Bushwalk Australia

Hi all,
Friends and I are planning a Full Arthurs Trip Late Jan/Early Feb next and was wanting input in our current itinerary.

We are all experienced walkers, having most recently done a 9 day Central Plateau traverse including the infamous Ling Roth Lakes.

The plan is to do a food drop off at Pass creek before we start our main walk from Scots Peak in order to reduce weight through the whole walk. Has anyone done this kind of thing before?

Federation Peak will only be done in pristine weather and I'm not sure whether its suitable doing it on the way to Bechervaise Plateau, or do it as best to stay at either Hanging Lake or the Plateau and do it as a day walk.

Here is a Pic of the full itinerary.

Mt Aldebaran is really after Haven Lake and is further than you think. It's only about a day and a half from Bechervaise to farmhouse. Maybe 2. Water was very scarce beyond Oberon. Lots of people do food drops. The wildlife love them.

On Day 2 you have enough time to do Procyon and Sirius as well as Hayes and Orion, if you choose the right route. Don't try to traverse across to Orion from Procyon - return to the main track and do the two Abels from the saddle just above the lake. Quickest and easiest route up Procyon is from the high point of the track, where it does a right angle turn about 500m NW of Square Lake.
As Last has said, High Moor to Haven is slow going. Taurus summits are very short sidetrips from the track (one each side) and worthwhile. Aldebaran is from the saddle just past the Haven camp and takes longer than you'd expect.
There are other summits along the way that are worth visiting, but some are best done on lay days - Dorado, for instance, although it isn't that far. I had time to go from Haven to Scorpio and down to Promontory, set up camp, and climb the Sculptor and Canopus before a late dinner and sunset on Carina. You need good weather to fit all that in and, for once, I had it.
You might be able to find water along Centaurus Ridge, but it's iffy unless you know just where to look. There are a couple of possible interim campsites along there, but don't count on them.

Camping at Rosanne is very limited. Two tents only unless the conditions are miild enough to pitch up on the moraine.

Nothing wrong with leaving a food drop, but make sure your containers are critter proof.

It might be worth noting that a road failure on the farmhouse creek track means that you'll have to add 3.4km to your final day.

There's nothing very special about the South Cracroft camp, especially after the fires a few years ago, I'd be trying to walk out from Cutting camp, although I get that fatigue could be a factor by that stage.

I've always wondered about camping in the rainforest saddle between the South Cracroft and the Mt Bobs turnoff, although you'd have to carry water.

It's been a long time since I was there but I recall that Cutting camp and South Craycroft were a little mosquitoish. The rainforest on the saddle was fairly atteactive as a waterless campsite, although it's not that far down to Farmhouse creek. There's also a good campsite beside Farmhouse a couple of hours in from the "old" carpark.

In April this year we did Scotts Peak-Kappa Moraine-West Portal-Eastern Arthurs out via Farmhouse. Have done WA A-K previously.

Western Arthurs itinerary looks fine to me, you would have time to climb Alderbaran on Day 5 as it isn't that far around to Lake Venus or Prom Lake. Camping is better at the latter. The day over West Portal is a pretty long one so suggest getting as far as you can. NNW is right about the camping at Rosanne, there is one reasonable camp site for a 2 person tent, one tiny camp site you can squeeze a small tent into, and one cave you could biviouc in if necessary. No room on the 'beach' and dunno about the morainne or surrounding buttongrass, it didn't look very comfortable to us

When going from Rosanne to Pass Creek you'll have to go down to the junction near the Razorback as the Lucifer Ridge route is closed, however it is an easy half day with extensive boardwalk from Strike Creek onwards. You could do the food drop around this junction rather than all the way in at Pass Creek. Not sure what way you're planning on walking the food in but the Yo Yo Track is a nightmare at the moment from what I have read.

