Bushwalk Australia

G'day all,

I am wanting to find a way to get from Mount Spurling area to Narcissus. Has anyone travelled this route before?
Where is the best place to drop of the traveller any alternatives to the Gatepost?

I was thinking of basing at artemis and doing a day trip to spurling then backtrack and exit through the gatepost but I figure
if I am going up spurling and being that far south why not try and find another way to Narcissus?

any ideas ?

Cheers
Genesis

I have never done it, but have heard of parties accessing the Traveller Range from the OLT, from the rainforest patch a little north of the suspension bridge.

Artemis is probably not the best place for a long day trip out to Spurling and back. You may find yourselves caught out in scrub depending on your route - and it is scrubby near Eros and Payanna.

The usual Traveller Range route is from Artemis around the west side of Eros (following a faint pad which seems to end near the outlet stream of Merope), then around Merope (via a knob to the south of the lake), then its a lot easier walking around the north of the Orion Lakes to the top of Du Cane Gap (NOT the Gatepost - which is out of your way and much less direct). It is reasonable going to the south of the Orion Lakes and between them and Payanna - but always in this country you need to be patient and pick your way around thickets of scrub (mainly fagus). This is easier to do if you have good visibility - so not the best in bad weather or fog.

There are many good campsites - some with better views and some with better shelter.

You can also go from Artemis to Spurling via the Mts of Jupiter - which is slower, but very scenic.

Dave

I've descended twice from Travellers in the area around the suspension bridge.
The first time we're further South and made a beeline for Narcissus Hut there was a lot of fallen timber and it was slow going, then we hit the teatree at the bottom around the river.
Finally had to swim the Narcissus river and popped out a few 100m north of the Hut.. probably not the best route.

The second time we camped under Mt Spurling and then went in a fairly direct line to the suspension bridge near Narcissus Hut and it was easy going open forest on the descent.
We had done a loop from the Gatepost out to Mtns of Jupiter, then Spurling and back to Narcissus.

I have ascended near stony creek which was fairly straight forward and reasonably easy once on the plateau. I have also descended further south from point 1236m down to the OLT halfway between the Pine Valley turnoff and Narcissus, this too was fairly open but the passage across the plateau was a little harder to reach the point of descent ie. plenty of fagus..(these are all relative terms and some may find this to be easier or more difficult!)

I second doogs on the Stony Creek(ish) route. We camped at an unnamed lake a little west of Lake Pallas, and wandered to the edge of the plateau until we found what looked like a do-able way down. It was steep and scrubby, with plenty of scoparia. But you have gravity on your side. Maybe take scrub gloves too!

Ironically, about 5 minutes after we hit the Overland Track, somewhere near the Bowling Green, I fell over quite hard. No damage done, thankfully.

cheers

Peter

Thanks all,

Looks like I will head to spurling as another day and then head to Narcissus for our last day to catch the ferry.
I still have to confirm the number of days we have to walk but at this stage 6 days is the plan. Walls car park to narcissus.

Thanks for all your advice

Genesis

If going from the Walls to Spurling, then you may want to consider a route via the Chinaman Plains and Mts of Jupiter. If you have a good weather forecast then this would be nicer than via the lakes and a lot more scenic. Mostly easy walking (if you follow the white zones on the 1:25,000 maps - linking them up), with a bit of scrub at the Ling Roth Lakes (e.g. crossing between the northern two). Its not too hard descending off the Mts of Jupiter to the south end of Payanna. That puts you close to Spurling.

Dave

Thanks Dave,

I will take a look at the Chinamans plains option, I gather this would be over 2 days ?
Any advice on a good site for 3 tents ?

Genesis

Mountains of Jupiter to SE corner of Payanna to Spurling was a fairly casual half day for me. It's good walking. A little rougher if you want to descend west or south west from the summit, but not scrubby. From there to Athena and the Traveller cliffs is also easy going. Then you just have to find a way down . . .

Genesis wrote:Thanks Dave,

I will take a look at the Chinamans plains option, I gather this would be over 2 days ?
Any advice on a good site for 3 tents ?

Genesis

Perhaps 2 - 3 days from the Walls to south end of Payanna. Its nice to camp part way, then next camp - high on the Mts of J, then half day to Spurling. Plenty of good campsite all along the route - but not near the the Ling Roth Lakes.

