That Mad Belgian

Tasmania specific bushwalking discussion.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby Overlandman » Fri 14 Sep, 2018 7:38 pm

Day 42

14 Sept. 1,5h writing & research tests this morning then walked to road/Pedder Lake where a police officer was waiting. We discussed plan. Nice sun. Paddled against the wind, slow.

Go Lou-Phi :D

Links

https://eur-share.inreach.garmin.com/louphi

http://www.louis-philippe-loncke.com
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby mikeb » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 6:39 am

Wind was good early but now increasing...
http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDT60801 ... 5958.shtml

Hope he gets moving soon to get as far as possible before the trough crosses this afternoon
http://www.bom.gov.au/tas/forecasts/west.shtml
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby wildwanderer » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 8:19 am

Does anyone know what tent he is using? Also rain gear etc..

Be very interesting so see a equipment list and what worked and what didnt at the end of his trip. This journey is certainly an excellent test of equipment under harsh and prolonged conditions.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby doogs » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 8:30 am

Not sure about tent, but his rain gear is his rafting dry suit.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby slparker » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 9:10 am

davidn3875 wrote:As one of many (I suspect), who are vicariously walking with Louphi on his amazing expedition, I am disappointed in the debate regarding unsupported/un-resupplied aspects of his challenge. It is detracting from the amazing physical challenges faced and overcome. I applaud his achievements and hope that there are young people who will be inspired to test them selves and push their boundaries as a result of Louphi.
May I also send appreciation to jmac and the many others who have provided the benefit of their experience of the terrain that is being travelled through to Louphi and we vicarious armchair bushwalkers.

+1
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That Mad Belgian

Postby jmac » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 9:31 am

The tent is a German brand I don't recall; small but it looked fine; similar quality to most leading brands. Lou-Phi showed it to me before departure. It looked well constructed, in fact a bit heavier than I'd have liked for a 1-person tent. Has a small side vestibule. Does he have a list of sponsors on his website? It's probably on there.

The Kokatat drysuit is a superb piece of equipment. They retain body heat brilliantly in hypothermic conditions. He also has a basic but reasonable shell-style raincoat, and originally his plan was to limit the use of the drysuit to paddling by using the raincoat for bad weather on land. We know that he has been giving the drysuit plenty of use, so I hope it hasn't developed too many pinholes. His is a fairly robust model but they all start to leak if you scrub-bash in them. :)

Confirming earlier speculation that Lou-Phi's personal deadline is to beat the equinox, as he sees that as the end of winter. I don't think it matters an iota if he goes over; he's copped a huge dose of winter, and the forecast ahead shows there's plenty to come.

Hope he can safely negotiate the expected wind on the lake.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby bushwalker zane » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 10:01 am

Thanks for that info John. Man, these drysuits look amazing! https://kokatat.com/ It will be interesting to see how much damage it sustained if he did wear it for a good bit of his scrub bashing.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby north-north-west » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 10:48 am

davidn3875 wrote:As one of many (I suspect), who are vicariously walking with Louphi on his amazing expedition, I am disappointed in the debate regarding unsupported/un-resupplied aspects of his challenge. It is detracting from the amazing physical challenges faced and overcome.


Well, no.
He aimed at unsupported and unresupplied. To some extent it depends on exactly what he meant by those terms but, as he likes to put his name in the record books, it's fair to debate what does or does not qualify. And I agree with jdeks - OK, he only picked up two items (that we know of) but they were pieces of equipment he lost and has replaced from external sources. That is a resupply.
And before anyone says we're being really picky about this - hey, at least we aren't pointing out that, technically, water is a consumable and as he has been collecting water all the way through instead of carrying it, "unresupplied" was out the window the first time he dipped a bottle into a creek.

