Eldon Range
Posted: Sun 13 Nov, 2011 7:03 pmA group of 8 (Me, Stu, Azz, Ollster, Lagaroo, Fizzygood, Doogs and mr 80%) of us set off on a journey to this range recently. We had a boat ferry us across lake Burbury as far as the waterless lake would allow. Unfortunately drop off point was 2k's further back than we had hoped due to the lack of water.
8 soon became 7 when one member of the group (Ollster) suffered HUGE anxiety attacks and refused to get off the boat, it was not a good start to the trip.
Thunder greeted us from the direction of the stormy looking Eldon peak and little did we know at the time what the change in weather would bring us for the next 6 days.....
We proceeded to walk the dried up lake to the top end where we were lucky enough to pick up a very old road which took us to the South Eldon river. After finding a crossing point of the river we set off following the river north. Soon after we came to a spot in the forest suitable for 7 tents.
The next day we started the long slow plod uphill (1200m of ascent) carrying very heavy packs (ranging from 19kg-27kg) Eldon peak is a big big mountain and it took most of the day to slowly plod our way up. Closer to the top the weather deteriorated fast and we were soon in cloud and mist for the final few hundred metres of ascent. Sure enough though we eventually reached the top. Mostly pleased with the lack of scrub, only a few short sections of nasty stuff on day 2 was a good start!
After a short stop on top in mist we made for where we knew the camp site to be, and sure enough below us a small tarn came into view, very very happy to see this we soon had the tents set up and settled in for the evening. Around 6pm i noticed on my pack a few ice crystals starting to form, so i moved everything into my vestible. Sure enough when i woke the following morning there was heavy ice covering everything! Sheets of ice would fall off the tents as you opened the fly. We knew this day was meant to be a long slow difficult day of boulder hopping, so after some brief discussion, it was decided it was too dangerous to proceed. There was a fierce cold wind blowing, and combined with the ice we knew it was too dangerous to risk prolonged exposure in these conditions. TENTBOUND!! And on day 3! So we spent the day eating and playing cards.
Day 4 was slightly better, no ice but quite wet. No-one wanted to retreat down the peak and walk the lake with our tails between our legs, so it was agreed by all we would proceed! It was a very slow day making our way through the chaotic maze of messy boulders that makes up the range, no pack hauling was required, but much damage was done to gear, several holes in packs, jackets and over pants were soon discovered over the next days. By the time we reached our camp for the night we were all soaked to the skin and freezing cold, it was a race to get the tents set up (in puddles of water) before hyperthermia set in. Little did we know it was to get worse.
Day 5 was one of the most horrible experiences i have ever had walking. Putting on 4 layers of clothing, all soaking wet, then overpants and jacket soaking wet to go outside in the freezing rain/sleet and pack up the gear, by the time i did my laces up i had lost all feeling in my fingers. Soon enough we were all freezing cold and wet but ready to move on. This day the boulders continued for most of the day, very exciting walking, but we had had nothing but mist to this stage and navigation was very difficult relying totally on our GPS's to make sure we stayed on route. Luckily i had plotted a rough route on my unit before leaving home, so we had a rough guide to follow and only a couple of small mistakes were made. About 2pm then clouds parted and the sun came out... the hoots and cheering that followed was one of the happiest moments I have ever been a part of, seeing the sun really lifted the groups morale NO end! The weather continued to improve dramatically which was amazing timing as we were just starting to approach Eldon Bluff. By the time we got close to it, we had full views in all directions! And wow, what a view it was. Eldon Bluff is massive, and truly amazing!
We made our way to the saddle and pulled out some wet clothing to dry while some of us climbed Eldon Bluff.
After a retreat to the saddle we descended to lake Ewart, which proved to be a lot scrubbier than it looked from the top, it was here we left the boulders for good and traded for scrub, scrub, and some heavy scrub. One member of the group who hadnt done much off track walking prior to this trip was REALLY feeling fatigued by this stage and we were quite concerned by the time we got to the lake that we may have a situation on our hands... luckily the following day was a designated rest/sidetrip day, so he got a chance to refuel.
Day 6 3 of us set off for Dome Hill. Mostly open pleasant walking with lots of fossils in average weather. around 4.5 hrs return.
Day 7 we moved on again.... away from Ewart and up to the ridge near Castle mtn. Scrub medium. 4 of us climbed Castle mtn while the others rested near a small tarn, a little scrubby on the ascent, but pretty easy. Then we headed towards another scrubby ridge which we siddled around to another scrubby ridge heading towards High Dome. By this stage the weather had turned to hot, and it was with much delight we found a few tarns up high on the ridge with commanding views in all directions. The reserve looked especially close with Cradle, Barn, Pelion West, Ossa and Nereus all looking amazing, Frenchmans and the POW dominated the view to the south. We enjoyed our first social night being able to cook out of our tents and in each others company. Up until this point the trip was really a "get to know your tent" type trip.
