Frenchmans Cap trackwork ?

[Genesis]

Has anyone been to the frenchman lately ?

How is the trackwork progressing ?

Genesis

[ILUVSWTAS]

We were in there a few months back. No sign of any work yet. I think the new track is going in a totally new direction though? So it's possible we wont see anything at all until it's finished.

[stepbystep]

Would be nice to see some decent tent platforms put in first. No point having a highway if there is nowhere to park.

[Genesis]

I am hoping to get up there Late Feb, Part of me would like to have to endure the Loddens and the other part would not...
Part of the experience some say but it can see the other side of the argument of the annoyance being waist deep in a quagmire, albeit a perfect way to keep some
of the crowds away.

What ever will be will be when I get there I suppose, Plan for the worst pray for the best !

I agree some tent platforms would be good if the new track is going to attract more walkers.

Genesis

[ILUVSWTAS]

We were there in winter and I must confess the Loddons were reaqlly really really grossly over rated. took an hr or 2 to cross them, and the mud was barely knee deep in most places. I was expecting much worse!!

[stepbystep]

^^crossover post^^
Mud wasn't that bad, we went mid winter and never dropped much deeper than the knee. Some trackwork has been done fairly recently so it's not as bad as some will have you believe.
It was very wet when we were there and I saw only one acceptable tent site at Vera, the rest were flooded. We only went as far as Sharlands on that trip.

[DJohnson]

the mud was barely knee deep in most places. I was expecting much worse!!

Depends how tall you are. When I did it a few years back i am certain it was up to my nipples most of the way. Then again I do struggle in the height department. In all seriousness though it was knee high to crotch for a fair bit from memory.

[whynotwalk]

I think the new track is going in a totally new direction though? So it's possible we wont see anything at all until it's finished.

Yep - I think that's right. From what I've heard they have done a fair bit of re-routing work, but obviously - as it takes a different route - you don't come across it (yet).

Personally, having endured one of my most miserable walks ever when going across the Loddons in the 1980s, I'll be waiting for the new track to open before I try it again

cheers

Peter

[ILUVSWTAS]

My advice for anyone who didnt like the loddons, stay away from the south coast, farmhouse creek, lake judd and junction creek tracks!!! they are much much worse.

[Graham51]

We were in there a few months back. No sign of any work yet. I think the new track is going in a totally new direction though? So it's possible we wont see anything at all until it's finished.

My son has a friend who works for Parks and will be working on the track this summer. Apparently the track will be going around the edge of the plain where it starts to rise up the hills and is less likely to be a quagmire. He said you are unlikely to notice them working on it except when they get near the places it joins to the old track.

[ILUVSWTAS]

We were in there a few months back. No sign of any work yet. I think the new track is going in a totally new direction though? So it's possible we wont see anything at all until it's finished.

My son has a friend who works for Parks and will be working on the track this summer. Apparently the track will be going around the edge of the plain where it starts to rise up the hills and is less likely to be a quagmire. He said you are unlikely to notice them working on it except when they get near the places it joins to the old track.

Yes thats what i was saying.

[Son of a Beach]

The first time I did Frenchmans, I went up to my groin in the bog. The second time, most of the worst bits had been duck boarded. So in my opinion, the reputation was accurate, but no longer applies as much as it used to.

[Azza]

I dunno... getting down to your waist in mud is just part of walking in SW Tas...

As ILUVSWTAS says... best to avoid the rest of the SW if the Loddon bothers you.

[Nuts]

The first time I did Frenchmans, I went up to my groin in the bog. The second time, most of the worst bits had been duck boarded. So in my opinion, the reputation was accurate, but no longer applies as much as it used to.

Exactly, these 'beardless youths' will never experience the true soddens in their journeys of 'discovery' lol

[Penguin]

Done the Loddon three times.

First time up to shins, second time some of the bogs were up to chest and the last time we had to brush the dust off our boots. The last trip was much faster - surprise. The middle muddy trip I found harder than the SW track - more deep bogs rather than the mud on the SW track.

It all depends on the rain - obviously - rather than just the time of year. The second time when it was really boggy we went through only a few weeks after a friend of mine, who had an almost a dry run.

