30/12/1984 – 12/01/1985   Scotts Peak Dam – Moraine A – Lake Cygnus – Square Lake – High Moor – Haven Lake – Lake Sirona – Promontory Lake – McKays Track – Huon Camping Area – Scotts Peak

                                                Western Arthurs, Southwest National Park, TASMANIA

Participants: Jenny Brunker, Peter Davies, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Trish Law, Dave Whitelaw

Jenny, Peter and Stephen had big plans for an 18 day traverse of the Western Arthurs, Eastern Arthurs and Picton Range. Trish and Dave were joining us for the Western Arthurs. With meticulous planning we were carrying all 18 days of food, Peter and I had 28.6kg packs and Jenny 26.8kg. Needless to say the best laid plans don’t always come off, as possibility the worst summer weather for 30 years presented some very big challenges.

Distance: 74km   Total Ascent: 5000m   Total Descent: 5000m   Time: 47 hours 

Friday 7/12/1984   Some early planning

I researched some outdoors and nutrition books which suggested an energy expenditure of 19,000kJ per day for a 75kg person carrying a 20kg pack up an average incline of 5 degrees at 33kJ/minute for 90 hours over 18 days and searched supermarket and deli for suitable foods.

– Prepared nutrition sheets.

– Compared fuel usage of Trangia 44g/L and Optimus 13g/L (the later being a clear winner).

– Drew the proposed route onto photocopied maps.

The Western and Eastern Arthurs Route            Elevation Profile

Planned Itinery

 

Saturday 19/12/1984

Cooked and dried 860g meat, 980g silverside steak, 380g chicken

 

Sunday 20/12/1984

Made pemmican, went for a 1 hour training work with laden 63L pack.

 

24 and 27/12/1984

Went for training walks up Mount Keira

 

Saturday 29/12/1984

Finalised all food & equipment. Last minute shopping added salami and 3kg lollies. Mum drove us to the airport where we met Jenny Brunker. Our three packs weighed in at 62.8kg (minus hand luggage). We left on a small 75 seat F28 East-West Airlines flight to Hobart. The clouds cleared at the Tasmanian coastline yielding superb views of the sun setting over vast areas of the South-West, including our walking areas.

We were picked up by Kathy and her folks whom we stayed with for the night. A final re-organization of our packs had both Peter’s and mine weighing in at 63lbs (28.6kg) each and 59lb (26.8kg) for Jenny.

 

Day 1: Sunday 30/12/1984   Scotts Peak Dam – Moraine A

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1984-12-30.gpx                         Track Info

 

Returned to Hobart after breakfast to meet up with Trish and Dave who had arrived just in time to catch our TAG coach to Scotts Peak Dam. There were 17 on board with another bus to follow. Arrived at Scotts Peak at 1:00pm.

Five hours into our first day we had arrived at the base of the Western Arthurs. The scenery on the way in was very impressive, as was the day’s weather. Got through 15 photos. The track in was as I had remembered it from the 1975-76 trip, deeply trenched and very muddy some with extra deep spots. Much more undulating than I had recalled. With some effort Peter managed to keep his shoes clean. I, however, walked through lots of mud and ended up with caked on layers of the stuff, at least I was worn in.

We had been jockeying positions with one group of five and another of six from our bus all the way in before sharing a campsite below Moraine A with two other tents.

Dinner (with ratings): TVP 0/10, Enchilada mix & vegetables, Peter and Jenny couldn’t eat it, French Onion Soup 6/10, Lollies 10/10, Barvarian Cream 10/10, Milo 8/10

At 9:22pm was there still enough light to see by, with a few clouds rolling in around the peaks during the evening.

“The most predominant thing that sticks in my mind and on my boots, gaiters, legs, etc, etc … from today would have to be the MUD!!! Yuck! mud and messy boots. The best thing I could say about the TVP for dinner would be ___________. Thank goodness of chocky barbarians.” Jenny

 

Day 2: Monday 31/12/1984   Moraine A – Lake Cygnus

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1984-12-31.gpx                         Track Info

 

We got up rather late to a morning mist hanging over all the mountains. Mega-mozzies ready to attack just outside our tent. The other two parties had left well before we even considered getting out of bed (we were still in REM sleep). Unfortunately we discovered an extra pack of brown sugar was missing from this mornings porridge, yuck! Couldn’t even eat it all.

