Bushwalk Australia

Hi all,

In the last two weeks we have endeavoured to do the Mt Arthur and Ben Nevis walks only to find extensive track damage from the recent storms around Launceston. We were surprised by the extent of the damage, with large trees down and the track completely obscured for much of the distance. We were unable to make it to the top of either walk as we ran out of sunlight given the extra time required to make detours.

I was wondering how we go about fixing these tracks? Does it fall to individuals (such as myself ) to take some equipment and clear the track, or should I be in contact with bush walking clubs or Parks and Wildlife etc.?

Thanks,

Steve

Hi Steve,
Found this query when looking for Ben Nevis track details...which were none.
Your best bet would be to contact the Launceston walking club....and maybe able to arrange a working bee etc.
The land is State Forest...so Parks wouldn't be any help.
I intend to do the walk shortly...so will take some tape and slash hook to see if alternate deviations can be made.
Has been 35 yrs since last up there.....carrying concrete and gravel to build the FT Trig station...quite a bit fitter back then .

Re Ben Nevis,
There this Thursday....access road off Telopea road has been blocked with small gums due to substantial recent snow cover...needs a small saw to clear.
Walked into track proper....lots of scrub has been smashed covering track entirely in places. Made some small deviations cutting and marking as I went. Once out of the regrowth eucs....approx 450m in....the going opened up but still had to clear numerous broken scrub which I continued up onto the plateau. From there the Trig is easily accessed with a good trail and plenty of cairns. Would advise taking a GPSr and marking plenty of wpts as it can be quite confusing on the way back.
Climbed onto the northern most peak on the way back as it has the old FT Trig....though has been busted off near its base. Did more trimming on the way back but ran out of light some 200m from track start...so this section could do with some attention by the next walker/s.

As for Mt Arthur...shortest and easiest access is off the spur going in off White Mill Road...which is used by the FT Towerman during the fire season. The summit can be gained in 1hr.
Cheers...ST

Hi ST,

Thanks so much for the info. Yes, we walked up the access road to the start of the walk proper on Ben Nevis and found the section of smashed scrub. Thanks for your efforts there, hope to get up there again in the next week or so and have another go. It should be much easier now!

Steve

I was up there on Wednesday - it wouldn't take too long to clear the fallen branches off the road, but its not that far to walk up anyway. As for the track itself, it was fine to negotiate where the limbs had fallen. The slashing has made it a lot easier, but it was the fresh tapes that helped the most. As for the rest of the walk, it was a little overgrown in places, but well marked. I lost the track a few times once up on the plateau, but that was mainly due to snow cover. The views from the top are well worth the effort. All up it took about 4 hours with the extra walk down to Telopea Rd.