Barn Bluff Report

[Rolli]

Last weekend I climbed Barn Bluff as a day trip from Ronny Creek.

Had amazing views of sunrise on the Fagus as I passed Crater Lake, and lovely views again around Marion's Lookout. From that point south I had limited visibility all the way to the summit of BB which was disappointing. However, on the return trip a lot of cloud/fog cleared and there were fantastic views out to the east.

Instead of returning via the OLT, I decided to go via Lake Rodway, mainly because the eastern views were good, but the west was still foggy. The latter part of the Lake Rodway track (heading North) provided spectacular views of the eastern side of Cradle Mountain, but apart from that I found the state of the track to be frustrating and I certainly won't be using it again.

It was wonderfully clear from the area of the ranger hut, all the way back to Dove Lake where I caught the shuttle out.

It only took 3 hours and 15 minutes to the summit of BB from Ronny Creek, and the whole walk was about 7 hours in total, covering 25km.

[stepbystep]

Last weekend I climbed Barn Bluff as a day trip from Ronny Creek.

Had amazing views of sunrise on the Fagus as I passed Crater Lake, and lovely views again around Marion's Lookout. From that point south I had limited visibility all the way to the summit of BB which was disappointing. However, on the return trip a lot of cloud/fog cleared and there were fantastic views out to the east.

Instead of returning via the OLT, I decided to go via Lake Rodway, mainly because the eastern views were good, but the west was still foggy. The latter part of the Lake Rodway track (heading North) provided spectacular views of the eastern side of Cradle Mountain, but apart from that I found the state of the track to be frustrating and I certainly won't be using it again.

It was wonderfully clear from the area of the ranger hut, all the way back to Dove Lake where I caught the shuttle out.

It only took 3 hours and 15 minutes to the summit of BB from Ronny Creek, and the whole walk was about 7 hours in total, covering 25km.

Most of the tracks in Tasmania are similar(or worse) than the Lake Rodway track. You'll be missing out on heaps of great walks if you are expecting well constructed tracks...I love the backside of Cradle. Barn is a nice mountain and a fun climb. Good time!

[Tortoise]

Most of the tracks in Tasmania are similar(or worse) than the Lake Rodway track. You'll be missing out on heaps of great walks if you are expecting well constructed tracks

I was thinking the same thing. Sure, there are some great walks on well-constructed tracks, but by far the most special places that I've enjoyed in Tassie are on tracks much worse than the Lake Rodway track, or where there's no track. I guess it all depends on what you're after. I confess that in the middle of the clean-up from my latest muddy walk with some tiring scrubbiness, I won't mind going somewhere that I might see other people and can 'just walk'. But I can't wait for the next exciting adventure...

[Rolli]

I've certainly had tougher walks; Frenchman's Cap for example. My point is that given the excellent state of the OLT and the Dove Lake tracks, the Rodway track is just waiting to claim an inexperienced ankle, wrist, or knee from those who are expecting to find similar quality to what they've been walking on to get to the Rodway track (ie. day tripping tourists). Not sure if it's always been in this state; looked like it'd had no attention in years. That said, it had poured the day before which didn't help. North of Scott Kilvert hut was fine.

[Tortoise]

Hey Rolli,
Sorry I didn't get your point. I suspect, though, that there wouldn't be many day-tripping tourists who make it that far to do the circuit around Cradle. I can't remember if they have any notes on the info maps or signage at the junctions to say 'rough and steep', like they did on the 'goat track' direct from Dove Lake to Marions before they upgraded it. (Edit: maybe they still have those signs! Can't remember.) Probably not a bad idea to do that, as the Lake Rodway track is in the daywalk area.
Anyway, it sounds like you had a good day in a classic place, with some great highlights even without all the views from Barn. It might need another visit. Emmett is also fun, for a different perspective on things, if you don't mind LOTS of rocks and a bit of scrub...

[philm]

The lake Rodway track is good compared to most. Let's not expect too much as it is great the way it is. I would say some sections of the Overland can be worse in wet conditions
Compared to many other tracks in Tassie it is 8/10
If we make it too good then more inexperienced people may use it and this could result in more accidents
We took the track in May as an alternative start of the Overland and stayed at Scott Kilvert hut overnight. Ended up being about 12 of us in the hut everyone apart from me was from Tasmania doing a weekend walk. We had a great time.