Dave

Thanks Dave,

A little more planning since my last post, so far looks something like this:

D1. Walls Car Park -> Dixons (Sides to Pool of Bethesda & Mt Jerusalem)
D2. Explore Walls Area (Solomon's Throne, King Davids Peak, Temple) -> Penah Lake
D2(Alt).Explore Walls Area (Solomon's Throne, King Davids Peak, Temple) -> Lake Meston
D3. Penah Lake -> Lake Artemis (Via Chinaman's Plains & Mtns of Jupiter - Good Weather option)
D3(Alt). Lake Meston -> Lake Artemis (Side to Mts of Jupiter)
D4. Lake Artemis -> Bert Nichols (Via Gatepost Track)
D5. Bert Nichols -> Pine Valley (Side to Acropolis)
D6. Rest Day
D7. Explore Parthenon & Labyrinth
D8. Pine Valley -> Narcissus/Echo Point
D9. Narcissus/Echo -> Cynthia Bay

I have reading several of your walk blogs specifically the ones that include the Chinaman's plains. From the pictures It seems as though you took a rather straight line from your camp on the south side of Penah Lake & Toorah to the crossing between the ling Roth Lakes. I am considering a route which follows the western escarpment of Chinaman's plains in an effort to maximise the views down the Mersey valley, providing the weather is good, what are your thoughts on this route?

http://maps.thelist.tas.gov.au/listmap/ ... vzns.gmail


If faced with bad weather I have a contingency route following lakes Adelaide & Meston through to Junction Lake then again weather dependant through to the OLT via either Never Never or Lake Artemis then the Traveller range.

I am then planning on heading up to Pine Valley for 3 days (I just love that place) then out to Narcissus/Echo Point to Ferry out.

The only ground I have not previously covered in the above plan is the Chinaman's plains and the Traveller range, any advice for these sections would be appreciated especially the DAY3 traversing the Western edge of the Chinaman's plains.

Thank you in advance
Murray

Genesis wrote:
I have reading several of your walk blogs specifically the ones that include the Chinaman's plains. From the pictures It seems as though you took a rather straight line from your camp on the south side of Penah Lake & Toorah to the crossing between the ling Roth Lakes. I am considering a route which follows the western escarpment of Chinaman's plains in an effort to maximise the views down the Mersey valley, providing the weather is good, what are your thoughts on this route?

http://maps.thelist.tas.gov.au/listmap/ ... vzns.gmail

If you turn on the "scanned maps" layer - you will see that a lot of your proposed route in in scrub - so that means slow going and no views. I suggested above that you choose a route that links together the "white zones" on the map as much as possible. This is not too hard to do, except for the section at the Ling Roth Lakes - where I more or less follow your route. The white zones are mostly open - and therefore are quite scenic. You need to pick your way through the country - so it is not always fast going. But there are plenty of nice campsites along the way (but not at the Ling Roth Lakes). I often find on my trips, that the weather may crap out for half a day or so - so it is good to have plenty of spare time and a flexible schedule. You have days up your sleeve for the Pine Valley Area - and that is good insurance in case you get a spell of bad weather or are slower than you anticipate. The Mountains of Jupiter are not fast going - but are very rewarding.

Likewise - The Traveller Range is not fast going, but mostly quite delightful walking. But you need to be prepared to be patient and find a good route through. Eg wander around scrubby patches. There are also some slow sections that can be frustrating - e.g. near L Eros and L Merope. Also - the usual descent route is not from the Gatepost, but from the closest point above Du Cane Gap (and you join the OLT near the Du Cane Gap sign).

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for that mate

Murray

Dave,

Any experience in traversing the Rocky ridgeline between Lake Eros & Merope, I am contemplating this as an alternate route to accessing the traveller range rather than traversing to the North of Merope.

Murray

Steer clear of the North of the lake Merope the scub is punishing.
Going over the rocky knoll to the south of the Lake is the easier route and then camping at Artemis.
The Traveller is good walking but not quick. We took our time leaving Windy Ridge hut at about 7.30am and arrived at Lake Artemis about 6pm in March.
We did not make quick progress as we came unstuck in the scrub to the North of the Lake spending about 2 hours just in this section!

Thanks Philm,

Thanks for that, I will take the ridge I figured it would be a nice outlook from the top overlooking Lake Merope (in good weather).
I will be heading in the opposite direction, Artemis - Bert Nichols (windy Ridge), then down the gatepost track to the hut.

So just to clarify, the main slowing factor is scrub? or more precisely the non-direct route that needs to be taken to avoid the scrub?

Murray

Yes Genesis the main slowing factor around the North side of Metrope is scrub. The rocky knoll to the south is a little longer in distance but quicker as it is rocky and relatively clear of scrub. You just need to follow the path of least resistance - like on the Traveller range itself. As Dave has said it is not hard walking but you need to follow lines of limited scrub which means you weave around a bit to get to your destination. It is a nice walk in good weather. The views from the top of the track overlooking DuCane Gap towards Lake St Clair are amazing on a good day.

Genesis wrote:Thanks Philm,

Thanks for that, I will take the ridge I figured it would be a nice outlook from the top overlooking Lake Merope (in good weather).

Murray

It's not a bad bare rock campsite on top either- if conditions are right.