Broke camp at 10:20am, much too late! The clouds had lifted and it had now become mega hot so we suffered all the way up onto the Western Arthur Range, drinking 3L between us in those two hours. Lunch on top.

Description of views “Wow” Peter,

“Would have to be ah Wow!” Jenny,

“Spectacular 360 degree views of entire South-West” Stephen,

“Fuckin’ hell, what are they saving the South-West for, what we saw was pretty shit-house”, Trish

“Thank god we’re up” Dave

Walked to the top of Mount Hesperus for brilliant 360 degrees views of everything. Slightly off track initially on way down, must go low around the rocky outcrop towards Lake Fortuna over two saddles before heading down into Lake Cygnus.

We managed a skinny dip on our arrival. The water wasn’t too bad but very dark brown from the tannin leached from the vegetation.

Impressed with the tremendous variety of wildflowers.

Arrived at 5:00pm – Walking time of 3 hours 50 minutes

Dinner: Cream of Tomato soup 7/10, Beef stroganoff (dried meat) 6/10, cheesecake 10/10

Apart from demolishing the whole cheesecake our New Years Eve celebrations were non-existent.

 

Day 3: Tuesday 1/1/1985   Lake Cygnus – Square Lake

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1985-01-01.gpx                         Track Info

 

Porridge with brown sugar and Milo. Broke camp at 10:20am after all the usual delays.

Walking time of 3 hours 47 minutes excluding rest stops and side trips (guidebook 4 – 5 hours)

Did three side trips including the stops of Procyon Peak and Mount Sirius with their extra super-fantastic views of a rather rugged looking mountain range and the expansive wilderness far beyond.

The going began to get a bit rougher going down to Lake Oberon. One section we roped up and used knots to belay for a bit of extra security.

The morning mist had lifted as we left camp making the hill climbs hot work. This was never-the-less very worthwhile as we also got the views, unlike the party before us who left at 6:00am and didn’t see a thing.

“Excellent views from the top” Peter on Procyon Peak

There were millions of small skinks scampering around under and over the rocks, and our feet all day.

Peter was super-impressed by the sponginess of the very moist alpine meadows we crossed. The effect of repeated bushwalking traffic is painfully apparent, with each foot planted down tending to rip into the soft surface. The result of many parties was a very muddy path. This also resulted in people walking a little wide of the muddy sections, breaking up that as well, very sad.

The rough tracks mentioned in our guide book have become rather significant trails. The route finding problems mentioned are in fact now rather minimal. Foul weather though would make heaps of difference.

“Today we left Lake Cygnus a few hours after the other party again. The porridge was A1” Jenny

Lunch by Square Lake. Black bread and peanut butter with a little salami and cheddar cheese. A choice of Tang or Saline to flavour the water. We all thought Square Lake looked rather round until we reached the eastern side where perhaps one could be convinced otherwise.

Peter struggled a little under the heavy load today and dragged the chain a bit.

Dinner: Vesta chicken and paprika with potato croquettes 6/10, miso soup 4/10, stewed apples and custard 9/10, milo 8/10

 

Day 4: Wednesday 2/1/1984   Square Lake – High Moor

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1985-01-02.gpx                         Track Info

 

Awoke to the glorious sound of rain on the fly, so we rolled over and went back to sleep. Our travelling companions were also still about. It looked like being a thoroughly miserable day, low mist and rain.

It began to lift around 10:00am so we emerged and had breakfast. There was much indecision as to what we should do with everyone looking at everyone else for an answer. Noticing the Tasmanians had decided to pack and go we followed suit. In record time we were packed, leaving camp at the very early and respectable time of 12:30pm. “Shit, did we really do this!” Jenny.

Flashback – The other Victorian couple almost put us off todays attempt stressing how long and difficult it was, especially around Lake Uranus (it had taken them 6 hours and another party had taken 9).

As usual everyone was very patient waiting for Peter to pack up.

The weather closed in as soon as we had departed camp, making it look like we had made the wrong decision. A steep climb up through the clouds “saw” us on top of Mount Pegasus where the clouds lifted briefly to expose the beauty of the Arthurs Range.