We walked from Hanging Lake to Forrest Camp in a day (didn't summit due to weather), the camping we found was far superior there than anywhere else in the Cracroft Valley. We walked out from Forrest Camp. You could easily go Hanging Lake / Bechervaise / Forrest / Out. Like Lucas said there is about a 1 hour road walk at the end of the trip. As for summiting, I suggest you just go whenever you get a weather window... we were tent bound for 3 days at Hanging Lake and didn't see the peak between the Razorback and the car.

Sounds like a solid, realistic plan.

As NNW stated, both Procyon and Sirius are short and worthwhile side trips. Aldebaran is a bit further off the main track but not hugely so, it's well cairned and mostly open walking. I think we took around an hour each way, and the views are totally worth it. Just make sure you're setting off from Haven Lake early

Cracroft River junction to Strike Creek is/was fairly vague when we went through ~10 months ago, I'm assuming more boots have been through since to reinstate the pad. There are trees nearby the junction with Lake Rosanne, this would be the ideal spot to hang a food drop - solid plastic screwtop container, taped up and in a dry bag is our usual method. There were a couple of tent platforms just south of Strike Creek when we went through, this was actually a nicer location than Pass Creek but I'm not sure if it was a temporary camp for the track workers doing the boardwalk up towards Luckman's Lead. Anyway, as Geevesy mentioned the condition of the Yo-Yo Track remains terrible apparently (has anyone actually been through recently?) but it is entirely possible to walk the 33km from Scotts Peak to the Lake Rosanne junction in a day, do your food drop and then overnight either around Strike Creek or perhaps at Cracroft Crossing before walking back out. Unless there's been a tonne of rain to swell all the creeks/rivers, I reckon this would be the faster option. The Lucifer Ridge route is definitely a no-go now.

Speaking of rain/swollen creeks, Pass Creek is, ahem, fun to get across when the water is flowing hard. Something to be aware of for all of the Arthur Plans area.

Summitting Federation on the way through from Hanging Lake is very straightforward, there's enough room to drop your big packs. My first time up Fedders we did Hanging to Bechervaise comfortably in under half a day (late start waiting for the weather), with a full day you'd merrily make it to at least Cutting Camp, probably further. Forest/Crest Camp is definitely the pick of camps east of Moss Ridge: Cutting is ok but if you're in a group you'll be scattered all around, and South Cracroft is burnt out/closed around the river itself (which is a mess) and the platforms are out in the open. There are some spots along the Cracroft River just east of Cutting that can work too, depending on how much space you need.

Anywhere from Cutting Camp out to Farmhouse it is a solid but straightforward day's walk, no need to break it up over two days unless you need the rest

It's now further to walk at the Farmhouse Creek end. From the Parks website

"West Picton Road (prior to Riveaux Creek) is closed due to the deterioration of three structures along the road.
Both Farmhouse Creek and Mt Picton walking tracks remain open.
A vehicle turnaround and car parking bay have been provided at the West Picton Road closure.
A 15-20 vehicle parking area has been created adjacent to the new closure.
Farmhouse Creek walking track requires an extra 7.1km (one-way) walk along West Picton Road from its closure prior to Picton River Tributary.
Also, the pedestrian bridge over Farmhouse Creek has been closed, so walkers will need to ford Farmhouse Creek to continue their walk.
Water levels fluctuate according to rainfall, so walkers need to make their own assessment of conditions before crossing.
Mt Picton walking track requires an extra 7.2km (return) walk along West Picton Road and then West Picton Road Spur 1-2 from its closure prior to Picton River Tributary.
Further information can be found at: https://sttas.com.au/access-permits/roa ... k-closures
Locations affected: Southwest National Park; Eastern Arthur Range Traverse;
Last reviewed 27/9/2023 05:04 PM"

Cutting Camp to Farmhouse creek trailhead + 7.4km of dirt road in one day, after having hiked the whole WA+EA traverse, even in dry conditions, it's a long and hard day. And not fun for most.
IMO the spot on top of the Picton Saddle is not worth it for camping. There is one near the log crossing on the farmhouse creek (2/3 tents) near water. Nice spot and handy. Cutting camp to log crossing in one day makes more sense to me. Then an easy and short-ish walk out the final day.