Mt Wedge

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Mt Wedge

Postby Vern » Sun 20 Mar, 2011 11:47 am

This won't be detailed but will give anyone wanting to go up there an idea of the track. A few pictures at the bottom of this post.

Mt Wedge sits in between Lake Pedder and Lake Gordon and has views over most of the surrounding peaks from the Sentinels, Mt Anne, Mt Field West etc etc....Overall a great view of the area from the top. It is a constant climb all the way and is great excercise! My legs are hurting today :shock:

The track starts from a car park off Gordon Road about 12km past the Scotts Peak intersection. It is a well signed car park and you can't miss it. The track starts on the Nature Walk circuit which has small signs along the way describing various vegitation. Part way around the circuit there's another track that is signed to Mt Wedge, 5hrs return. It took us 5 hours carrying a todler and having about an hour break at the summit.

Take this track till it gets to the forestry road/fire trail. Take a left turn and walk for a few minutes along the road. I can't believe Forestry have logged along here...it looks devistating and is a bit ironic given that you have to walk through the Nature Walk before you get there.

On the right hand side of the road is the entrance to the Mt Wedge track. It is currently signed but the signs are degrading. The track itself was easy to see and once on the track it is well worn with plenty on reflective markers along the way.

It only takes a few minutes from the car park to this point. The track starts in the wooded area that is pretty easy walking with the odd fallen tree to navigate. There are no views for quite a while along this section. It's one of those walks where you can't see anything until you almost hit the top. And when you get there it all becomes worth the effort.

Speaking of effort, the incline from the start continues until you hit the rock outcrop at the top. I mapped the walk on mapmyrun.com and it gives the incline at about 1/5. The track overall climbs about 750m over 3.5kms.

The forest changes slightly as you head up and it's worth doing some tree spotting to keep yourself entertained on this section. The track then enters an overgrown area with long grasses, celery top pines and some candlestick richeas (I think that's what they are called)...they have a tendency to strip layers from your skin if you're not careful. The flowers on these are edible but to me they just taste like I'm eating a tree. Much nicer just to look at them.

This overgrown section was a little troubling for my todler who cracked it when something flung back at her face. I had to put her and the pack on my front side to keep her protected. Great for her, not so good for my back!

After a short section of overgrown forest the view comes into sight and some alpine vegitation appears. It's not far then to the rocky outcrop and the summit of Mt Wedge. A short scramble up the rocky area and the incline eases off. It is then a few minutes easy walking to the summit. The summit is quite flat but you don't have to walk far to get views in any direction. There is plenty of low lying vegitation around that is easy to navigate. Some Pineapple Grass which has a very tasty red berry is spring. Bit of a warning here though...always check reliable sources before eating any bush tucker...but you knew that anyway!

There is a helipad and a transmission booth at the top of the Mountain. Soem people say this ruins the feeling of remoteness. I found the helipad great for letting my toddler run around and use up some energy. It was also a nice platform to have lunch. For me the highlight of the walk is not the summit itself but the views that you get from the summit.

The walk down is the reverse of what I just wrote. Overall, the walk was ok and the views were great from the top.

Here's a few pics from the trip to give you an idea. No pics from the forested area though.

5538970713_d54d2aa208_b.jpg
View over the Sentinels

5539560174_f5743b92ca_b.jpg
View over Lake Gordon

5539550372_b3571a197f_b.jpg
Mt Wedge Summit
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Vern
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Re: Mt Wedge

Postby GerryDuke » Sun 20 Mar, 2011 10:11 pm

Thanks Vern. Nice report. On my to do list.

Gerry
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Re: Mt Wedge

Postby doogs » Mon 21 Mar, 2011 4:07 am

Great report Vern. How did you go carrying your youngster?
Do you want to build a snowman?
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Re: Mt Wedge

Postby Vern » Mon 21 Mar, 2011 3:53 pm

Carrying my little girl was tough. My legs are still letting me know about it. Trying to make the duck unders and big steps smooth so she wasn't getting jerked around and moving around to prevent the branches etc swatting her in the face meant that I did alot of squats on the track. The track was a good climb but having her to accomodate made me work even harder! Probably the hardest part of the trip was after she let me know she was car sick on the trip there. Needless to say that when we got back in the car after it had been sitting in the sun all day it was 'Windows down!' :shock:
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Re: Mt Wedge

Postby north-north-west » Wed 23 Mar, 2011 10:02 pm

You forgot to mention the piles of poisoned grain left on the forestry road, and all the dead animals.
"Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens."
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