Now down and around Lake Uranus. A lot of typical Tassie type vegetation encountered along with the many ups and downs. We were silly enough to think we wereover the worst of it. It was up and down all day, mostly through almost muddy tracks cut roughly through the tough native vegetation.

Lunch on Mount Capricorn saw us spot the Tasmanian group just ahead. Descending Mount Capricorn was very steep but not exactly as hard as expected. The climbing rope was left on the outside of my pack but not used all day, except for one “false alarm”.

As the troops were beginning to tire badly we were very glad to see High Moor but less than pleased to find five tents already pitched there. Our campsite was far from the best option of course.

Being freezing cold with a brisk chilly snow-like breeze made Peter run for cover and hide in the tent while I cooked his dinner.

Dinner: Spaghetti Bolognese 6/10, Chilli TVP with Indian popadoms 6/10, Vegetables 4/10, unset jelly 5/10, milo 8/10

The quick visit to Trish and Dave’s tent was very chilly.

 

Day 5: Thursday 3/1/1984   High Moor – Haven Lake

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1985-01-03.gpx                         Track Info

 

Rather heavy overnight rain with good breeze. A few small breaks in the clouds lead to some false hope as to the day’s weather outlook. We did manage an outside breakfast. No doubt about moving on as the prospect of staying a day or two in this bleak outpost was a bit too daunting. We were under way by 10:20am, 10 metres behind the Tasmanian group.

It didn’t take too long before the route became difficult and wet. The Beggary Bumps and The Dragon were passed under cold wet rainy conditions (not advised to anyone). The book’s description of a very complex route over a rough serrated crest is spot on. To this can be added that it becomes very dangerous when everything under foot is very wet. We all managed to lose our footing and slip many times during the day.

The rope was out four times for the steeper or wetter or muddy and steep sections. This proved its value when Peter slipped near the top of one climb when a muddy foothold gave way. He was left hanging in thin air. Fortunately none of us slipped on any other steep and potentially dangerous sections we tackled unroped. I almost lost it completely when one rock foothold broke off but other points of contact held and managed to save the day. I did come very close to landing on my face several times when my footings slipped.

The rope itself ended up soaking wet and covered in mud from use in one particularly muddy gully. Everyone felt a lot more secure with its use, at times almost hauling the girls up in several spots.

The day’s track consisted of constant ups and downs through rocky and muddy and bushy sections in all combinations but usually was mostly adequate in the way of hand-holds.

The day’s weather was best described as very unsettled. Thankfully, it did not rain continuously. Heavy showers during the day dampened everyone’s enthusiasm and drive. The wind which was rather cold sapped our strength, which had already been reduced by the previous days Gung Ho last minute effort to reach High Moor when the weather looked threatening. Navigation proved more difficult than it should have been – good fortune shone on us at lunchtime above Lake Minas. We had managed to find an overhang where we had a little shelter, despite remaining cold and wet. Two red tapes on trees and string across the track proved a little confusing. Fortunately Dave went back a bit for a pee and noticed the track actually went up a gully from there (and from which Peter subsequently fell). Later a missed cairn left us scurrying up a gully which came to a dead end and wasting another 10 minutes trying to find the track again.

Late afternoon saw us up on Mount Taurus. Fortunately the clouds lifted slightly and presented us with fantastic views back over the previous few days walking, rugged looking stuff.

Over the crest of Mount Taurus’ second peak the view proved very very disappointing as we now saw no less than five tents already there! Shit! Double shit!!

The Taswegians had arrived three hours ahead of us. Our campsite, no choice here, was on a small highly exposed ridge just above the lake. It might be Haven Lake to some, but not to us!

Despite the cold and wet conditions my other mud covered companions managed a wash in the lake. I chickened out, only doing hands and feet.

Dinner was great with a couple of bars 5/10, Vesta chicken supreme with added almonds and sultanas 8/10, milo and chocolate Bavarian mousse 9/10.

The only haven we found were our warm sleeping bags. The gusty winds kept the tent blowing around a lot during the night, constantly waking us up. Heaps of rock over the snow flaps stopping us from blowing away completely.

