Mt. Roland circuit

[sarah]

I was wondering if anyone has done the Mt. Roland circuit? We are planning to walk it soon and Chapman suggests that it's around a 7 hour trip with medium-hard grade. I always take his suggestions with a pinch of salt and wanted to know if that sounds about right. We're walking with some not so fit members and don't want to 'challenge' them too much. Any advice would be greatly apreciated.

[Son of a Beach]

I've not done the circuit as such, but when I was about 11 years old did the easy route up.

I've since done the steep route and it is only difficult for a moderately short section. When I say difficult, it is not that the climbing itself is technically hard, it is just steep, and so if you take it slow, it should not be a problem. My wife didn't like it too much, but it was our honeymoon, and she still had her long acryllic nails on, so I can't say that I blame her.

I can't recall seeing any water on either track, so you should make sure you carry some.

I would agree that a 7 hour round trip is probably about right (assuming the circuit you mean is the combination of the two tracks I've used), but my memory is kind of fuzzy on the first trip.

I find Chapmans notes to be a lot more accurate than most, but he walks a little faster than me sometimes. If you have slower people in the group, you should definitely allow more time.

[tasadam]

Bear in mind what John says about his times - they are actual walking times, allow extra time for breaks etc... Nobody moves constantly when doing walks like that, even stopping for a photo is not incorporated in his times, as he states, walking time... So, yes, allow extra time.
I have not done the circuit but my wife has, I will ask her and come back here...
The bits I have done, well we were in a rush and my knee was a bit dicky so coming down the steeper sections I didn't go so good, couldn't bend a leg, but still managed quite okay, although uncomfortable for me with the darned stuffed knee.
Cheers!
(edit - I used the swear word blood and a y, it translated it to bleeding / blood soaked. It wasn't bleeding, just a bit of cartlidge damage)

Last edited by tasadam on Thu 10 May, 2007 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Son of a Beach]

Bear in mind what John says about his times - they are actual walking times, allow extra time for breaks etc... Nobody moves constantly when doing walks like that, even stopping for a photo is not incorporated in his times, as he states, walking time... So, yes, allow extra time.

Ah, so that explains why I thought he must be a faster walker. I really should read the books properly, instead of just skipping to the track notes I want, eh?

[sarah]

And i think that what Chapman recommends for times are based on how long it took for him, and he would be a fit man (That's just my speculation). It's just interesting to see how the times fair for other people. Especially as, sometimes, not everyone is quite that fit. I would really appreciate the suggestions from your wife tasadam. Thank you very much.

[chapman]

Times in our 'Day Walks Tasmania' should be reasonably close to what most day walkers should take. If a walk did not have generally agreed times then we took our total time which also included our munchie stops and our numerous photography stops as being the basis for the suggested times. Yes we might walk a bit faster than many but by using the time which included all the little stops it should be something close to what many might take.

As for our other books, times are estimated for the target audience. For South West Tasmania, the target audience are very experienced walkers and they do walk a fair bit faster than the less experienced ones which is why times in that book might seem a bit short for some.