Secheron Peak or the view of it

Tasmania specific bushwalking discussion.
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Tasmania specific bushwalking discussion. Please avoid publishing details of access to sensitive areas with no tracks.

Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby VojtaK » Thu 16 Feb, 2023 10:06 pm

Hello,

I will be visiting Tasmania around April and was thinking of climbing Secheron Peak in Frankland Range around Lake Pedder, however from the information I got it looks like a multi-day hike and I am more of a one day hiker so I am probably settling for a nearby one day hike from which I could get a decent view of that peak - hoping Mount Anne / Mount Eliza would do.

Could you advise about the local conditions and feasibility of one day hikes in that area?

It will be my first time in Tasmania, but in past I did quite a bit of hiking in New Zealand and other countries.

Thank you
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby north-north-west » Fri 17 Feb, 2023 10:23 am

You get a reasonable view of Secheron from the Red Knoll Lookout, which is the closest vehicle access; even Edgar Lookout has a decent view. To do better you need to walk around Fake Pedder and go up Terminal or Jim Brown (which is a bit much for a daywalk), or get a boat to access either of those or Scotts Peak or Solitary. All four of those can be done as daywalks, including the boat travel, but some require a fairly early start and you need to be careful with route choice on both Jim Brown and Solitary.

The old pad from the original Lake Pedder up to Secheron still exists in places, along with some of the original marker cairns. The route climbs up an obvious open spur from the Frankland Shore. It can be done as a long hard daywalk with camping by the shoreline, but I would not recommend it to anyone without reasonable offtrack experience in SW Tassie.
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby north-north-west » Sat 18 Feb, 2023 4:41 pm

ps: The view of Secheron from Schnells Ridge is about the best you can get on a daywalk without any mucking about on boats.
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby VojtaK » Tue 21 Feb, 2023 4:17 pm

Much appreciated.

I am still toying with the idea to summit it.
What do you think would be the "best" route from Red Knoll?
Is it better to follow the lake shore as much as possible and then climb up to Terminal Peak and follow the ridge or to go more inland around Mount Giblin and come from behind via Frankland Peak?

How difficult it is to get a water on the track? I see about two creeks on the way, I also assume that in April they will not be wide and should not be a difficult to cross.

From the map it looks like an 15-20km in one way, which seems doable in one day (with overnight camping near the summit).

In addition I also hope the snakes to be gone due to lower temperatures :-)
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby north-north-west » Sat 25 Feb, 2023 2:28 pm

First, there is no track. Some sections of the pad from the original Pedder - up from what is now Frankland Shore - are still visible but you'll only see them because the pad followed the easiest route and if you have sense you will too. There's no water on the climb, but you can usually find some on the shelf just above the saddle west of Secheron's summit.

Second, that route from the Frankland Shore is the closest to an easy way to climb Secheron. From Frankland Peak to Secheron itself is dodgy in places. Terminal to Lloyd Jones - if you go the right way - is easy but Lloyd Jones to Secheron is harder than Frankland to Secheron; one mate who came off the Franklands that way reckoned it was the nastiest bit of work he's had out bush, and he's a highly experienced canyoner and climber. Neither route is for people unacquainted with off-track SW Tassie.

Third, walking around the lakeshore is highly dependent on the water levels. When I did it at the end of the Wilmot-Frankland traverse, the water was low and I could go the whole way from below Jim Brown to Red Knoll with dry feet. I know others who've had to wade, knee-deep, for two days to get back. If the water is low enough, it's still going to take you close to a full day to get to Kostka Point, and from there you might as well continue around the corner and use the Frankland Shore route because it will be quicker and safer.

If possible, hire or borrow a kayak to get to and from Frankland Shore. I'm prepared to give you more exact route details if you're going to go that way, but not for the Terminal/Lloyd Jones line.

ps: You would also get a reasonable view from the Sentinels, or even Wedge, both of which are good daywalks with decent (by Tassie standards) tracks.
pps: Secheron is an interesting choice for a fixation. I had one myself for decades due to old personal history, but I am wondering from whence comes yours ...
Last edited by north-north-west on Sat 25 Feb, 2023 3:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby north-north-west » Sat 25 Feb, 2023 2:35 pm

VojtaK wrote:From the map it looks like an 15-20km in one way, which seems doable in one day (with overnight camping near the summit).


Off track, in SW Tassie, even in reasonably open country, is not the same as a Kiwi trampers' track. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the map is a clear guide of what you can accomplish.

Big question: how much off-track walking have you done?
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby north-north-west » Sat 25 Feb, 2023 3:17 pm

*deleted*
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby VojtaK » Mon 06 Mar, 2023 11:23 pm

Thank you, all this info is very useful.

Big question: how much off-track walking have you done?

Hard to quantify, but not too much strickly speaking.
Usually parts of track in open terrain (which seems to be the case with Frankland range) without a path, walking along the ridges on peaks / smaller mountains, following loose set of cairns, occasional route-finding to peak, stuff like that mostly in New Zealand, but not really cutting a path through dense jungle with machete :)

If possible, hire or borrow a kayak to get to and from Frankland Shore. I'm prepared to give you more exact route details if you're going to go that way

Don't have experience with kayaks, and I am way more comfortable with walking on dry land than getting wet if possible, but that going around the corner to the Frankland shore is a good idea, I would welcome more route details in case I decide to give it a try

pps: Secheron is an interesting choice for a fixation. I had one myself for decades due to old personal history, but I am wondering from whence comes yours ...

It is a bit silly, but nevertheless...
I am working for a company of that name (Secheron) in Europe and it is hard to say when I will be in this area of the world next time, so it seems like a nice opportunity to climb it and maybe do some "flag-raising" :)
So the "bare minimum", just for the fun of it, probably would be a picture of that peak, which should be covered from Red Knoll
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby north-north-west » Tue 07 Mar, 2023 7:18 am

Well, if you just want photos (click on them for larger, clearer image) ...

Secheron from Frankland Peak (looks rather benign from there, doesn't?)
WFG370 copy.jpg


Secheron and Frankland from Lloyd Jones (and now you can see why I'm saying Not. That. Way.)
PPD2-044 copy.jpg


I'll dig out some detail and a route map and PM you when that's sorted. It may take a day or two.
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby eggs » Tue 07 Mar, 2023 12:22 pm

Haven't been close - but this is a distant shot of Frankland and Secheron
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Frankland and Secheron
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby north-north-west » Tue 07 Mar, 2023 12:29 pm

Yeah, that's a good angle - shows the seriousness of those cliffs on the eastern and northern sides.
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Re: Secheron Peak or the view of it

Postby VojtaK » Sun 12 Mar, 2023 11:07 pm

Much appreciated.
Especially the PM notes.

It definitely looks like a challenge :)
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