"Unsupported" is trickier to define in this context. The only thing I quibble about is the ongoing route advice from jmac (as well as nipping into a shop to buy something). Possible adjustments to the route due to time, weather, terrain and conditions should have been well canvassed and laid out prior to departure. None of this would have been unexpected to anyone who had a look at his planned route and schedule, so he should have been prepared for it.
I don't have an issue with GPS navigation, with weather data and forecasts from an app, with using hardened tracks and MVOs. (After all, part of the PCT follows a public road, and much of the Dial Range section is on old vehicle tracks.)

But kudos where they're due - he's done a phenomenal job to get as far as he has given the challenges he's faced, and I hope he does make it to the south coast.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby Orion » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 11:10 am

north-north-west wrote:
davidn3875 wrote:As one of many (I suspect), who are vicariously walking with Louphi on his amazing expedition, I am disappointed in the debate regarding unsupported/un-resupplied aspects of his challenge. It is detracting from the amazing physical challenges faced and overcome.


Well, no.
He aimed at unsupported and unresupplied. To some extent it depends on exactly what he meant by those terms but, as he likes to put his name in the record books, it's fair to debate what does or does not qualify. And I agree with jdeks - OK, he only picked up two items (that we know of) but they were pieces of equipment he lost and has replaced from external sources. That is a resupply.
And before anyone says we're being really picky about this - hey, at least we aren't pointing out that, technically, water is a consumable and as he has been collecting water all the way through instead of carrying it, "unresupplied" was out the window the first time he dipped a bottle into a creek.

"Unsupported" is trickier to define in this context. The only thing I quibble about is the ongoing route advice from jmac (as well as nipping into a shop to buy something). Possible adjustments to the route due to time, weather, terrain and conditions should have been well canvassed and laid out prior to departure. None of this would have been unexpected to anyone who had a look at his planned route and schedule, so he should have been prepared for it.
I don't have an issue with GPS navigation, with weather data and forecasts from an app, with using hardened tracks and MVOs. (After all, part of the PCT follows a public road, and much of the Dial Range section is on old vehicle tracks.)

But kudos where they're due - he's done a phenomenal job to get as far as he has given the challenges he's faced, and I hope he does make it to the south coast.


++1

Put an asterisk next to his achievement, whatever it ultimately is. It's still pretty dang impressively crazy.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby GPSGuided » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 11:17 am

He is ‘mad’! Question now is, how would the next guy ‘beat’ his record?
Just move it!
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That Mad Belgian

Postby jmac » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 11:28 am

Regarding route advice; yes I showed him some good lines on the map before he started; that was just common sense to gain some local insight as part of his planning. The main two route suggestions I gave before departure he didn't use anyway. One was Gell junction to near Innes High Rocky then Font, Shining etc to Pleaides ridge, the other was Gordonvale to the col between Denisons and Stepped Hills then Boyes Basin. His route from Gell to Curly to L Gordon was entirely his.

We only messaged each other twice before the Gell-Curly region. Firstly in the Leven Canyon, where he cheerfully declined the small handful of snacks I left for him on the track, then from Derwent Bridge to confirm he was good to continue after his Derwent problem.

Then none until we swapped messages while he was half-way between the Gell River and Lake Curly. For the few route suggestions I sent by inReach, he chose alternatives anyway. Sometimes to his detriment, such as the descent from Pokana junction; but his decision to go up Perambulator to Curly was arguably better than my suggestion to continue up the Gell to Badger Flat.

In summary you could argue that he hasn't used any of the route support offered along the way.

Not that it matters. It's all just a game of self-actualisation. I think Maslow would approve.

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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby NickMonk » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 12:04 pm

What I don't really understand is his late departure times each day. I know he has some scientific stuff to do, and of course weather considerations, but I would have thought he'd want to maximise the light each day. That's even more relevant now considering the race to the end, and the fact his head torch is dead.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby north-north-west » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 12:11 pm

NickMonk wrote:What I don't really understand is his late departure times each day. I know he has some scientific stuff to do, and of course weather considerations, but I would have thought he'd want to maximise the light each day. That's even more relevant now considering the race to the end, and the fact his head torch is dead.


