BushwalkBushwalk
What began as a trip report ended up as a short book. I wanted to record details both serious and silly, vast and tiny, as together they made the trip the fantastic adventure it was for us. Apologies to readers who just want information about the track. Hopefully you’ll be able to skim off some useful bits and pieces.
Clear Pool Moores GardenAll photo by Tortoise
To Pindars Peak in the Southern Ranges
Tortoise
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Federation & Eastern Arthurs from La Perouse
The quest After years of being regaled with tales of marvels and exploits in the Southern Ranges of Tasmania (notwithstanding a degree of suffering), Tortoise had the general plan to obtain her own. When a forecast of heat wave conditions with light winds coincided with some available days, she instigated a long-awaited foray into the Southern Ranges with two dauntless friends.
Two Abels were calling her name loudly, and she knew Short Step was keen to get to Alexandra, one of only two peaks in that part of the state she’d never visited. Peak Baggers’ Assistant (who is not into counting peak-bagging points, but is happy to tag along and share her skills, experience and dry sense of humour) was still recovering from a more challenging trip in the Southwest. But she also had been hanging out for decades for the right opportunity to visit the area, so she pulled off an admirably short turn-around time to join the others on their adventure. Peak Baggers’ Assistant
(PBA, aka Grumble Bum – self-titled – or Grandma Boots), at 5 foot 2, was rewarded with the rarely-experienced status of being the tallest of the party.
The Abels are 158 Tasmanian mountains higher than 1100 metres with "a minimum drop of 150 metres on all sides before higher ground is reached". Major peaks include many summits within a few days of Mount Ossa, Federation and Eldon Peak. The Abels list was devised by Bill Wilkinson in 1994, based on the Munros in Scotland. Climbing all the Abels is a goal of more experienced bushwalkers. Many Abels may be easily climbed, such as Rufus, Campbell and Kate, with plenty more reachable within a two hour climb. The more isolated peaks - and the idea of climbing them all - are only for the experienced. There was a Bushwalk Australia August 2018 article about Zane Robnik who climbed the Abels in record time. The Abels are described in two books. See also What makes an Abel and the List.
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Skeletons on Moonlight Ridge with the Calf and Adamsons Peak
Day 1 - Moonlight Flats When the long drive was over, the three quickly saddled up and set out. With the mountains calling, the mysteries of Mystery Creek Cave would remain unplumbed, for now at least. The wide, flat track allowed for a good warm-up for the slow plod up the big hill. Some extra water was carried, just in case a dry camp became the best option.
Beautiful forest made for an enjoyable ascent, and the trio eventually broke out into the open. Moonlight Flats, with its stark post-fire contrasts of death and life, monochrome and colour, afforded increasingly expansive views. Adamsons Peak, thus far elusive due to unfriendly weather forecasts and conflicting commitments, stood tantalisingly by, with the Calf and Mesa suggesting they may also be worth a visit. Short Step pointed out the intervening scrub, which is apparently less than hospitable. But then, she is understandably a bit over scrub these days.
Threatening clouds produced dramatic skies, keeping secret the details of the day ahead. Bullfrog Tarns pleasantly surprised Tortoise when they suddenly appeared next to the track. These are apparently well known, but aren’t graced with a name on any maps
she had seen. (Unlike the Tasmap, the topo basemap on the list does show the track where it actually is, right next to the tarns.) Now with abundant water, the adventurers headed off to find some vaguely reasonable spots on which to make a home for the night.
The Five Fit Young Women (FFYW)As the three were settling in, there appeared Five Fit Young Women (who were perhaps a little chuffed at being described as such, but it’s all relative). At first, they had seemed to be a commercial group or with an organisation of some sort - all bearing identical red packs. But no – "just an embarrassing coincidence". It was only later that the Three Not-Quite-So-Fit Older Women realised how easily they could have given the same impression – avoided only because of Tortoise’s dodgy sacroiliac joint that doesn’t like Osprey hip belts. After a brief confab, the Five Fit Young Women continued on at good speed in the fading light, hoping there would be water at Moonlight Creek.
“Threatening clouds produced dramatic skies, keeping secret the details of the day ahead.
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Twins on Hill 1
Day 2 - AlexandraNext morning, an early start was in order. Moonlight Creek turned out to have provided the water and tent sites needed by the FFYW. Certainly not brilliant, but just enough of both.
Climbing Hill 1 – the first of four on Moonlight Ridge – Tortoise and PBA were thrilled to finally reach such a special area, and delighted in the vast tracts of cushion plants. Short Step relished being in familiar territory in relaxed conditions, rather than doing the usual scrub bash to PB and back with men twice her size.
