed, and it was slow going through this stretch of the walk. The scrub didn’t help either in regards to navigating my way upwards. Once I left the scrub behind, I found myself at the base of the dolerite cliffs, amongst a small boulder field home to some extremely large boulders. A small drift of snow lay in the lowest point, and I managed to find some cairns and the pad, which led me upwards and onto the plateau.
below plateau.JPG
Lake Oenone, South Olympus and the ridge you climb up

The hardest part of the walk was over. I made a waypoint of the access point on my GPS, and set off for the summit. The further I walked, the less knee high vegetation there was, and it was replaced with tarns and alpine grasses and mosses. It was absolutely spectacular walking, and it wasn’t much longer until I was standing by the small rock cairn at the summit of Mt Olympus, 4 hours after leaving the Overland Track, and a bit over 7 hours since the visitors centre.

A lot of you will be aware of the views from the summit, but they were simply remarkable. South Olympus stood out, as did Cynthia Bay, and the King William Range. Many peaks in the southwest such as The Thumbs were also in sight, as was Loddon Bluff, Mt Rufus, Hugel and Little Hugel. The large mass of Mt Gell dominated the skyline, with Frenchmans Cap easily noticeable. Many peaks in the West Coast Range were on the horizon, while the Cheyne Range and Goulds Sugarloaf lay closer. Mt Byron, Cuvier, Manfred and many peaks in the Eldon Range (High Dome in particular) lay off to the west. The enormous number of peaks in the Du Cane Range were also there to see – Horizontal Hill, The Guardians, Gould, Pine Valley, The Acropolis, Hyperion, Walled Mtn, Macs Mtn, Falling Mtn. I could also see Pelion West, Pelion East, Ossa, Cathedral Mountain and Mt Achilles I believe (perhaps Perrins Bluff). Much of the Walls Of Jerusalem lay there in sight as well – Western Bluff, Mt Jerusalem, Mountains of Jupiter, Traveller Range. And of course, Mt Ida and Lake St Clair were also a wonderful sight.
summit.JPG
Summit rock cairn

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Mt Byron and beyond

I pitched my tent amongst the tarns just below the summit. The tarns may be 1470 or so metres above sea level, but they had been baking in the sun all day, and were quite warm, even with the snow melting into it. The campsite I chose is easily the most wonderful place I have ever had the privilege to pitch my tent. How lucky are we, here in Tassie to have all these locations to visit!? I had dinner, and as the sun began to get low in the horizon, decided to do some exploring around the summit. There were some excellent views down to the Narcissus area, and over on the western slopes, Lake Petrarch and Lamonts Lookout were looking magnificent. Some of the boulders in that area were enormous – I’d say about as big as a car! Once the sun went down, some clouds rolled over, and while the summit wasn’t clouded in, rain was a possibility. I set my alarm for 5:20am, so I could watch the sunrise.
campsite.JPG
My campsite

No rain overnight, but the tent was unsurprisingly wet with dew. I’d timed my alarm well, the sun began rising at around 5:35am I think, over South Olympus. It was absolutely glorious, and I managed to film it on my camera to create a time lapse for the video. A bit before 6am, I went back to the tent, and fell asleep again! Sometime before 7:30, I was up again, enjoying breakfast up at the summit rock cairn. With the sun in a different position in the sky, all the Du Cane peaks and Eldon Range mountains looked especially wonderful.
IMG_1562.JPG
Sunrise from the summit

I had to leave eventually, but I did my best to put if off as long as possible. I reckon it was a bit before 10am when I left the summit, and headed back the same way I came in. Everything was going as planned apart from the fact the strap on my gaiters (the one which wraps around the bottom of the boot) kept coming off every 15 minutes. It was a real nuisance, especially when you were surrounded by scrub. The only time I had any trouble on the descent was when I reached the lowest cliff. There was no way I could climb down it while wearing my pack. So I left it at the top and climbed down to that small ledge halfway down. I somehow grabbed hold of my pack and managed to keep hold of it as it fell down to my level. I didn’t know what to do from here. One hand was on a root, the other was keeping my pack from tumbling down the cliff. Eventually I just had to do something I really wish I didn’t. I crouched down as low as I could, and dropped the pack down the rest of the cliff. It fell a good 5 metres, before crashing into the ground and rolling a further 5-10 metres. Once I had navigated my way down, I went to inspect the damage. The drink bottles had come flying out and had a few scratches on them, but other than that, my pack and the contents inside had come through unscathed. 10 minutes later, I was back on the Overland Track, and another lunch stop at Echo Point was in order. As I walked back to Fergys Paddock though (as I was going to climb Mt Hugel the next day) I became more and more fatigued, and my feet felt very uncomfortable. Upon inspection that evening, it turns out I had a large bubble blister in between two toes on my right foot, and a hotspot on the back of my left foot. It was also this trip which made me realise that my boots are in real need of being replaced – some rubber is coming off on the bottom and there is almost no grip left on them either! That night I enjoyed a beer at the visitors centre – well deserved if I do say so myself!
beer.JPG
Beer to conclude the walk

In conclusion, Mt Olympus was a demanding, arduous, but extremely beautiful, amazing and outstanding walk. It has definitely been one of the highlights of my time bushwalking in Tasmania.

