Lake Rhona Walk

[Azza]

As mentioned over here ( viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12507&start=150 ) with the recent rescues from Lake Rhona anyone heading in here it is well worth taking into account the weather situation before heading off.
The Gordon River rises rapidly after heavy rain and as we saw on NYE it doesn't take a lot to put the log crossing well underwater.
On the 28th of Dec there was 30mm of rain or so in the area, combined with the massive catchment area feeding the Gordon it was enough to take the log from half a metre out of the water to well submerged.
Apparently the number of people going into Lake Rhona has doubled in the last year or two I'm told it now receives over 800 visitors and year.
A while back this number was more like 400.
Parties become trapped on the far side of the Gordon is becoming a semi regular thing as soon as someone is reported overdue the police have a pretty good idea what is going on.
They're actually posted a note in log book requesting people carry an extra 3-4 days food to account for river issues.

Anyone thinking of heading in there, please look at the weather forecast and make plans accordingly.. if its going to pour down maybe don't go.. or take extra food and don't get upset and want immediate rescuing if you get stuck, you might have to wait it out a few days.

If we keep having to pay out for helicopter rescues because people can't appropriately plan their trips something might happen to the current access and that would be a shame... of course there are always unexpected cases, but I'd be taking note of a forecast that said lots of rain....
Parks are now responsible for maintenance of the road network in the Florentine, it would be a lot cheaper and easier for both them and the police if the road / log etc. became impassible.

[Tassie tyger]

Yup correct. That's what happened with growling swollet. Forestry road was great, parks road terrible but accessible if you were good at mud clay slip sliding. Parks asked for a gate to be installed by forestry and now it's a veeerrryyy long winding road to get there unless you grab a key. With the parks budget low, short and medium walk closures are becoming very often. I just hope the lake rhona walk doesn't become another fatality.

[icefest]

After (re)checking the weather forecast at Lake Wugata today at lunchtime, and seeing that the forecast from 2 days ago (one short front and then a week of clear weather) had changed to rain tonight, continuing for a week with a grand finale of snow on the peaks I decided to hightail my way out of this walk. I had food for another 10 days but didn't fancy getting to the spires just to sit around in the tent at The Font, waiting for a short break in the rain.

So a hasty retreat was required, and I made it to the Gordon about 30min after the rain came. Thankfully it hadn't started to rise yet, but the slimy crossing had me just as scared crapless as the climb down Mt Secheron.

Thankfully the inflatable raft I had stashed away on the western bank wasn't required this time.

To cut a long story short the Gordon is unlikely to be passable for the next week and there was no-one at the carpark when I left so hopefully no rescues will be in the news soon.

Both the Florentine Road and Eleven Road are open to traffic at the moment. Going via the Florentine is faster as the road is larger and there are less pot-holes.

[north-north-west]

You really brought the bad weather with you, didn't you? I thought I was the major jinx but you've outdone me this summer.

[icefest]

You really brought the bad weather with you, didn't you? I thought I was the major jinx but you've outdone me this summer.

I feel sorry for anyone in the Frank lands. This northeasterly storm will really rattle then.

[north-north-west]

I haven't been anywhere since the middle of last month. Every time I start to get ready another front comes through.

[pazzar]

After (re)checking the weather forecast at Lake Wugata today at lunchtime, and seeing that the forecast from 2 days ago (one short front and then a week of clear weather) had changed to rain tonight, continuing for a week with a grand finale of snow on the peaks I decided to hightail my way out of this walk. I had food for another 10 days but didn't fancy getting to the spires just to sit around in the tent at The Font, waiting for a short break in the rain.

So a hasty retreat was required, and I made it to the Gordon about 30min after the rain came. Thankfully it hadn't started to rise yet, but the slimy crossing had me just as scared crapless as the climb down Mt Secheron.

Thankfully the inflatable raft I had stashed away on the western bank wasn't required this time.

To cut a long story short the Gordon is unlikely to be passable for the next week and there was no-one at the carpark when I left so hopefully no rescues will be in the news soon.

Both the Florentine Road and Eleven Road are open to traffic at the moment. Going via the Florentine is faster as the road is larger and there are less pot-holes.

Sounds like The Spires don't want anyone climbing them this year!

I was out camped at Snowdrift Tarns on Tuesday night, one tarn went from completely dry to overflowing by morning. If I were a rafter I would be out on the southern rivers right now. So much water!

[Orion]

How long does it typically take for the level of the Gordon
to drop? Would it be back down now?

[Strider]

How long does it typically take for the level of the Gordon
to drop? Would it be back down now?

Depends on rainfall but also mostly upon release of water from the Gordon Dam.

[Azza]

How long does it typically take for the level of the Gordon
to drop? Would it be back down now?

Depends on rainfall but also mostly upon release of water from the Gordon Dam.

Lake Gordon is something like 33m below full and has been < 20m for as long as I have been paying attention.
So I doubt the dam release has much effect at the moment.

We seem to be getting semi-regular decent rainfall, keeping the water level up.
Photos I've seen of the log crossing in the last week show that its down a bit on when I was there at New Years.
Log is out of the water - just... I'd be paying attention to the weather forecast before heading in.