After the beautiful open walking of Moores Bridge, a small band of scrub needed to be negotiated, and Tortoise found – well, a route not to be particularly recommended. The sensible thing to do would have been to back out and reconsider options. But she bore optimistically on, crawling on hands and knees through the intricate tangle of low branches, cutting grass and myriads of spiky bits of vegetation, with an “It looks a bit clearer just over there!” now and then. Impressively, Short Step and PBA followed with only minimal complaints.
The scrub behind them, they stumbled onto the pad that had eluded them earlier. Stunning views spurred them on. A beautiful clear pool with a rocky base provided exquisitely cool, sweet water on a hot summer day.
Scoparia guarded the final few metres of Alexandra’s summit. PBA gave up in disgust. “I don’t need to get to the top. I don’t care!” Short Step and Tortoise somehow persuaded her to join them in the scoparia on top, with "views all around" as the bushes were mainly below waist height. Just in case one day she does.
Their return trip saw them relatively obstacle-free, as PBA skilfully led them to more open leads, and onto the old cut track. As they neared the meadows of Moores Bridge, they discovered why they had missed the pad on the way in. A far more attractive open lead had enticed them away from the invisible start of the said pad.
Back at camp, magic light gilded the landscape. Not a breath of wind disturbed even the most vulnerable of grasses. Evening mellowed the sky to soft pastels, and quietly brought the day to a close. Paradise.
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Reservoir Lakes, Pigsty Ponds & Moonlight Ridge from Maxwells Ridge
Day 3 - Pigsty Ponds, La Perouse and Reservoir LakesDespite the forecast heat, the trio (well, Tortoise and PBA to be more precise) were keen to visit the first Abel of their trip. And so they continued on to the famed Pigsty Ponds, which would be their base for a couple of nights. A beautiful area with water and tent sites a-plenty, but infamous for wild wind, funnelled in by surrounding mountains.
Checking out one of the Pigsty Ponds, PBA exclaimed that it tasted of tadpole excrement. Tortoise wondered how she knew exactly what tadpole excrement tasted like, but was happy to follow suit and drink instead from the sweet water from the Deep Hole.
Short Step didn’t think sitting it out in the heat for a few hours would be that much fun, so she joined the others in their pursuit of La Perouse. The plateau arrived sooner than expected, despite oodles of view and camera stops. Even more magnificent views were to be had than on the plod up, when “Wow!” was already an oft-utilised word.
After a welcome rest and lunch in the shade afforded by the not insubstantial cairn, Tortoise checked out numerous bumps, rocks and cairns, in an attempt to ascertain the actual high point. Perhaps more sensibly, the others enjoyed more shade.
Forgetting a friend’s recommendation to check out Swallow Nest Lakes to the north-east of La Perouse, and forgetting what the map said, Tortoise found her jaw dropping at the unexpected and spectacular view as she explored the eastern edge of the summit plateau. Eventually she dragged herself away, and the continuing views of famously wonderful places kept their steps springy on the easy descent. Paradise!
Reservoir LakesWonderfully wet as the Pigsty Ponds were, they were too shallow to be really refreshing on the still-hot afternoon when the intrepid three returned to their campsite. So Reservoir Lakes, with their deliciously cool waters, were just attractive enough to overcome the inertia that quickly set in for Tortoise and PBA. And what a joy they would have missed out on had they not been persuaded to be bothered!
As they headed back through the forest, a young Frenchman (maybe Belgian or Swiss) materialised in their path. His small backpack was adorned with items intriguing and scary – like the K-mart-esque pop-up beach tent. His water bottle had fallen unnoticed
“ ... forgetting what the map said, Tortoise found her jaw dropping at the unexpected and spectacular view ...
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Wylly, Precipitous Bluff and Victoria Cross from Hill 2
just prior to this encounter. Hopefully not too many other items underwent the same fate. PBA had the plausible theory that he was a backpacker who was fruit picking. Somebody may have mentioned that Reservoir Lakes are nice to visit, so he thought he’d go on a little walk to check it out. Hopefully he got out safely in the intense heat, the day before the storms hit, as his gear would probably not have survived more than a couple of minutes in extreme Southwest conditions. He didn’t make an entry in the logbook at the track head, so nobody knew for sure. Still, no missing backpacker was reported in the news, so it looks like he got away with it this time.