I made a video of the trip which can be viewed here for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBg5c5grwz4&t=267s
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby north-north-west » Tue 05 Dec, 2017 5:56 pm

Two 'snap' moments: the tent site on Olympus looks very like the spot I pitched, and that damned climb up through the cliffs that gave you so much trouble is where I somersaulted down after a handhold gave way at the worst possible time, and ended up copping a leech on the face. At least I found and removed it before it crawled into anything too sensitive. The weather, of course, was almost the exact opposite of what you had: storms overnight at Oenone and cold, pouring rain all the way down and back to Cynthia Bay.

Pity you didn't have time to ramble down to the southern summit. Very interesting country up there.

Seems to be the season for boot failures. Both of mine decided to try shedding their soles just a day or two after you noticed the condition of yours. Hopefully they'll be reglued and ready for pick-up tomorrow. A lot cheaper than new boots, given that the leather is stiill in good nick.
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby L_Cham_67 » Tue 05 Dec, 2017 9:42 pm

north-north-west wrote:and that damned climb up through the cliffs that gave you so much trouble is where I somersaulted down after a handhold gave way at the worst possible time, and ended up copping a leech on the face. At least I found and removed it before it crawled into anything too sensitive.

Woah! Was that with a pack on as well? That exact scenario was what I feared most (especially considering there was a log near the base), and I hoped removing my pack on the descent would reduce my chances of something like that occurring.
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby north-north-west » Wed 06 Dec, 2017 11:44 am

Yeah, the pack was on. Didn't damage anything but it took a rather uncomfortable minute or two to get out of the harness and then back on my feet. Serves me right for not just lowering the pack.
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby johnrs » Wed 06 Dec, 2017 12:27 pm

Hi LC
Lovely trip report!
Saw the tent in your summit picture,
Looks to be a side entry tunnel tent,
can you give me some details?
Thanks
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby L_Cham_67 » Wed 06 Dec, 2017 1:04 pm

Hey John
It's a Vango Banshee 200 (one of the older editions with only one door). It's advertised as a 2 person tent but it's a very cramped 2 person tent. It has a tension band system which keeps it stable. I know from experience - I was sleeping on Bruny Island in it a few nights ago when it was bucketing down along with 50+km/hr winds and kept its shape well.
It's not a deluxe tent, or packed with features by any means, it's a more low budget type. The vestibule isn't that large, but overall it's not a bad little tent, and is suiting my needs for the moment. It's not a 4 season tent though. This site has some more details https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/vango- ... TE-BA200-m
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby johnrs » Wed 06 Dec, 2017 3:52 pm

Thanks LC
Do you find the side entry two hoop design effective?
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby Geevesy » Wed 06 Dec, 2017 3:56 pm

Nice shots LC, I was there during Fagus season and it is a special spot that's for sure.
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby eggs » Wed 06 Dec, 2017 5:00 pm

Great report. Thanks
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby iaindtiler » Wed 06 Dec, 2017 6:46 pm

Nice write up and pictures. Sounds like an adventure with those cliffs, but well worth it from your pictures. Cheers
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby L_Cham_67 » Wed 06 Dec, 2017 9:34 pm

Thanks guys! Geevesy I imagine the area around Oenone would be delightful in autumn!
Yep those cliffs are very much a barrier to accessing the mountain from that direction - I guess you have to earn it!

Johnrs, I find it effective for solo walking, as it will comfortably fit me and my pack in it. It's a little on the heavy side though - a bit over 2 kilos. Would you be able to clarify in what way I find it effective? (ie is it waterproof, bomb-proof, easy to enter, etc).
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby johnrs » Fri 08 Dec, 2017 8:50 am

Yes LC
I am interested in the side entry two hoop design for a few reasons.
A MacPac Minaret was my go to Tassie and XC ski tent for many years, good and strong
but I grew tired of stumbling over all my stuff in the doorway and hunching down to clamber in.

Quite a few years ago I borrowed a single hoop Mac Pac Eclipse and really liked the convenience of the side entry
but of course it was not a particularly stable design.
Now there is a whole squadron of light single hoop tents with mostly single end struts,
Vango does the F10 Heliums,
but I am a tall large person often doing extended trips and would like a little more room.

So the search goes on for a premium built light weight 3-4 season two hoop side entry tunnel tent.
Maybe there is a reason they are uncommon?
Do you have any reservations about the design of your Banshhee?
Thanks
John
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby L_Cham_67 » Fri 08 Dec, 2017 10:36 am

The largest downside about it for me is the tiny vestibule, which can only fit my boots in it, and not much more. The fly has a little hook on the outside which makes getting in and out of the tent in wet weather slightly easier, but that can also be a problem, perhaps more so for you if you are a tall person.
I'm not really sure what else to say, as choice of tents is often a subjective decision.
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby iaindtiler » Fri 08 Dec, 2017 5:39 pm

Nice video with a magic sunrise finale. Cheers.
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Re: Mt Olympus trip

Postby L_Cham_67 » Fri 08 Dec, 2017 6:35 pm

Thanks iaindtiler!
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