Thank goodness the Spirit sailed smoothly overnight because the drive from Devonport to Scotts Peak would certainly have been a long one with upset stomachs. Crossing the Edgar Dam wall was a great place to stop and admire the Western Arthurs Range, anticipation growing at the sight of those jagged peaks. A last lunch of ‘real’ food was quickly demolished, before readying ourselves with last minute pack additions. As if they weren’t heavy enough already.
The bogs were deep and squelchy after a good drenching of rain a few days prior. We hadn’t gone far when we met a group retreating already, they hadn’t even made it across the plains.
3 hours later we were no longer clean. There is nothing like the weight of a full pack loaded with 9 days food plus emergency supplies to put you off balance and face plant you straight into a bog. Oh well it wouldn’t be Tassie and the South-West without a good bit of mud, rain and terrible weather would it? Not quite as Day 2 dawned with blue skies and heat. We were striding across the plains towards the range just after 7am and it was already warm. We hit Moraine A and very quickly worked up a sweat. With not a lot of shade on offer we really just had to keep plugging away. A very suitable rest spot in the shade at the top of the climb was found to survey the progress made. From the top of Hesperus a very fire scarred Lake Fortuna lay before us and encouraged us on. The five men with me took the chance for a swim and a bit of male bonding while I lazed in the saddle. I knew I shouldn’t have left the zoom lens behind, although with water that cold I’m told it would need to be a very powerful zoom.
It wasn’t that much further and we were at Lake Cygnus anyway where I was soon lured by a gorgeous sandy beach and cooling water. Given a choice of campsite bases, we chose the rubber matting which seemed to work well. The resident rat also apparently liked our tents being here and chose to eat its way into the newest tent in the group. The tent owner was not happy and the rat went hungry anyway.
Day 3 we left the lake which looked so serene to climb back up to the main trail. It was pleasant walking this early and the views were just spectacular. We dropped our packs to find our way up Mt Hayes. A bit of easy scrambling to the top gave us more fabulous views out over Lake Peddar to Mt. Anne and along the range to the East. It didn’t matter what direction we looked it was all amazing.
Our next stop was Square Lake to amuse ourselves while two of our group found their way up Procycon Peak. Again the day was hot so the ice cold water of the Lake was so refreshing and the deep water perfect for a bombing contest. No-one was in any hurry to tackle the hot looking climb up towards the ridge above Oberon and Mount Sirius so a long lunch was enjoyed in the shade of the towering cliffs. Eventually someone decided we had to move on in order to see Lake Oberon. The classic view awaited us at the top of the climb. The Lone Pine stood tall and the lake blue below but before we could descend to the lake Mount Sirius had to be climbed. Our campsite for the night was now even further below us. It was going to be a knee jarring descent that was for sure.
So while our two peak baggers visited Orion, the remaining four of us slowly inched our way down the first scary bit of the walk. I was not expecting this bit of exposure on the track today, so with friendly encouragement and shaky legs I found my way down to the boardwalk only to have the vegetation trying to push me off the edge anyway. By the time I arrived at the Lake I was soaked with sweat, a mixture of fear and it was just so uncomfortably hot. The boots were soon off before it was clothes and all in the Lake to cool down.
Day 4 and a pattern was emerging. Enjoy a beautiful dawn before sweating it out up another hill. But then at the top of the hill prepare to be gob smacked at what lies around you. The way ahead today scared the living daylights out of me but it was onwards all the same. We scrambled up towards Pegasus before coming to a spot where you had to pop up through a hole. Not enough room to do it with packs on they had to be pushed up through the hole separately. Now this is where it helps to have strong men along.
Debate was had at the summit of Pegasus as to which tower was higher so some climbed both just to be sure. I was happy with the one that had the cairn on top. We descended to the south side of the ridge where we could clearly make out the track sidling across to the saddle before Mt Capricorn. The only concern was how the heck do you get across those bits where there doesn’t appear to be any track just rock dropping away below. When we did actually get to those bits it wasn’t as bad as it looked, yes it was sloping rock and yes there were big drops below, but there was enough to hold onto to make your way across safely. I was glad we had dry hot days at this particular point in time, Bring on the heat!