The alfafa sprouts started on Sunday were making hard work of the cool weather but we were all looking forward to the prospect of eating some later.

Dinner was cooked from the comfort of the sleeping bags, Jenny doing most of the work, including the washing up as usual.

The day was short on views being heavily misted over, ourselves included at times. The inclement weather meant we were very reluctant to stop and check maps to identify the various lake and mountains that did appear and I also kept the camera safely tucked away in a plastic bag.

Walking time: 7 hours 45 minutes arriving at Haven Lake at 7:30pm, 9:30 after leaving High Moor, what a day (and a half!)

 

Day 6: Friday 4/1/1985   Haven Lake – near Lake Sirona

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1985-01-04.gpx                         Track Info

 

We were woken by high winds and heavy rain many times during the night. Foul weather is here and it looks set in for a while.

Despite this minor problem and the fact that we were on a very exposed campsite and the Taswegians had moved out we decided to move on in order to find a more sheltered campsite. Some muesli and fruit saline for breakfast, the stove not being used. Anyway said goodbye to Trish and Dave who said they would follow in about an hour (I hope they didn’t).

The track has become very wet and dangerously slippery. Cold and gusty wind with rain blowing to about 80 knots from the north-west made travelling extremely unpleasant and quite dangerous and that was only getting to the top of the first hill above Haven Lake.

Gale force winds were experienced on the saddle on top, blowing us off our feet on numerous occasions. Sought shelter behind a big rock just below the saddle (where I lost my pen, the diary entries are now in black ink!) Checked out the map to find our location and check the route ahead, which was up and over the hill before descending via a steep gully to Lake Sirona. Sheltered in an overhang for lunch.

A lot of miserable searching around later we decided on a campsite behind a big rock. It took three to hold the tent down and peg it out. The climbing rope was used extensively around the poles to secure the tent to the ground, via both rocks and nearby scaparia bushes.

Once inside we tried for hours to dry it off. The whipping action of the tent made us very apprehensive. To say the least, we were scared shitless. Jenny and Peter both refused to leave the tent for anything. We considered our options and decided the tent had to bloody hold up as there was no alternative.

Dinner was entertaining. The first time I’ve ever seen a choofer lit inside a tent (“that was stupid” Peter). Chicken noodle curry 6/10, dried meat, rice and mushroom casserole 6/10, Milo.

The bellows action of the tent gyrations had an interesting effect on the steam generated by the stove, blowing it about in sympathy with it’s lateral motions.

We are all preying that the tent stays up through the night and that the weather eases. Tent interior pretty wet. Walked two hours today but it seemed way way longer than that.

 

Day 7: Saturday 5/1/1985   near Lake Sirona

What a miserable night!! Constant strong wind gusts kept us wondering whether or not we would have to evacuate to some imaginary location for shelter. The blowing of the tent constantly sprayed water over our sleeping bags leading to genuine concern for our safety. We only had one set of clothing, dried by our own body heat last night, to spare. Our goretex jackets were wet through on both sides.

At daybreak the weather didn’t appear to have improved at all but our lashing down of the tent with the climbing rope did a fantastic job of stabilising it, almost certainly preventing it from being blown away with us in it.

On at least two occasions the rain turned to sleet or sago. Fortunately, if not miraculously, we were all still warm and dry at 10:00am. The interior of the tent was saturated, especially the floor with pools of water in the lower corner. The drainage ditches hurriedly dug last night worked pretty well considering the totally saturated soil. We noted high pitched “yells” last night, some audio effect of the wind blowing past guy ropes?

Finally ventured outside after 10:00am just as the clouds appeared to be starting to break up, allowing for the first few rays of soft sunshine in three days.

“Am considered a hero by many following valiant attempts to cook breakfast outside the tent this morning. To date views are very excellent but weather turned shit–house. Steve has been his usual lazy self, trying to boss us about etc but we wont have a bar of it.” Peter

“Trip to date: I have found the Western Arthurs very spectacular and well worth the effort +++ of continually going up and down. Spirits somewhat dampened by the lousy weather at present however I can handle staying in a tent all day and eating but I hope it doesn’t last as I’ll go off my nanna!! heres hoping the tent stays up tonight – bye!!” Jenny

Trish and Dave rolled up about 11:00am with the weather still unsettled, oscillating at high frequency between rain, hail, wind, gale and sunshine.