Weather is almost always worse first thing, and it's colder and thus harder to get up and get dressed and packed. I can relate to that. It's pretty vile today and he may not move at all given where he is, 'cause Serpentine Reach would be copping the worst of it.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby AndyR » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 1:07 pm

Well he's moving but Scotts Peak is registering a constant 40kn gusting nearly 60 - not sure that's the smartest decision irrespective of what direction it is :(
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby bernieq » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 1:11 pm

Yep - he's off again ! Latest obs have winds are 70kph, gusting 106kph. He's rounded the point and will have the wind directly behind him so it will be a quick trip (if he isn't swamped) - a waypoint at the point south of Serpentine Is.

Good luck!

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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby north-north-west » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 1:12 pm

If the wind is still NW it'll give him a nice boost around to Bonnet Bay. Be interesting to see which side of Solitary he goes.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby AndyR » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 1:17 pm

Meteye is forecasting the SW change in the next hour or so. rather him than me!
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby jdeks » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 1:24 pm

north-north-west wrote:Well, no.
He aimed at unsupported and unresupplied. To some extent it depends on exactly what he meant by those terms but, as he likes to put his name in the record books, it's fair to debate what does or does not qualify. And I agree with jdeks - OK, he only picked up two items (that we know of) but they were pieces of equipment he lost and has replaced from external sources. That is a resupply.
And before anyone says we're being really picky about this - hey, at least we aren't pointing out that, technically, water is a consumable and as he has been collecting water all the way through instead of carrying it, "unresupplied" was out the window the first time he dipped a bottle into a creek.

"Unsupported" is trickier to define in this context. The only thing I quibble about is the ongoing route advice from jmac (as well as nipping into a shop to buy something). Possible adjustments to the route due to time, weather, terrain and conditions should have been well canvassed and laid out prior to departure. None of this would have been unexpected to anyone who had a look at his planned route and schedule, so he should have been prepared for it.
I don't have an issue with GPS navigation, with weather data and forecasts from an app, with using hardened tracks and MVOs. (After all, part of the PCT follows a public road, and much of the Dial Range section is on old vehicle tracks.)

But kudos where they're due - he's done a phenomenal job to get as far as he has given the challenges he's faced, and I hope he does make it to the south coast.



Yep, better worded than my own statement.

The unsupported criteria, as I think LouPhi has already alluded to, is pretty hard to define and even then, rather arbitrary. Without defining it before the step-off, everyone could quibble about it until the end of days without reaching a consensus.

The unsupplied criteria I think is a bit more determinate. Whilst maybe theres some room for debate about the collection of raw consumables (hey, if water is a supply, then is oxygen too?), I think it's pretty reasonable to say that collecting a manufactured, man-made tool mid-trip is a 'supply'. To say that it isn't opens a precendent that could undermine the 'unresupplied ' title as a whole.

I don't see how pointing this out this somehow detracts or disrespects his undertaking though. All of his journey still stands there in its own right for what it is, regardless of what criteria it did or didn't meet.

More to the point, I think the best way to respect not only his achievement, but also the achievement of future trekkers, is to be accurate and honest. Louphi is on track to be the first guy to trek solo, with no food resupply from the north coast to the southwest, in winter. He deserves that record. And if the next person who tries this manages to do so without needing new kit halfway, then they too deserve credit for being the first to do it fully unresupplied, then they deserve that credit just as much.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby Warin » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 5:47 pm

AndyR wrote:Meteye is forecasting the SW change in the next hour or so. rather him than me!


