A Mad Mud Rush to the Top of the Cap
If you want to do lots of walking in Oz, then Tassie is the place to be. I was fortunate enough to have my good mate Dan go there with his brother, and invite me along.
I arrived 2 days before Dan and Mike, and made a beeline for Frenchmans Cap, which is about 30km from the turn off the Lake St Clair, and about that again from the west coast town of Queenstown. Another friend of mine had done this walk in 2 days, which is a basic out and back walk, with one night in a hut.
After crashing at my mate's mate's place in Hobart (I think I left my pack towel there - oh well, I have another and don't really use it that much anyway), I drove out to the Frenchmans Cap car park (which has warnings about vandals stomping on cars for no apparent reason - crazy inbreds), starting the walk around 10:30. The first few km are very pleasant, crossing the Franklin river, and then towards the Lodden River. The track is well formed, and despite a touch of rain, the going was easy. But that's where the fun started. Welcome the the Lodden Plains.
Sodden Loddens
Now for the next 5km or so, this flat and boggy area can be either incredibly draining, as you tackle what seems like and endless series of mud holes, or fun, if you, well, like puddles and puddles of mud (or, if you lucky, after very dry periods, you may be fortunate enough to walk on a thin layer of dried mud, and get through the plains generally unscathed). I really enjoyed, the mud, probably because:
a) I had never done anything like it before (even though i had traversed the Arthur plains - see previous bracket)
b) I like walking through nature plains, where you can see everything (unlike many Blueys areas)
Using my natural "mud" high, I raced through the Sodden Lodden, overtaking a couple of parties on the way. The plains eventually ended (aftrer about 5km and 2.5 hours), and after 5hours of walking since the car, I reached the first hut. Boy, what a nice hut. Pity I wasn't staying there (it had heaps of room, and a nice big stove).
Mossy Bastards
I pressed on, passing a pretty lake just after the hut, but by now, my natural high had started to wane. I was now hopping over damp and mossy logs and roots, and it wasn't the easiest. I was also starting to tire, and had a big hill to climb after reaching the end of the lake. The slippery bastard logs and roots didn't stop.
However, if you go up, it generally means you will get some place high, which generally means you will get to some place with a good view, and eventually I got there. The nice high views also often mean cold winds, and I got both.
Fortuantely, I had done most of the climbing for the day, and the rest of the day's walk had pretty good views (especially over lakes - I like looking over lakes). The hut I was staying in was next to another pretty lake, and although slightly smaller than the previous hut, it had mattresses on the bunk beds, and only 2 other occupants. Mattresses, and fuel, in a remote hut - how good is that! I slept well that night.
The Cap
I awoke for an almost early start, to head up to the Frenchmans Cap summit. If I awoke earlier, I would have got a whole lot more than the partial views I actually got from the summit. I could see the lakes below me, but not the horizon. Damn - I had heard stories of others who had summited several times without ever getting a view. At least I could see plenty from just below the summit.
My side trip to the Cap and back took about 2 hours, including farn-arkle time. But I still had another full days walk ahead of me.
Of the other parties on the track, I was the only one doing the trip in 2 days. Most were walking for either 3 or 4 days, and were surpised I was doing it in only 2. The weekend was also a long one in Hobart, so that may have added slightly to the numbers, not tht tthere were that many people on the track.
I enjoyed better weather on the way back, running into all the people I met previously, plus a few more. Everyone seemed to be well prepared for Tassie bushwalking, including the Austrians I met. I spent a very relaxing 45 min lying in the sun for lunch, but somehow the mud wasn't as enjoyable as the day before. I guess a) was no longer relevant.
Mud Walking Techniques
1. When you start walking in the mud, you try to avoid all of it
2. When you realise how much there is, you start to walk in some of it
3. When you are pretty dirty, you start walking throuigh it
4. When you step in a really deep section of mud, and it takes you some time to retrieve your foor, you start from step 2 again
Boots with gaiters are essential for easy mud walking. Waterproof long pants also help a lot. Plastic bags as gaiters don't work too well, nor do bare feet (note for dumb arse Dutchies).
Idiots
Just before I got back to the car, I ran into one last party - two Dutchies on an Aussie Adventure. They had been walking for only a few km, and hadn't yet reached the mud. They had obviously heard about "the mud", and asked me if they had been through the worst of it, holding up a muddy plastic bad which must have been used as some sort of make shift gaiter. I must have looked puzzled, as I didn't even remember any mud in that section (there was a tiny bit there, though). Their packs were overloaded with orange cordial and nice clothes, and had obviously heard about the "free" huts in south west Tassie. A 10km walk to the first hut, is not an easy walk! She even asked me if I thought she could walk through the muddy sections in bare feet. I replied "No". Repeatedly. Stupid people. I don't think they even had proper maps. Maybe they got buried in the mud...
Back at my undamaged rental car, I calculated I had been going for 8 hours on Saturday, and 11 hours on Sunday. I had taken me 1 hour extra from the hut on Sunday - as I was quite exhausted. An enjoyable weekend trip.