Trish and Dave decided to get out via Moraine K post haste hoping to catch tomorrows bus to Hobart. Good luck!

Spent most of the day in the tent repacking food, especially lollies, into 3 day packages.

Honey cake 9/10, salami, sprouts and cheese for lunch.

Checking out wet gear which we couldn’t get dry due to ongoing showers.

Weather did seem to improve around midday with the winds abating and showers easing but had returned almost to last nights intensity by about 5:00pm. Collected some fresh, clean water from Lake Sirona after examining what I’d got from the creek yesterday. Peter collected some wood to put under packs and boots to get them out of the water.

Dinner: made up from spices bag, Mexicanna tomato paste (used too much), rice, wheat, peas, sultanas, pine nuts 7/10 too spicy otherwise would rate higher, apples and custard 8/10.

Looks distinctly as if we will have to abort part of the trip originally planned. Otherwise we’ll have very long days with none to spare for sitting out any more foul weather.

Boots totally saturated as are all our packs and goretex jackets. The contents have remained dry due to our use of plastic garbage bags as liners (just hope they stay free of holes).

“Guess what – we’re still here, the tent is still up, much to my surprise. I didn’t think it was going to when it took three people to hang onto it to put it up” Jenny

 

Day 8: Sunday 6/1/1985   near Lake Sirona

Another “rest day” – it just as easily could have been a R.I.P. day. After easing off somewhat yesterday afternoon the gusty winds and rain and sleet returned with vengeance yet again. The tent has a few scars to prove it and we thought we had reason to be concerned yesterday! Talk about wild weather, easily matches anything I’ve camped out in before.

Gusty, cold, windy, rainy, hail, sleet all morning. A great reluctance to venture from the still remarkably dry sleeping bags. Porridge and cuppa for breakfast at 11:30am.

Lunch of rye bread with salami, cheddar cheese and sprouts. Lollies all afternoon. Played cards all afternoon.

Highlights of the day, apart from the weather, were to our disbelief, Jenny venturing out and washing her hair in the lake. Peter spent five minutes outside all day while Stephen got out for about 20 minutes and took a couple of photos. Jenny tipped out half her dinner only to yell – thank god for that! The dried chicken needs a lot more rehydrating. Sweat and sour fried rice, chicken, almonds and sultanas 6/10, cheesecake 10/10, scrambled eggs 7/10 and milo.

“A feature of my Lake Sirona sleeping position was the large sharp edged rock which was located mid-back position” Stephen

“Rain, sleet, snow, hail, gusty winds with 2 minutes of sunshine today. Slept for 14 hours last night, expect similar tonight. Spirits still high despite piss weak weather. Stretch marks, water sodden, dirty, yucky and muddy, several rubbish piles, torn seams are all now well and truly part of the tent” Peter

“After Peter described the inside of the tent our landscape garden also needed to be elaborated on. As our front entrance we have a nice courtyard with trench, come swimming pool, plenty of mud, appropriate placed rocks for a rockery to hold down the tent and conceal offending objects. We’ve added a few splashes of colour with half of last nights dinner in a nice pile, also a few rehydrated sultanas contrasting nicely with the frothy remains of toothpaste. We also have put in an outdoor BBQ come choofer for entertainment and central heating if the tent catches alight. We love it so much we’re entering it in a “home beautiful” competition.” Jenny

 

Day 9: Monday 7/1/1985   near Lake Sirona – Promontory Lake

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1985-01-07.gpx                         Track Info

 

We awoke at 8:30am to an unusual calm. But still very misty outside and otherwise showing no promise. Sat down to porridge and milo for breakfast (again) and as it had recommenced raining and looking miserable we hoed into the last of the three day lolly pack, straight after breakfast.

Whilst on an early morning excursion I noticed silhouetted against the sky through the mist five walkers on the top of the steep gully down to the Lake. They wandered around a bit as if checking they had the correct route. They were going out via Moraine K, as did another party later in the day.

