frenchmans

[Darren]

G'Day
Just got back from a trip to frenchmans. Got some classic Tassie weather and had to abort my through trip but still had a great time
My pack for 5 days 4 nights and my Korean muscle car

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Classic Lodden ( I'm told) dry socks both ways.

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creek beside trail to Tahune flowing hard

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[Darren]

come to the light

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The trail up the cap

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The view from the top, whatch that last step

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[Darren]

The trail to North Col the next Day

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The cap from Mt King William on Tuesday. It seemed like it was rubbing it in..

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Thanks to Nic and Adam for helping me with info. ( I will complete this)
Thanks to Phill for helping me out with gas
and thanks to Jason ( Wanderer ) who i met on the cap for the lift back to my car

I can't wait until next summer and my next trip. Maybe south coast, maybe...
Darren

[luke_vic]

Nice shots Darren. One question: how did you fit all your gear for 5 days in such a small pack?!

[Darren]

G'Day Luke
I travel light and make multiple use of all i take. For the same conditions i could go another 2 days as it would only be a little more food. Everyone does things their own way and thats mine
Darren

[the_camera_poser]

Do you have any sort of gear list? I'd love ot have that on my back for a one-day hike!

[luke_vic]

That's impressive that you pack so efficiently! Have you listed your gear list in the other part of the forum? If not, it would be great if you could share some tips and ideas.
Cheers,
Luke

[tasadam]

Nice shots Darren. One question: how did you fit all your gear for 5 days in such a small pack?!

That's not a little pack, that's a really really big car...

Glad you had a great time! Good to see the mud didn't disappoint.

[Darren]

G'Day
I can if your interested but I dont want to get involved in the gear arguments that are going on at the moment. I just keep to myself, do what i like, know what my limitations are, get out there and have fun. While other peoples gear lists are very interesting to me, it is their buisness and i wouldnt comment unless asked.
I'll see if i get a chance over the next week
Darren

[luke_vic]

That'd be great if you could post it, but if you don't want to get into the debates, you could private message me. Looks like you've got a good system worked out, that's all...

[flyfisher]

I think we'd rather think of it as gear discussions rather than arguments.
Hopefully we can all learn something from each other and see what other people are useing so things can be improved or changed if desired.
I would love to get my pack down to 12 or 14 kgs if I feel I can safely, and by comparing stuff we can all improve.
I won't criticise anyone else''s gear, but am curious to learn what is better or lighter than my current list.
Please feel confident to give us your basic list so we may all benefit.

FF

[Darren]

G'Day
I didn’t mean to come across surly sorry. It will be no probs to put together my list.
On the trip itself it was raining so hard on the way to Tahune I felt like a trout swimming upstream. On baron pass the wind was so strong that the hail was going up across the saddle which I thought was fairly special. Later that day on the cap it was howling and I laid down behind a little pile of rocks someone had built to ring my misus and she said it had been 44deg at home. Also the trig from the top has gone. Blown off? Stolen? After all the false summits climbing up in the wind and cloud i wasn’t sure if I was on the top until I found the old mounting points.
Best advice on the day told me that there was no way in hell id be able to pull off a solo swim across the Franklin after all the rain so I ended up on plan c and had a Tuesday day walk to king William.
I had been a bit down because of the forced change but kicking back on the summit on a beautiful 30deg day with the world around me for about an hour soon cured that.
Anyway it gives me another reason to come back (as if I needed one)
Darren

[flyfisher]

Hi Darren, yeh thats what Tassie weather can be like.On friday 16th we walked to Junction Lake in rain hail and snow, yet the following three days were perfect with blue sky and light wind.
Quite a contrast. This is what Tassie forum members try to convey to our northern friends and overseas visitors, that our weather can be dangerous.
If you had been underprepared on your trip it could have given you a problem.
Great to see that you thought the weather added a different dimension to your trip but you were still able to enjoy it.

FF

[dplanet]

We were lucky with the weather in mid Feb this year. Had a swim at Vera Creek and Lake Tahune. Enjoyed lunch at Baron Pass with wonderful views of Lake Gertrude, Magdalen & Millicent and the facecliff of the Frenchmans. The day we walked up to the summit was also rewarding. It was a bit cloudy early morning; but clear later on. We could see Lake Burbury, Macquarie Habour, Deception Range and Clytemnestra from the summit where an ultralight pocket Sony radio was helpful to provide us weather forecast for the next few days walking from Tahune to Irenabyss, Mary Creek Plain, Flat Bluff then Maud Creek.

Based on recent experience with the Frenchmans circuit, for those who are as tall as I am or shorter (160cm) and plan to go solo, I would suggest of a light 6-metre rope because there are two to three sections at which you need to lower your pack or pull it up. In relation to water, it was difficult to find water on high camp because the scrub in the gully was very thick. Carry water with you from Franklin River.

[Darren]

G'Day Dplanet
Good to see you had nice weather, Im jealous
Where did you need to pack haul? How did you find high camp? I was planing to camp there.
Thanks
Darren

[dplanet]

Sorry for all the info and photos deleted. For safety reason i tried.