The Five Fit Young Women part twoAs the first of the Five Fit Young Women returned from Pindars Peak, the Three Perhaps-a Little-Fitter-Than-Average Older Women were eager to benefit from their experiences of the day. And so they picked their brains for any information regarding priceless sources of water, how long it took them, that sort of thing. (Tortoise added a couple of hours to their time, which turned out to be about right for her, not including Knife Mountain that the FFYW traversed as well.) As they chatted, PBA made mention of how Short Step was into doing easier walks now that she’s completed the Abels. With a barely perceptible raise of one eyebrow, one of the FFYW queried: “Easier walks?” “Yes," was the reply, “these days they mostly have tracks.”
Eventually the FFYW were able to extract themselves from the conversation, and continued on to their camp at Reservoir Lakes, which would perhaps still be warm enough in the rapidly cooling evening for a dip to cap off a very satisfying day.
Day 4 - Pindars: A matter of heat and hydration managementGas cylinders safely stashed, food bags hung in the shade of a thick scoparia bush, and tent guys slackened, the adventurers set out at first light in search of their next Abel. At least they would have a fair bit of climbing under their belts before the worst of the heat took hold. The mercury was forecast to be nudging 40 nearby, and indeed the day did break some Tasmanian records.
Tortoise was a little concerned, as both the others had experienced heat exhaustion or possibly even heat stroke in less drastic conditions in the past. So she mother-henned them, regularly checking on input of water and electrolytes, output of wee, and any sign of things a little out of the ordinary.
Maxwells Ridge would have been a lovely place to explore more fully, but they were single-minded in their focus on the goal.
As oven-like conditions developed, their parasols (thanks to Moondog for the reminder of these when hiking in the heat)
“So she mother-henned them, regularly checking on input of water ...
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proved to be quite useful. If there’s going to be minimal shade, it can be very handy to take some with you. Tortoise also made the fascinating discovery that even after she had drunk as much water as she possibly could before leaving Lake Ooze (their last source of water), she had no trouble immediately downing another 600 mls of hydralyte. “Interstwesting”, she thought, as she filed away the handy piece of information for future reference.
Tortoise and PBA were prepared for the “Three Big Steps” that apparently needed to be negotiated to reach the summit of Pindars. In fact, they encountered just one Quite Tricky Step. A bit of a scout around revealed no easier way than climbing onto the top of a wobbly cairn in order to access some hand and toeholds up a slot. Okay for going up, but there was a little nervousness about the inevitable return. Still, the summit was within spitting distance (not that they would have wasted a drop of precious spit that day), so up they grunted, with the prize almost upon them.
Reality bitesWhoops of joy resounded from this spectacular mountain which, along with its noble companions Wylly, Victoria Cross and PB, overlooks Prion Beach and New River Lagoon. (PB stands for Precipitous Bluff, not Peak Bagger nor Peanut Butter in this instance.) Excited to be so close to the famed PB, Tortoise was also faced with the reality of the route beyond the cautionarily named Leaning Tea Tree Saddle. Victoria Cross slipped quietly down her bucket list, and, not keen on wading eight kilometres waist deep down New River Lagoon, she
wondered aloud if it would be possible to be dropped off by boat at the base of PB. “Nah, it’s full of submerged logs and tree stumps. I know people who got bad injuries wading through that.” Short Step brought her back to earth with a little bump.
Thus Tortoise was not able to call out her usual cheery greeting to a nearby mountain, “I’m coming!” Instead it was a little hesitant, “Hello, PB! I may come and visit, but I’m not quite sure …”.
Suddenly, the celebration was cut short by wasps or similar flying creatures of some sort. First PBA, then Tortoise, did the erratic I’ve-just-been-stung-and-I-don’t-know-if-the-wretched-critters-responsible-are-still-lurking-under-my-shirt dance.
Prion Beach, New River Lagoon, Precipitous Bluff, Wylly, Victoria Cross
The Tricky Step on the wobbly cairn
“ ... the summit was within spitting distance (not that they would have wasted a drop of precious spit that day) ...
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Making a quick exit, they were disappointed to find some of the swarm following them. Fortunately, by the time the women reached the wobbly-cairn slot, most of their tormentors had given up, and the remaining few could be swatted away without further ado.
Belying her "Senior" years, Short Step scrambled down the slot so swiftly that neither of the others had a chance to see how she did it. Not a climb with great exposure, but a slip could still lead to a long and leg-breaking slide down a steep, rocky slope. It required a Hobbit to dangle over the edge in search of the nice toehold, then to lower herself gently onto the top of the teetering cairn below. Tortoise and PBA were grateful for Short Step’s guidance for their feet to get them safely down.
After a rest in the bit of shade provided by a rock and their trusty parasols, and after consuming plenty more hydralyte, they continued on their way. Stunning views urged them on, and gravity was kind.