Midday the rain stopped so we took our chances and had a look around after I’d noticed Federation Peak off in the distance. Went up to the top of a hill towards Mount Scorpio and grabbed a few photos. From here we could see the snow capped peak of Mount Anne. Started to look a little more settled in the afternoon. After much deliberation and the realisation it was still possible to complete the planned trip we reluctantly packed all our wet gear and disappeared from a place we thought might be our end. The weather improved all through the afternoon. We arrived at our next campsite at 6:00pm after two hours of walking.

Views from Mount Scorpio stupendously superb especially after being stuck in a tent for four days. It felt good to be “alive” again.

Still heaps of water flowing over the tracks. The terrain has become much less severe. Vegetation also seems different with lots of different flowers around.

Promontory Lake was beautiful with lots of dead Huon pines around its shores. All the campsites were vacant. We selected the best of course, on eastern shore, under the cover of some vegetation by the lakeshore.

We also managed a fire for the first time on the entire trip. Most gear actually dried off really well on our backs during the afternoon walk, a rather enjoyable walking day all told.

Dinner: Pea and ham soup 9/10, Vesta sate beef and rice 8/10, milo 8/10 and a butterscotch self-saucing pudding 9/10 done to perfection by Jenny

We didn’t think we would sleep very well tonight as the floor was dry, the tent walls still and there was no howling wind or thumping of rain on the roof. Tonight we observed the clouds moving simultaneously in two different directions. The higher ones moving to the north and the nasty looking lower ones to the south-east.

Note: At High Moor we saw one walker carrying a full size shovel!

 

Day 10: Tuesday 8/1/1985   Promontory Lake

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1985-01-08b.gpx                         Track Info

 

Guess what, it started raining again at 5:00am, a steady drenching rain which continued until 10:00am. We were not sure why we had set the alarm for 7:00am.

Breakfast: Home brewed overnight soaked oats and fruit 9/10, milo or coffee and a whole packet of lollies straight afterwards whilst beginning our first game of 5,000 (by this time 500 had become much too short of a game to be bothered with) – (SEE RESULTS IN DIARY)

The rainy spells were very unpredictable and very disheartening.

Lunch: Ryebread 6/10, Salami 8/10, cheese 8/10, peanut butter 9/10, sprouts 8/10, mayonnaise 8/10

Decided to get out at 4:20pm as I couldn’t stand being tent bound any longer. Did our first side trip on which there was no track or track marks to Mount Canopus with the views as usual, superb.

Were very lucky taking 1 hour 10 minutes up and 40 minutes return with only a few spots of rain as we got back to the tent.

Dinner: Beef jerky 8/10, peanut sauce 6/10, spinach spaghetti 5/10, deb potatoes 6/10, apples, custard and sultanas 8/10.

Played cards until 10:30pm.

Strong gusty winds returned about dinner time along with more rain to haunt us. We saw one small native cat during dinnertime.

 

Day 11: Wednesday 9/1/1985   Promontory Lake

We have become accustomed to hearing sound of the wind howl through the trees then slamming into the tent. At the moment Jenny and Peter have assumed the foetal position, their sense of insecurity growing to overwhelming dimensions (This trip bearing elements of primordial regression).

Lots of sleet and hail this morning.

Our sense of time and space will never be the same again. The word boredom is now obsolete in our vocabulary.

The concept of planning is stuffed, it never works!

Our primary pleasures on this trip are:

– going to do a number 2 when it is not raining,

– going to do a number 1 when it is not raining,

– being able to do a number 2 when it is pouring outside,

– being able to do a number 1 when it is pouring outside,

– eating,

– sleeping,

– playing cards (only when we have to as Peter always wins),

– starring into oblivion,

– writing up daily dairy reports,

– selecting which food we are going to eat next – thank God for lollies.

Today saw one short break in the rain. This created a sudden rush for the toilet paper (and a mass movement towards the door). Just enough time. Played 5,000 ALL day.

“Only learnt how to play three quarters of the way through when Steve and I teamed up to beat Peter” Jenny

“Grossly unfair” Peter

Gave Peter a really hard time after he passed 5,000 points. We didn’t allow him to make a winning call. This eventuated in a classic finish after Peter had been brought back to the field on 4,830. Peter’s first call of 6 diamonds was followed by Jenny and Steve passing, Peter not realising it was only worth 80 points until it was too late. As luck would have it he won all 10, scored 250 points and won yet again!