Really looking forward to the re routing on the low range to the side of the Loddon. Saw a picture somewhere of a small excavator being moved in to help with the work.

P

[doogs]

The first time I did Frenchmans, I went up to my groin in the bog. The second time, most of the worst bits had been duck boarded. So in my opinion, the reputation was accurate, but no longer applies as much as it used to.

Exactly, these 'beardless youths' will never experience the true soddens in their journeys of 'discovery' lol

On this track probably, but the bearded ones had much easier access to some of the remoter areas of the state with the old tracks now overgrown. And with the demise of forestry will continue to decline in accessibility. "Eeee, when I were a lad" doesnt wash with me you lot had it easy, if you were cold you lit a fire then burnt your rubbish!! Soft. Besides beards weigh far too much LOL. I could argue this tongue in cheek all day

[ILUVSWTAS]

The first time I did Frenchmans, I went up to my groin in the bog. The second time, most of the worst bits had been duck boarded. So in my opinion, the reputation was accurate, but no longer applies as much as it used to.

Exactly, these 'beardless youths' will never experience the true soddens in their journeys of 'discovery' lol

On this track probably, but the bearded ones had much easier access to some of the remoter areas of the state with the old tracks now overgrown. And with the demise of forestry will continue to decline in accessibility. "Eeee, when I were a lad" doesnt wash with me you lot had it easy, if you were cold you lit a fire then burnt your rubbish!! Soft. Besides beards weigh far too much LOL. I could argue this tongue in cheek all day

you left out the food drops Doogs...

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

After walking Frenchman's Cap in Feb this year, I emailed Dick Smith about the trackwork.

Essentially the comments here are fairly accurate. There is some visible trackwork as you descend down to the start of the Loddon's proper, which involves both raised duckboards and also hardened & raised earth with a drainage gutter down the side.

Dick alluded to the fact that the Loddon's from this point onwards will be largely bypassed and the track will be further north, up above the floodplains (just below Pickaxe Ridge), and that the majority of the work may not be visible (even moreso in the future until the tracks finally get linked).

While I agree it might cause a slight increase in visitor numbers, I don't see it becoming over-used. From what I could tell in our emails, Dick's main motivation for the funding was the decimation of the environment in the Loddon's area. I don't think the intention was to make the track significantly easier, or to increase visitor numbers - the fragile and obviously damaged ecosystem in the plains was the primary concern.

If anyone walks the track in the future and would like to say thankyou (like I did), or report to Dick on the trackwork progress (or more importantly the progress of the regenerating environment) I'm sure he'd like to hear from you.

[Nuts]

(I'm actually not that old ha ha, just like talking that way lol... still cant grow a proper beard , maybe in my 50's..)
Nothing particularly fragile (priority wise) about much of the bog on that track, especially in the lower reaches SAH.. I don't buy it...

[Genesis]

Well, I will be going regardless of where the trackwork is at, AS I feel that it will be part of the experience. I am working on that beard just for the experience but I have opted to grow a poltester fleece
version as it is light dries fast

Genesis

[stepbystep]

South Aussie Hiker describes it accurately, the section after coming off The Franklin Hills now has raised duckboards and looks horrendous, it's obviously fairly recently done and makes the crossing of the Loddons much easier than it once would have been. IMO as it is currently it equates similarly to the section around Junction Creek, an hour or so of slog but really not bad at all. I liked the look of Pickaxe Ridge and you'll see a tag at the logical exit point of the main track where I presume the new route goes. It will provide better(different) views of the area.

I think it will however definitely increase numbers to the area and I hope this has been taken into account by those involved.

@nuts, 10 years ago 50's was old now it seems like the new 40's which seemed old 20 years ago

Enjoy

[Nuts]

@nuts, 10 years ago 50's was old now it seems like the new 40's which seemed old 20 years ago

Like everyone, i thought anyone out of their early 20's looked 'old'. Now I look at many people in their 70's and don't think they look 'old' anymore, they just die though, funny ol life..
I wont make 80 (I hope), I'd likely be in a wheelchair if I did, getting to the tv an all day mission lol..

btw.. I went through last winter with geoskid and a mate and think the track works worthwhile, its a bit of a trudging start to what becomes an awesome walk.
I do wonder though how often those that prioritise these things (like 3 capes) get out, not their pockets the money comes from i guess.