After Mount Capricorn we lunched in the shade of a cave where I can actually say it got a little cool after sitting in there for a while. A steep climb down into the saddle where we looked back in disbelief at where we had just come from. Definitely mountain goat territory. Again our peak baggers left us to climb Dorado peak while the remaining three of us sweated our way through hot scrub to finally enjoy the boardwalk leading into High Moor. Tent platforms had never looked so inviting to me before.
Day 5 and the Beggary Bumps, a hot day and no water along the way, meant the pack gained weight again with extra water. The usual up started pleasantly enough before the first bump, the valley below was full of cloud and the suns rays shone out from behind Federation Peak. Tilted Chasm had us using the rope for the packs. And the Dragon gave us a navigation challenge finding the right valley to descend. The day was long and tuff and if you weren’t going up you were going down or around or something and by this stage I was longing for some flat walking. The descent off Mount Taurus was a final challenge in the day before heading across to Haven Lake and another refreshing swim.
Day 6 An early morning thunderstorm had me bolting from bed to put the fly on my tent just in case the heavens opened. It was all just a light show and noise though and the hot northerly wind continued to blow along with the smell of smoke on it (A fire near the Walls). The haze took the clearness away from our views, although the views were still plenty anyway. By now we were taking the down climbs in our stride, although the battle scars incurred meant you could amuse yourself by making ‘dot to dot’ picture shapes with the bruises on my legs. Lake Sirona was admired and Mount Scorpio was scaled for the all important standing out on the rock shot that one member had been waiting for. Then before long we were heading down Kappa Moraine. We reached the junction where we turned off to continue the full traverse. I must admit at this point in time the track down to the plains was slightly inviting but no point carrying out several days uneaten food.
Almost immediately the track became less well defined and in sections a lot more scratchy scrub to fight through. Walking in shorts was not a good option. We reached Promontory Lake but it seemed to be an endless lake to reach the south east corner where we would camp. The weather had turned and we were soon being buffeted by squally winds for the afternoon.
Day 7 we had our first sleep in due to inclement weather so we didn’t leave camp until almost 9am. The walk today was no tougher than what we’d already done but for some reason I found this my toughest day and really struggled through it.
Maybe it was the later start or being physically tired from 7 days of hard walking or just getting too damn old for this *&%$#! but basically I just did not want to be there. So today being memorable for all the wrong reasons there is not a lot to say other than being very pleased to see Lake Rosanne.Day 8 and I had made plans overnight to give my gear away when I got home but in the mean time I was going to get up and continue walking. Lake Rosanne was dark with reflections when we left, perhaps in some ways it mirrored the way I was feeling. The track down to the plains wasn’t as knee jarring as I thought and in no time at all we were back onto the plains and the occasional boot eating bog hole. We found our way through the braided creek crossings to the Lucmans Lead track and made it as far as 7 mile creek to camp.
Day 9 and the Western Arthur Range was aglow in the morning sunshine. The sky was a clear brilliant blue and wisps of cloud sat low across the plains in front of the range. The buttongrass was golden and the day was perfect.
In summary I’d say this was one of the hardest walks I have ever done. Each and every day had its own challenges, to quote one of my fellow walkers it was ‘A Hamburger with the Lot’ and a pretty damn good one at that.
Mount Anne
We were lucky enough to get through the full traverse and have a few days still up our sleeve so after a rest day at Edgar Dam we set off to revisit Mount Anne. I had attempted Mount Anne with one of the other group members two years earlier and despite having fabulous conditions at the time did not make it to the top. Yep I got scared. This time I was determined to not let fear get in my way and since then we had also read notes on an easier summit route.
In yet brilliant weather again, how lucky can one be, we spent a lazy afternoon at High Hut to watch a beautiful sunset over the Arthurs. Very Special.
The next morning we enjoyed our trip across the Eliza Plateau, the tarns and plant life being every bit as wonderful as I remembered from the last trip although it did seem a little drier. No wonder after the hot week we’d had. Upon reaching Mount Anne we followed a cairned route to a gully on the North West side of the summit. This gully took us to the top where I happily posed for the obligatory summit photo.
Photo's to follow.