The wind and rain now appear to be coming from the east. A billy left outside has filled with water since breakfast. Tracks and everywhere else are totally a-gush with flowing water. The clouds are again uniformly thick, with wind gusts between very gusty and super-strong. There is no let up.

Breakfast: Runny porridge 8/10, milo 8/10

Lunch: Bread 7/10, Don Mettwurst salami 9/10, cheddar cheese 8/10, sprouts 9/10, mayonnaise 7/10, peanut butter 10/10, lollies 10/10, nuts 10/10

“All pretty good stuff” Peter

No pictures today as I didn’t bring an underwater camera.

No one else could possibly be up here on the Western Arthurs with us as no one else is likely to be so bloody stupid.

Now praying to get out of here as soon as possible, it now looks like the 1:00pm Saturday bus for us, it had better be there! Don’t care all that much anymore about completing the Western Arthurs but looks like very few others do either, since we were not able to detect any sign of a track past the next saddle.

Most normal people have obviously had quite enough by Moraine K and got out while they could.

The three of us, being in the same clothes for a whole week has us all feel and smell very old, Steve’s white Lifa thermal is now a distinct shade of grey. The little pleasures of life that most people take of granted will take on a whole new significance to us all as soon as we get back home. The only thing I enjoy about this trip is going home.

Peter is dreaming of sunshine, the beach and music from his Naka.

Jenny can’t wait for a comfy bed, paddle pops, being able to stand up and still be dry, her suntan, telephone and teddy bear.

Estimated to date: rainfall 25”, sunshine 29 hours, sleet / snow / hail 10 hours, rainfall 150 hours., windspeed sufficient to blow you off your feet repeatedly, along with endless hours of cards / boredom.

 

Day 12: Thursday 10/1/1985   Promontory Lake – McKays Track

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1985-01-10.gpx                         Track Info

 

Awoke several times during the night cold and with the sleeping bag being easily the wettest its been so far. Wearing Lifa thermal top and socks offered a slight improvement.

The weather miserable as usual making us very slow to get the porridge and milo on.

The final decision had been made for us by the weather. A short deliberation determined that none of us wanted to spent any longer waiting for it to improve. So we packed up our gear in the rain and wind and left Promontory Lake at 11:25am.

[Peter’s cooking of pop-corn inside the tent last night probably accounted a lot of the sleeping bag wetness from condensation]

It was very disappointing not to have had the opportunity to photograph the spectacular fungi and plants around the Promontory Lake campsite. Multiple layers of various white and green fungi abounded on our campsite trees.

Walking out up the gully beside Lake Vesta all the tracks were totally agush with copious quantities of water, running knee deep in some spots and mostly above ankle height.

Highlights of the walk down Moraine K were the numerous slips and falls in the mud and on the wet rocks. It was a tremendous relief when we descended through the cloud-base. We thought all of our christmases had come at once as no longer did we fear for our lives as we had good cause to several times over the last few days.

Along the Arthurs Plains near 7 Mile Creek we found a crossing someone else had kindly set up, only to shorty later discover we were heading in the wrong direction. So we recrossed the creek to find a rather deep, fast flowing, flooded, very dangerous looking river crossing – no-one was going to cross here!

Searching around we found no obvious alternatives so we followed the river upstream for about 500m with superhero Peter leading the way. He said he was listening for the sound of water flowing over a tree laying across the water. Through the dense tea trees and vines he led us out at just such a crossing. Here Peter led the way again, belayed to a tree. A flying fox was set up to send the packs across and a crab & sling were used as safety for us. The river crossing took about two hours all up.

Once safely over we headed through more thick scrub towards the track, which was found shortly later. We spent a further three hours walking along McKays Track on the Arthur Plains looking for somewhere we could put our tent. We all felt very tied, so found the only “dryish” square metre of ground, a superb grassed site with exceptional drainage and with excellent views of the surrounding clouds. The tent was put up in the rain again, what else!

Dinner consisted of cream of chicken soup 9/10, steak Dianne sauce and beef jerky 6/10, boiled fruit cake 10/10 .

Pete’s tent resembled a planetarium in negative. Thats the impression all the dirt and other crap on the roof left.