I think he found the change challenging. 1.50pm stopped, 1.45 pm .. 7 km/h!
If the weather lets up he'll probably be off again this evening.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby wildwanderer » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 7:41 pm

.
http://www.louis-philippe-loncke.com/
day 42 - update from John
"Louis-Philippe today passed from Lake Gordon to Lake Pedder, an important milestone. Conditions have been très difficile, and the police have been very worried about his condition. They have been liaising with me seriously this past week with thought to enhancing L-P's safety. They wanted him to retire. Today they met him as he crossed a rare road and were pleased with his condition; stronger than they had feared. If L-P can safely cross Lake Pedder tomorrow; I think he will complete the journey, but it is dangerous. It has been a draining but magnificent achievement so far.

Best regards,

John in Tasmania."
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby warnesy » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 7:42 pm

This guy is amazing. Great fun following this thread!


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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby jmac » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 8:06 pm

That was a background email I sent to L-P'S home support team in Belgium; not intended for publication. Surprised they just copied it directly to L-P'S blog.

Very glad he stayed on Serpentine Island after that 7km/hr short blast. Hope he has some shelter from the wind.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby Overlandman » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 8:21 pm

Day 43

15 Sept. Crashing waves made me capsize passing the tip of the peninsula. Fun! Relaunched and padlled. Later on the wind was too strong, with 2m waves. Had to stop on island. Now, please, Tasmania, send Margot Robbie with pizza & beer.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby wildwanderer » Sat 15 Sep, 2018 9:07 pm

Overlandman wrote:Day 43

15 Sept. ~Snip~ Now, please, Tasmania, send Margot Robbie with pizza & beer.


:lol: I do wonder after all the scrub bashing and hauling such a heavy ponderous load.. if the lake paddling (despite the severe wind/wave conditions) seems like a holiday in comparison. Seems his spirits are much improved. Go Louis!
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby north-north-west » Sun 16 Sep, 2018 9:39 am

Day 43... Now, please, Tasmania, send Margot Robbie with pizza & beer.


Pizza and beer I can bring down to Scotts Peak for you. Organising Margot would be harder -- and I'm not really a fair substitute although, given how long you've been out bush, are you really that picky?

Keeping the pizza hot will be the hard bit.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby mikeb » Sun 16 Sep, 2018 11:09 am

He’s off again - making good time at 5km/h
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby MrWalker » Sun 16 Sep, 2018 11:31 am

north-north-west wrote:
Day 43... Now, please, Tasmania, send Margot Robbie with pizza & beer.

Keeping the pizza hot will be the hard bit.

It's so hard to know exactly when he'll arrive that the pizza might get overdone if you keep it hot. Better to make it a frozen pizza.

I got excited when he almost set off at 6:07am today, but he must have had a second look at the waves and realised he might get swamped again. However, he is off now, trying to avoid getting pushed onto the eastern bank. It may be a bit rough out in the middle if he goes for the more sheltered western side, so it will be interesting to see if he can avoid getting pushed into any bays coming down the east.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby jmac » Sun 16 Sep, 2018 12:13 pm

Passing Kostka Point on a breezy day in a double kayak:

https://youtu.be/5ym8PD-ndz0

The watercraft is very different, but Louise-Philippe will have to be similarly careful of the following seas and some nasty offshore rocks as he approaches the point.

(Taken on a 3 day trip to the Citadel/Moat region of the Franklands with Matt B. last year.)

PS: I had to Google Margot Robbie; had never heard of her! Thought she might have been a past expedition partner of L-P's. Seems unlikely. :)
Last edited by jmac on Sun 16 Sep, 2018 3:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby north-north-west » Sun 16 Sep, 2018 12:37 pm

Well, if he keeps that up he'll be at Scotts Peak today.
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Re: That Mad Belgian

Postby Mountain Rocket » Sun 16 Sep, 2018 12:59 pm

Interesting territory John thanks for that video, it gives an indication of how steep the shore is and was definitely not expecting so many exposed rocks.
For those that don't realise that video jmac shared is from the section between Terminal Peak and Mt Solitary, which presumably (hopefully) L-P will head through today.
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