[Son of a Beach]

The first time I did Frenchmans, I went up to my groin in the bog. The second time, most of the worst bits had been duck boarded. So in my opinion, the reputation was accurate, but no longer applies as much as it used to.

Exactly, these 'beardless youths' will never experience the true soddens in their journeys of 'discovery' lol

Crumbs... don't you start!

But it is odd how we start to get a bit of a friendly relationship with the bogs, and that in the end it does add to the experience - or perhaps more accurately, to the memory of the experience. I wonder if the people doing it without the bog will have a better experience, but the people who do it with the bog will have a better memory of the experience?

[Graham51]

Last time I went to Frenchmans I met an "old bloke" (probably not much older than me) on the way out across the Loddens. He didn't have any mud above the soles of his boots. Everytime he came to a mud patch he stopped, studied it for some time then picked a mudless route. I would have thought that impossible if I hadn't seen it. Probably took him a week to nwalk out.

[eggs]

There was a great difference in approach between going in and coming out.
Going in we tried to be careful, coming out it was full speed ahead - only pausing when the walking stick didn't hit any bottom
And I must admit that actually doing it allowed a lot of the fear to dissipate - and swimming through the mud really does stick in the memory.
But it is always true - the most memorable events are always the most hazardous occurances or silly mistakes we make.

It was interesting that we crossed paths with 2 girls who were also heading out - and we found a gaiter for them that had been sucked off one of their legs.
But part of their group were some guys who had hung back to climb the Frenchman.
They ran out to try to catch up - but were going on huge divergances to try and avoid the mud - they were well off track at times and at risk of getting lost.

I am yet to do any walks in NZ which involve river crossing - but I am guessing that wet feet will be an even more common occurance if/when I do.

[myrtlegirl]

Could someone please tell me what the track is like at present? I'm interested to hear if anyone thinks Chapman's times have been reduced much by recent track work.

[kozevian]

Got back from Frenchmans a few weeks ago.

I had done alot of reading on the Loddon plains which seemed to me to be the only major obstacle due to the mud levels.

On our way in we were up to our knees at some parts, perhaps due to lower rainfall than usual. A bit of duckboarding here and there but t'was kept mostly mud. To be honest, as new trampers, we found the mud to be much lower than expected. I've never felt so much like a child, running about in the mud, a bit like slopping about in the backgarden.

On our way out, during which it had rained non-stop for two days, we found ourselves quite bogged down, sometimes groin-level mud pools. It ended up being a real slog, but I think this can be attributed mostly to being rather tired and forced rationing of our food. We kept mostly to the track, as opposed to avoiding the extra muddy bits for less of an environmental impact, and because once you're wet, your're gonna stay wet!

In all I would not consider the Loddon to pose a major problem to anyone with no major qualms getting a bit grubby. Frenchmans was one of the most spectacular hikes I've done so far. Get in it!

Last edited by kozevian on Fri 16 Dec, 2011 8:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

[nakedape]

Oh goody! Might have to head in there one last time before the hoards invade. Thanks Dick - best of intentions I'm sure, but seriously, did you think of the consequences? Yes the Loddens were a mess at times, and yes repeated traffic was having an impact on the area - but what happens when you take this "gate keeper' out of the equation? Yep, even more traffic impacting on other parts of the track!

Bah!

[msw]

I just came back yesterday (30/1/12) and was very impressed with the track work done, down to the northern half of the Loddon Plains. There is less work south of the 20m high hill you go over on the plain, but I was there after a few days of dry weather and there was a nice solid crust on the bog.

As I was heading in on day 1, a guy stopped to have a grizzle wondering where all the Dick Smith money was being spent. I asked if he had noticed all of the new boarding that still had its green tinge to it - obviously recent work done.

When I signed out at the end of the walk I was surprised that there at least 10 people that I passed on the track who hadn't signed in at the start of their walk - just on that day. PWS need to add about 1/3 to the numbers they think use the track & huts.

[ILUVSWTAS]

The new track goes over a different ridge, you wont see ANY evidence of it at all until it is open for use.

We were also surprised at the lack of ppl using the logbooks.

msw, were you the chap we met at both huts over a few days??