Day 8 Another hot day, and boy was i sick.... I hadnt managed much sleep as i had been up with a bad case of the *&^%$#@!. Highly explosive in fact, 3 of the guys set off at 7am to climb High Dome, but I was way too unwell. It took them just over 2 hrs. Doogs who was planning an early exit packed up and headed off solo when they got back, and it was decided I was too unwell to travel far this day, so another layday was called. A few hrs later and after swallowing several "gastro stop" tablets i was feeling slightly better, and absolutely OVER my tent, i decided to attempt High Dome myself. Much to the disgust of a couple of my walking partners, I just felt so much better to be moving around, but carrying a full pack was beyond me. I made the summit, but it took nearly 4 hrs return.
Amazing views, an amazing mountain.
It was now decided that we didnt have enough days left to finish the walk to lake St Clair, so we decided to follow Doogs out over Pidgeon house hill to the Lyell highway. I had ph reception, so managed to ask a mate to pick us up in 2 days time on the highway as our cars were at lake St Clair.
Day 9 Still $#!+ing water and bile, but no choice but to move on!! It was a slow trip down to 5 duck tarn where we found the camping to be quite ordinary. Very happy with our decision to camp high rather than at this dank little tarn, we filled up our bottles and moved on to the South Eldon river where we hoped to pick up a pad leading up to junction hill. Many thanks to Peter Franklin for some track notes had us picking up the pad shortly after leaving the river. We managed to follow this for the next few hrs on and off all the way to Rocky Hill where our next camp was planned. What an amazing campsite it was too, very similar to the WOJ with alpine heaths and pencil pines as big as i have seen anywhere!
Day 10 Still sick.... and now running out of poo free clothing to wear i was REALLY starting to look forward to getting home and seeing my toilet. And my child.. but mostly my toilet.
Following the occasional footstep of Doogs we headed down the rough pad over Pidgeon house hill and to the river. A crossing of near waist deep (which i for one was thankfull for the wash) followed and soon we were on the highway and nearly home!! I hadnt even gotten my gaiters off when one of our group had managed to wave a car down and scored all 6 of us a lift in a campervan to lake St Clair!!
Summary - a hard trip with moderate scrub, and difficult boulders to negotiate. Certainly only recommended for people comfortable navigating in extremely remote areas and at times with no land marks to guide.
Eldon Bluff and High Dome are 2 amazing mountains I shall never forget.
Walking ill is not easy. Walking in freezing conditions for days on end is testing, trying to keep sleeping bag and one set of clothes dry in those conditions is really really not easy.
10 day trips in a large group can be fun, but also challenging at times when all members are young-mid aged men full of testosterone.
As i touched upon, alot of gear was destroyed on this trip. 3 or 4 packs (BRAND NEW packs) came out with large holes, one brand new goretex jacket got 2 holes, over pants were shredded and torn.. yes good gear is essential for such a trip.
I am unable to put any photos up at this stage, but will do so mid week when I finally get my good computer back.
8 soon became 7 when one member of the group (Ollster) suffered HUGE anxiety attacks and refused to get off the boat, it was not a good start to the trip.
Thunder greeted us from the direction of the stormy looking Eldon peak and little did we know at the time what the change in weather would bring us for the next 6 days.....
We proceeded to walk the dried up lake to the top end where we were lucky enough to pick up a very old road which took us to the South Eldon river. After finding a crossing point of the river we set off following the river north. Soon after we came to a spot in the forest suitable for 7 tents.
The next day we started the long slow plod uphill (1200m of ascent) carrying very heavy packs (ranging from 19kg-27kg) Eldon peak is a big big mountain and it took most of the day to slowly plod our way up. Closer to the top the weather deteriorated fast and we were soon in cloud and mist for the final few hundred metres of ascent. Sure enough though we eventually reached the top. Mostly pleased with the lack of scrub, only a few short sections of nasty stuff on day 2 was a good start!
After a short stop on top in mist we made for where we knew the camp site to be, and sure enough below us a small tarn came into view, very very happy to see this we soon had the tents set up and settled in for the evening. Around 6pm i noticed on my pack a few ice crystals starting to form, so i moved everything into my vestible. Sure enough when i woke the following morning there was heavy ice covering everything! Sheets of ice would fall off the tents as you opened the fly. We knew this day was meant to be a long slow difficult day of boulder hopping, so after some brief discussion, it was decided it was too dangerous to proceed. There was a fierce cold wind blowing, and combined with the ice we knew it was too dangerous to risk prolonged exposure in these conditions. TENTBOUND!! And on day 3! So we spent the day eating and playing cards.
Day 4 was slightly better, no ice but quite wet. No-one wanted to retreat down the peak and walk the lake with our tails between our legs, so it was agreed by all we would proceed! It was a very slow day making our way through the chaotic maze of messy boulders that makes up the range, no pack hauling was required, but much damage was done to gear, several holes in packs, jackets and over pants were soon discovered over the next days. By the time we reached our camp for the night we were all soaked to the skin and freezing cold, it was a race to get the tents set up (in puddles of water) before hyperthermia set in. Little did we know it was to get worse.
