where to for 7 to 9 days

[nickL]

hi all

i am going to be in tasi in feb with my family visiting friends and have convinced a friend from adelaide (cant round up more than one at this stage) to meet up and do a 7 to 9 day walk

we have done the overalnd and the south coast track

we are happy to walk in any conditions and distance depends on terrain (in fact it would be preferrable if it was a challenge)

this is a call to all Taswegians........please fire away with your suggestions for what will make the most memorable walk

cheers
nick

[pazzar]

we are happy to walk in any conditions and distance depends on terrain (in fact it would be preferrable if it was a challenge)

That all depends on how bigger challenge you are up for.

You could probably traverse the entire Arthur Range in 9 days if you were moving quick, but that would require a car shuffle.
The Denison Range through to the King William Range could also be an option, or the Franklands, although mostly off track walking there, so that would depend on you experience levels a bit.
The Southern Ranges, then back out on the South Coast track. That would be plenty of time to complete it, with a couple of spare days to wait for weather if needed.

Hope some of these help. There are so many other circuit walks and range traverses that could also be done. And any walk in Tasmania should be a memorable one!

Cheers,

Jared

[nickL]

thanks jared

yep mainly staying on track (but not totally is fine) - we have navigation skills but i wouldnt want to rely on them in poor visibility

was looking at the arthurs but some other south aussie friends are keen to do that together in later 2011 or early 2012

southern ranges sounds good - would also be good to walk the south coast in feb - walked it last in october which was fun but a little wild

cheers

nick

[nickL]

hi everyone

looked up the southern ranges in my trusty sth west tasi guide book - just wondering what level of navigation is required on the trip

was hoping someone could give me some insight

thanks

[ILUVSWTAS]

Hi.
If you thought the South Coast track was wild i'd think twice about the Southern Ranges. Although there is a decent pad through most of it, due to the nature of the terrain it can be hard to follow in places.

[nickL]

hi ILSWT

last october when we did the south coast track a huge low pressure system came through tasmania a couple of days after we started - in fact the weather was wild but fine where we were but there was alot of water flowing on the ground which couldnt be accounted for by the unrelenting daily rain - when we got out at the other end 7 days later we found out that the storm closed down the northern parts of tasi's roads etc etc.

there was no navigation to speak of along the south coast track although i learnt that being aware of the tide times and using your stick as a probe when crossing creeks is very useful - i also learnt that i and my pack can be completely submerged in water and at least my gear comes out dry. i am sure this would be the standard SCT experience in october.

back to the southern ranges
is there a trail on the southern ranges or does it require navigation unnasisted by a trail?

apart from rugged terrain and wild weather any other reason why it would be too difficult?

any other suggestions for a 7-9 dayer?

cheers

[ILUVSWTAS]

Hi.
Although there is a decent pad through most of it, due to the nature of the terrain it can be hard to follow in places.

If you lose the track then it could be a bit unsettling as much of the vegetation surrounding is very thick, but the route sticks to most of the obvious ridges, so it wouldnt be TOO hard to refind if lost.

Other 7-9 dayers... Western Arthurs is a gorgeous and challenging walk, ALOT of up and down though.....

The South West cape circuit is still one of my favourite walks, it's mostly tracked but the sectoin from Wilsons bight to Window pane bay is untracked, navigation is fairly straight forward providing you can see where your going.

There's lots of options around the OT, but besides the OT itself, it's mostly untracked.

I'd suggest maybe going to the Southern ranges, walking to pigsty day1, then if the weather is fine continue on to Pindars, and if your still comfortable with it that far, keep going. There is a good track all the way to Pindars, after there it becomes more of a route/pad. so if there's any doubt or concern up until Pindars, I wouldnt continue past there.