Peter “Just another day in the life of a superhero. Rescuing two very distressed bushwalkers unable to cross a ragging torrent and directing them to an easy crossing”

Misfortune struck today following the minor rescue. After leaping across 2 Mile Creek in a single bound – splat! into a vat of black quicksand, oh damn I thought as I sank up to my stomach in the muck. My quick thinking left foot latched onto a submerged branch and safety was assured, ready to face another challenge as a superhero another day.

Our nice dry refugee was also favoured by a very large “colony” of leeches. This kept us sealed up inside our tent yet again but we were entertained by watching the effect that “Fruit Saline” had on some of them.

It was still looking miserable on the Arthur Range, certainly a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there!

The thrill of walking the Arthurs Plains track has to be experienced. One never knows exactly where one’s foot will end up. Sometimes its on a surface which proves to be firm but more often than not a little deeper. Occasionally one is really thrilled when a dozen steps in succession prove firm but then ha, got ya, the next disappears below the knee.

We were all very pleased that we actually did something today, even if that meant not completing our planned trip!

 

Day 13: Friday 11/1/1985   McKays Track – Huon Camping Area

This route was reconstructed from memory using Google Earth Pro and GPS Visualizer.

Download file: 1985-01-11.gpx                         Track Info

 

This campsite proved to be the most sheltered since day 1.

A very slow and lethargic start to the day after our epic retreat yesterday. We had light showers only during the morning before it became cloudy all afternoon without rain. The clouds lifted off the Western Arthurs for parts the day but descended again in the afternoon.

We all found the day’s walking from our camp 4km from Junction Creek a lot harder than expected. This was probably a combination of several days forced “resting” and the consumption of all our muscles energy reserves yesterday (as well as the small evening meal last night?)

Your feet become very heavy when your boots, socks and gaiters are full of water and mud. Pulling each foot out of the mud with every step and constantly guessing where might be the best place to put the next step takes a lot of effort.

2 1/2 Mile to Junction Creek 1 hour 10 minutes, Junction Creek to Huon camping area 4 hours.

After packing up and leaving camp at at 1:25pm we arrived at Huon camp at 6:30pm, to everyones great relief.

We passed another party of four on their way in, followed 2 hours later by another group who had come up the Port Davey track. The weather reports from other groups around camp confirmed there had been no fine weather elsewhere since New Years Day. Reports of snow, rain, heavy wind and flooded crossings abounded. Reports of other parties bailing out were also common.

We had lunch in the tent before we left, finishing the fruit cake & marzipan (10/10) along with salami, bread, peanut butter & cheddar cheese.

Dinner: Tomato noodle soup 6/10, beef jerky with Dianne sauce 6/10, potato pancakes with vegetables 4/10, rice & peanut butter mix 5/10, followed by a chocolate self-saucing pudding 8/10 & cold raspberry jelly (the gelatine didn’t dissolve terribly well).

It was the first day this year that is was possible to walk without wearing a Goretex jacket – amazing.

Our plans have been changed somewhat several times during the last two weeks. Various journeys have been contemplated to replace Plan A (Western & Eastern Arthurs then Scotts Peak), Plan B (Western Arthurs then Mount Anne circuit) which is now being considered but will depend on tomorrow mornings weather prognosis.

 

Day 14: Saturday 12/1/1985   Huon Camping Area – Scotts Peak

Huon River camping area proved to be a lot quieter than expected. We all slept very well – no wind or rain all night – luxury.

Still a full cloud cover this morning but that gradually broke up as the day wore on. It was very still for most of the day with extended sunny periods. Forecasts obtained from several “outsiders” indicate settled weather until Monday.

We packed and left camp after we had allowed most of our gear to dry out. We also allocated ample time to walk to the road so as not to miss the bus. A 5 person Victorian party was there as well, they mentioned some of the foul weather they had experienced along the South Coast track – heavy rain, snow and strong winds etc. Mellaluca must have been interesting on the 6th when the pilot arrived late and mentioned there were another several days of unsettled weather on the way. People came marching out from everywhere looking for a ride out. Some even leaving half cooked meals behind for the taking.

The bus dropped us off at the Mount Anne carpark from where we were about to attempt the Mount Anne circuit!

 

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