Overland and Walls of Jerusalem

[hikingoz]

About two and half months ago I did a trip which included the Overland track and parts of the Walls of Jerusalem national park. I took snowshoes and tried to visit many areas of the parks covered in snow. I lasted 17 days with a food drop part way and stayed in huts every night. I originally planned to stay out for 20 days and snow camp in some areas but had a mishap with my sleeping mat and also my stove. I guess these things happen...

Anyway I took a lot of photos when my batteries were warm enough and I kept a log of my journey. I've finally compiled it and posted it on my blog. http://www.hikingoz.com/2012/10/the-ove ... ls-of.html

It was a pretty interesting trip and revealed a renowned area of Tasmania I had not visited before.

Pelion East

Cheers,

Cam
Hikingoz

[tigercat]

Great account and photos, thanks for posting. Those huts are perfect for winter walking. Was loneliness an issue for you?

[philm]

Thanks for posting this is a great write up. Did you see anyone else on your trip after Cradle? Also interested in the gear you took for the cold?

[hikingoz]

Great account and photos, thanks for posting. Those huts are perfect for winter walking. Was loneliness an issue for you?

Nah, there were people passing by every two or three days. I don't mind being on my own anyway. It's got it's pros and cons.

Yep the huts are great, except for the gas heaters which were a bit on the weak side for winter comfort. It took a long time to melt a billy of snow when the water tanks were frozen...

Thanks for posting this is a great write up. Did you see anyone else on your trip after Cradle? Also interested in the gear you took for the cold?

I had a Macpac Sanctuary 600, Montbell Down Parka and Merino Layers. I also tried out a Mountain Hardwear softshell during the day. I wear a set of waterproof socks over my woolens to ward off frostbite. Ninja Ice Gloves under shell mits. Mont softshell beanie over a Wilderness Wear merino beanie.

I was a bit cold in the night because my Exped Downmat came unstuck internally. Also the down in my Macpac sleeping bag migrated and two of the main vertical baffles were completely empty. It is hard to move the down around in those bags. I've since taken it into the store to be looked at but it still isn't quite right

Next time I might take some lightwieght down pants and a new down jacket with a bit more loft.

The whole thing was a bit of an exercise in 'keeping moving' or 'getting warm' at times.

[tonka]

Sounds like a great trip, any idea why your exped mat expired? I have one and would be interested on how to avoid it happening.

[hikingoz]

Sounds like a great trip, any idea why your exped mat expired? I have one and would be interested on how to avoid it happening.

I went on a very wet rainy trip prior to this trip. I inflate it using the hand pump of course but I suspect the high humidity allows moisture into the interior of the mat which in turn caused the welded seams to fail. So when at the start of this trip I went to pump it up, the seams just came apart under light inflation pressure.

Tasmania's climate is unavoidable but the mat can be stored unrolled with the valves open. This might help to keep the interior dry I guess.

It's me second mat of this type to fail so I requested a refund instead of a replacement.

[Strider]

I went on a very wet rainy trip prior to this trip. I inflate it using the hand pump of course but I suspect the high humidity allows moisture into the interior of the mat which in turn caused the welded seams to fail. So when at the start of this trip I went to pump it up, the seams just came apart under light inflation pressure.

Which mat was it? UL or regular weight?

Exped recommends Downmat's be stored unrolled and deflated with both valves open. How do you store yours?

[hikingoz]

Exped recommends Downmat's be stored unrolled and deflated with both valves open. How do you store yours?

That's why I said it. I stored mine rolled up in the stuffsack in the cupboard.

[Strider]

Exped recommends Downmat's be stored unrolled and deflated with both valves open. How do you store yours?

That's why I said it. I stored mine rolled up in the stuffsack in the cupboard.

Ah sorry, must have missed that. I wonder if Exped will warranty it anyway? Worth a try...

[hikingoz]

Exped recommends Downmat's be stored unrolled and deflated with both valves open. How do you store yours?

That's why I said it. I stored mine rolled up in the stuffsack in the cupboard.

Ah sorry, must have missed that. I wonder if Exped will warranty it anyway? Worth a try...

Yeah there's a five year warranty. The company was great to deal with. So was bivouac.co.nz who did the refund after previously processing a replacement.
(the first mat failed on its first use)

I'm considering an xtherm as a replacement. I've got a mont warmlite in the meantime which I bought at a clearence sale.

I reckon the Down mat is limited in it's application. A bit like the "groundbreaking" Jetboil that can only cook water. Maybe if I followed ALL the instructions everything would turn out all right.