Due to the large catchment area up river the effect of any rainfall seems be delayed more than you'd expect and seems to take longer than you'd expect to go down.

[icefest]

Have a look at the water gauge on the Florentine river nearby. If that's in flood the log will be uncrossable.

Upper Gordon water level is not linked to the dam releases.

[Thornbill]

Was planning on heading into Lake Rhona this coming long weekend. But given the 100+mm of rain at Strathgordon over the last few days and the latest flow rate on the Florentine River (http://www.hydro.com.au/system/files/wa ... tineRv.pdf), perhaps not! Hopefully the helicopters aren't need up that way this weekend.

[pazzar]

Was planning on heading into Lake Rhona this coming long weekend. But given the 100+mm of rain at Strathgordon over the last few days and the latest flow rate on the Florentine River (http://www.hydro.com.au/system/files/wa ... tineRv.pdf), perhaps not! Hopefully the helicopters aren't need up that way this weekend.

I suspect you might be ok this weekend, if the current Google Earth images are anything to go by, but its always a risk after high rainfall.

Hopefully there isn't too much rain over the weekend though. I'm heading in there next Thursday and would prefer the water to be lower.

[Azza]

Nah.. I doubt it.. that is much higher flow than we encountered at the start of January and the log was under the water.

Similar scenario big rainfall a couple of days before.. flow rate up. Some snow on the peaks, which will melt and give the water level another little boost in a couple of days.
Unfortunately it takes a few days to sort itself out because of the large catchment area feeding the Gordon..
Guaranteed that the Gordon - next valley over will have got more rain than the florentine.

Pazzer you do know that google earth is not real time or anything close to that?

[Thornbill]

100mm in 2 days is a pretty decent fall. Given that people had to be flown out earlier this year after a fall of around half that, I think we'll be heading elsewhere

[JohnR]

Completed this walk last week in near perfect weather.

Log crossing was not a problem. However it's definitely a mud bath from Gordonvale on which makes the walk pretty tough. It rivals the SCT on that front.

Seems like some track work is urgently needed together with a toilet at Rhona. On the toilet issue, given the length of walk to get outside the lake's catchment, I doubt the problem will ever be addressed by a few signs.

Anyone know of any Parks' plans on these issues?

Still a great walk and one which my 10 yo daughter enjoyed very much. Perhaps a perfect walk as an intro to the SW for kids?

Cheers,

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[whynotwalk]

Hey JohnR - sounds like a great trip. I'd imagine your 10yr old will never forget it! Good on you for taking her (and good on her for doing what can be a tough walk!)

binder (who works for Parks) would know more, but I reckon the chances of trackwork in the Vale of Rasselas in the immediate future are very low (too few walkers, too many $$$ to do it). And the chances of a toilet at Lake Rhona are even less, but that's a philosphical decision as much as a practical/financial one. It's my understanding that Parks consider Lake Rhona to be a "self-reliant wilderness" zone. As such they ask walkers not to "poo in your own nest" (as I believe the sign puts it.) The last few times I've been there I haven't found the task of walking the 80-100m out of the catchment that hard. I can see it may be a bit off-putting for a 10 yr old, or anyone who's "caught short"

cheers

Peter

[JohnR]

Thanks Peter for that information.

Perhaps the mud and the log crossing are the natural boundaries needed to protect what is a very contained and fragile area.

As I saw it, to truly remove yourself from the catchment area you need to walk back to where the track enters the lake (pretty much where you cross the creek flowing out from the lake) and locate yourself on the eastern face of that. Obviously you should also not be within 100m of the creek itself. From the campsite this is a 300 to 400 metre walk.

The signs (while they assist to at least make people consider the issue) do little to be specific as to what is within and outside the catchment.

I would think anywhere behind the dunes in the campsites is within the catchment (even if one walks all the way to the bottom of the cliff faces to the north).

Perhaps a better approach is a sign on the track in (located 100 metres before the creek) saying no 2s beyond this point?

Cheers,
John

[icefest]

Sounds like you had a lovely trip! It looks so much nicer in good weather

While I understand the issue regarding costs, I suspect that compliance would go up a sigificant amount if the pad back from the campsite were hardened enough to support a walker running full pelt to get out of the catchment. That stretch also sees 300x more walkers and is much more affected by trampling.

[Thornbill]

Made it up to Lake Rhona for the first time this week. What an amazing place! We had stunning weather and were able to climb up onto the range and Reeds Peak with an uninterrupted view to the horizon. Magic.

After hearing and reading a bit about the toilet and water issues we were unsure what to expect. To my eyes, it seemed pretty good really. Not too many obvious signs of people "pooing their own nest" around the campsite. Perhaps people are starting to get the message. As others have said, it isn't exactly an arduous walk back out of the catchment from the campsite. 5 mins walk to avoid any issues with water quality, hygiene and aesthetics seems a no brainer. Hopefully most others see it that way. We also drank (treated) water from the Lake with no issues.

Agree that to some people the signs could be clearer and specifically state something like "no toileting beyond this point". Although, its pretty easy to work out what is in the catchment and what isn't. Just look at the terrain and see where the water will flow.