At Ooze Lake Tortoise found a deeper bit that would allow complete immersion, and set about her cooling procedure. As she sank in above her knees in the indeterminate slimy substance that made up the floor of the lake, her prior question regarding the lake’s nomenclature was satisfactorily answered.
Back at the Pigsty, all three decided a shallow dip would do, as the heat of the day was finally starting to ebb away.
And so it was that Tortoise, true to name, was thrilled to make it to the top of two Abels, in very hot conditions, without actually getting puffed. A steady rhythm of breath and steps allowed her to maintain momentum (small though it was), and to maintain her capacity to breathe through her nose, saving precious moisture and maximising the Bohr effect - whereby a higher level of carbon dioxide in the blood paradoxically results in an increased release of oxygen into the tissues that need it. With brief stops now and then, and going at her ideal pace, she had enough energy to take photos, pop up to the summit of Lake Mountain on their way past, and hugely enjoy a day whose forecast appeared to keep all other walkers out of the stunning area on a bluebird day in peak season.
Pindars Peak from the track up La Perouse
“As she sank in above her knees in the indeterminate slimy substance ...
“It required a Hobbit to dangle over the edge ...
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Day 5 - Electricity, cyclonic winds and return to the FlatlandsThe forecast of possible thunderstorms "in the morning and afternoon" had the party keen to get away early the next day, putting the utterly exposed, iron-laden (real or imaginary), lightning-attracting mountains of rock behind them. With the “Carnage at Pigsty Ponds” thread title ringing in Tortoise’s ears, she unsuccessfully attempted a quick getaway. It began to sprinkle. Short Step and PBA tried admirably to reassure her, as she faffed around, no more capable of packing up in five minutes if her life depended on it. Calls of “We’re happy!” and “No stress! Our choice to take our tents down early and eat our breakfast in the rain!” did little to penetrate the fog of confusion and frustration that had Tortoise going in metaphorical and literal circles within the confines of her little abode.
There’s nothing like a bit of physical exertion to break unhelpful circles of thoughts. So when Tortoise was finally ready, she scampered up Hill 4 with the others, as fast as she her little legs, spurred on by adrenalin, would take her. Halfway up, however, they were hit with torrential rain and gale-force winds. The rain pelted down so hard that it stung through her rain jacket and thermal. Next came the first of the lightning and thunder. Years before, Tortoise had found herself on top of Mount Feathertop in an electrical storm, when a lightning bolt struck the ground close by, with sizzlings and odd flashes of light and hair doing unusual things. So when the flash and bang were now pretty much simultaneous, two of the women sought the best refuge available - crouching, feet together, in the low alpine vegetation rather than on the rock, having abandoned walking poles temporarily – just in case. Paradise lost.
One of the Hobbits reminded PBA that she was at a distinct disadvantage for lightning strikes, being as tall as she was. The other Hobbit, for reasons unknown, decided to brave the lightning and remained upright. Protecting PBA, perhaps.
Thankfully, the electrical aspect of the storm soon left Moonlight Ridge and the women alone. They continued on at their PB (personal best) speeds, frequently interrupted by the need to extract themselves from the vegetation into which they had been thrown, and to do their communal next-cairn-spotting in the swirling mist.
“They don’t call them the Roaring Forties for nothing!” yelled Tortoise at one point, to the friend at her side. “What?!” came the very-loudly-uttered-but-barely-heard response. “I can’t hear you!!” Hand signals proved much more useful under the circumstances when communication was actually necessary.
Finally, the storm passed, and Hills 4, 3, 2 and 1, and Moonlight Flats were traversed. The rest of the world was getting closer. Short Step, more aptly referred to as Quickstep when she shifts into greyhound mode on descents in favourable conditions, was relegated to second spot by PBA, whose internally scarred knees prohibited a rapid descent to the car. Tortoise claimed the ultimate position, so she could relax in the certainty that nobody would tailgate her, at risk of being impaled on her walking pole if a muddy slide sent limbs and pole flying in an unrestrained manner. Injury-free, they arrived back at the car just as rain began to fall. A quick change, and they were away, dreaming of their next adventure, with half-planned trips vying for attention.
Tortoise spent her childhood dreaming of bushwalking adventures, and has been making up for the lack of real ones ever since. After a couple of aborted attempts at practice walks, she headed down from Sydney for her first "overnighter" - a nine day epic doing the Overland Track with side trips, with an unsuspecting friend. Undeterred by a crook knee and burns from a billy of boiling water spilled on her bare foot on day two, she continued on to become totally hooked on bushwalking in general, and mountains in particular. She now resides very happily in Tasmania.
“ The rain pelted down so hard that it stung through her rain jacket and thermal.
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