Day 5 was one of the most horrible experiences i have ever had walking. Putting on 4 layers of clothing, all soaking wet, then overpants and jacket soaking wet to go outside in the freezing rain/sleet and pack up the gear, by the time i did my laces up i had lost all feeling in my fingers. Soon enough we were all freezing cold and wet but ready to move on. This day the boulders continued for most of the day, very exciting walking, but we had had nothing but mist to this stage and navigation was very difficult relying totally on our GPS's to make sure we stayed on route. Luckily i had plotted a rough route on my unit before leaving home, so we had a rough guide to follow and only a couple of small mistakes were made. About 2pm then clouds parted and the sun came out... the hoots and cheering that followed was one of the happiest moments I have ever been a part of, seeing the sun really lifted the groups morale NO end! The weather continued to improve dramatically which was amazing timing as we were just starting to approach Eldon Bluff. By the time we got close to it, we had full views in all directions! And wow, what a view it was. Eldon Bluff is massive, and truly amazing!
We made our way to the saddle and pulled out some wet clothing to dry while some of us climbed Eldon Bluff.
After a retreat to the saddle we descended to lake Ewart, which proved to be a lot scrubbier than it looked from the top, it was here we left the boulders for good and traded for scrub, scrub, and some heavy scrub. One member of the group who hadnt done much off track walking prior to this trip was REALLY feeling fatigued by this stage and we were quite concerned by the time we got to the lake that we may have a situation on our hands... luckily the following day was a designated rest/sidetrip day, so he got a chance to refuel.
Day 6 3 of us set off for Dome Hill. Mostly open pleasant walking with lots of fossils in average weather. around 4.5 hrs return.
Day 7 we moved on again.... away from Ewart and up to the ridge near Castle mtn. Scrub medium. 4 of us climbed Castle mtn while the others rested near a small tarn, a little scrubby on the ascent, but pretty easy. Then we headed towards another scrubby ridge which we siddled around to another scrubby ridge heading towards High Dome. By this stage the weather had turned to hot, and it was with much delight we found a few tarns up high on the ridge with commanding views in all directions. The reserve looked especially close with Cradle, Barn, Pelion West, Ossa and Nereus all looking amazing, Frenchmans and the POW dominated the view to the south. We enjoyed our first social night being able to cook out of our tents and in each others company. Up until this point the trip was really a "get to know your tent" type trip.
Day 8 Another hot day, and boy was i sick.... I hadnt managed much sleep as i had been up with a bad case of the *&^%$#@!. Highly explosive in fact, 3 of the guys set off at 7am to climb High Dome, but I was way too unwell. It took them just over 2 hrs. Doogs who was planning an early exit packed up and headed off solo when they got back, and it was decided I was too unwell to travel far this day, so another layday was called. A few hrs later and after swallowing several "gastro stop" tablets i was feeling slightly better, and absolutely OVER my tent, i decided to attempt High Dome myself. Much to the disgust of a couple of my walking partners, I just felt so much better to be moving around, but carrying a full pack was beyond me. I made the summit, but it took nearly 4 hrs return.
Amazing views, an amazing mountain.
It was now decided that we didnt have enough days left to finish the walk to lake St Clair, so we decided to follow Doogs out over Pidgeon house hill to the Lyell highway. I had ph reception, so managed to ask a mate to pick us up in 2 days time on the highway as our cars were at lake St Clair.
Day 9 Still $#!+ing water and bile, but no choice but to move on!! It was a slow trip down to 5 duck tarn where we found the camping to be quite ordinary. Very happy with our decision to camp high rather than at this dank little tarn, we filled up our bottles and moved on to the South Eldon river where we hoped to pick up a pad leading up to junction hill. Many thanks to Peter Franklin for some track notes had us picking up the pad shortly after leaving the river. We managed to follow this for the next few hrs on and off all the way to Rocky Hill where our next camp was planned. What an amazing campsite it was too, very similar to the WOJ with alpine heaths and pencil pines as big as i have seen anywhere!
Day 10 Still sick.... and now running out of poo free clothing to wear i was REALLY starting to look forward to getting home and seeing my toilet. And my child.. but mostly my toilet.
Following the occasional footstep of Doogs we headed down the rough pad over Pidgeon house hill and to the river. A crossing of near waist deep (which i for one was thankfull for the wash) followed and soon we were on the highway and nearly home!! I hadnt even gotten my gaiters off when one of our group had managed to wave a car down and scored all 6 of us a lift in a campervan to lake St Clair!!
Summary - a hard trip with moderate scrub, and difficult boulders to negotiate. Certainly only recommended for people comfortable navigating in extremely remote areas and at times with no land marks to guide.
Eldon Bluff and High Dome are 2 amazing mountains I shall never forget.
Walking ill is not easy. Walking in freezing conditions for days on end is testing, trying to keep sleeping bag and one set of clothes dry in those conditions is really really not easy.
10 day trips in a large group can be fun, but also challenging at times when all members are young-mid aged men full of testosterone.
As i touched upon, alot of gear was destroyed on this trip. 3 or 4 packs (BRAND NEW packs) came out with large holes, one brand new goretex jacket got 2 holes, over pants were shredded and torn.. yes good gear is essential for such a trip.
I am unable to put any photos up at this stage, but will do so mid week when I finally get my good computer back.
