Western/Eastern Arthur Range Solo Traverse 22 Days

[Wirednomads]

Western/Eastern Arthurs Full Traverse Attempt Solo

Statistics:

Start Weight: 63.5kg
Finish Weight: 62kg
Start Pack Weight: 38-40kg
Finish Pack Weight: 21.5 kg
Days Spent: 22 days
Days Spent in Tent: 5 days
Days Food Carried: 27 days
Food Carried: 20x Breakfast, 20x Dinner, 20x Lunch, 60x Energy Bars,
15x Misc Dehydrated Fruit, 1kg Chia Seeds (18-20kg)
Food Given to Me: 2 x Lamb Dinner, Dehydrated Rice, Pack of Chapati,
2x 18g Mars Bars, 2x 40g Protein Bars, 1/2 Cucumber,
3x Tea Bags, 100g Salmon, Small Bag Trail Mix,
1/4 Caramel Chocolate Bar, 3 Oreos, 1 Apricot Chew, Tape,
Ink Pen
Food Given Away: 2x Lunch, Berries/Apricots, Fruit Straps, 7x Energy Bars,
4x Dinners


Route:
February 17 - March 10, 2015



Days Before



One month of work & twenty days of food on one table (: 60 Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner, 60 Raw Energy Bars, 20 Packets of misc. dehydrated fruit all cryvacced into this. I can't imagine what all of this looked like before it was dehydrated!! Most of the food is organic/wild and grown by Jack and Ben. Some of the most amazing fruit and vegetables I've had in my life. It has been crazy planning something like this and it would only be a dream if it weren't for these beautiful people. Thank you Jack and Ben (:

Ah and on a side note the raw energy bars we made are amazing! One 80g bar has 1550kJ (330cal), 11g protein, 19g fat, 34g carbs, and 16g fiber/sodium!!! My target kJ per day is 16,000kj.




Beautiful jungle energy everywhere we go smile emoticon Thank you so much for the lift from the airport, bringing me to cygnet, and on to the ferry to bruny island. Love and light Celine




A Dutch Eye. One of the beautiful girls whom picked me up upon arriving on Bruny Island, such a rough life


Day 0 : Hitch Bruny Island to Hobart. Stay with friend from forum.


Hitching across "the neck" on Bruny Island



Day 1: Leave Hobart 7:30AM. Arrive at Scotts Peak 12:30pm. Walk to Junction Creek.


Just arrived hitching to Lake Peddar and get my first glimpse at the Arthur Mountains.



Day 2: Junction Creek up Moraine Alpha to Lake Fortuna. Take a wrong turn on the bluffs NE of Lake Fortuna. Descended into burnt vegetation, ripped tent bag, almost lost cooking pot. Nice introduction to what is to come.


The top of Moraine Alpha looking down on the Arthur Plains



Day 3: Lake Fortuna to Cygnus. Decide to stay in this area for another night. Rope food at Lake Cygnus in case of rats. Go back to Lake Fortuna to retrieve lost socks, go for a swim, and back to Lake Cygnus before sunset.


- Feeling free atop the range.



Day 4: Wake up to a cloudy landscape. Walk to Square Lake, camp on shelf above lake. Climb Procyon Peak for Sunset.


The trail below Mt. Hayes.


Intrigued by everything


Looking down on Lake Neptune


Early morning looking over Lake Cygnus


Looking down over the Arthur Plains


On the way to Lake Oberon straddling Mt. Hayes


Spires off of Mt. Hayes


Looking back at Mt. Hayes


Many of the days the Arthur mountains were shrouded in clouds whilst the Arthur Plains looked to be having perfect weather!








Camping on the shelf above Square Lake


Evening from Pyrocon Peak


Evening from Pyrocon Peak


Evening from the Pyrocon Peak


Evening from the Pyrocon Peak


Sunset from the Pyrocon Peak



Day 5: Walk to Lake Oberon. Spend much of the day atop Mt. Orion. Go for a swim. Relaxing day. Clear night, new moon, great for Astrophotography.


Looking back at Square Lake and the shelf I camped atop the night before.


Classic shot attempt at Lake Oberon


Dinner at Lake Oberon



Sunset at Lake Oberon


The Milky Way over Lake Oberon



Day 6: Clear Morning. Scary start up Mt. Pegasus with heavy pack. Go modular with pack to get through the rock squeeze. Almost descend wrong side of pegasus. Walk to High Moor by Sunset.


Lunch overlooking Lake Uranus


Looking back at the route over Mt. Pegasus and around Lake Uranus




The mirror of Lake Ariel


Sunset from High Moor



Day 7: Wake to high winds and rain. Wait out storm at High Moor until clear weather. Sun out for two hours in the evening.



Day 8: Wake to foggy morning. Shortly into the Beggary Bumps, descend wrong gully 100-200m before realizing it was the wrong direction. Traversed moss covered cliffs and came up the gully with a small rope across. Lost a few hours and felt exhausted. Rope bag before Haven Lake. Meet two other hikers, share dinner and stories. They give me 2x lamb dinners, 1 packet chapati, and half a chocolate bar.


Views from High Moor of Mt. Capricorn


Lake Saturn


The start of The Beggary Bumps


The start of The Beggary Bumps


Within The Beggary Bumps


This was the toughest moment during my trek within the Arthur Mountains. On day eight I traversed a section called the Beggary Bumps. That morning it was quite foggy and I became confused at where I was exactly. I ended up descending around 100-200m down an extremely steep gully in which I wasn't meant to go down. Considering the weight of my pack I didn't think I could climb back up. From there I risked climbing out onto steep moss-covered cliffs with dense vegetation to the point I could barely get through. Luckily I was able to take off my pack, climb up to find the trail, clear a path, and get back on track. I would rarely consider taking a selfie but I suppose I wanted to remember this moment. It was only 11am, yet I had already lost one contact lens, felt exhausted, spent, and quite scared to be honest. I think for the first time I realized I was alone, and how quickly things could turn bad within this environment if I rushed and didnt use the maps/track notes properly.


Lake Mimas and Mt.Shaula


Looking back over the gnarly as Beggary Bumps


Lake Haven

Nice to share dinner and stories with Andy and ??? So sorry I forget names so easily and thank you for the delicious Lamb and gravy dinners, chapati, and chocolate!!



Day 9: Walk to Promonotory Lake. Nice to have a different dinner, lamb and gravy over rice.



Day 10: Wake up high winds and rain. Walk to camping are North of Lake Venus. Spend day in tent during storms. Storms pass shortly before sunset.


One of my favorite campsites above Lake Venus


Streams above Lake Venus


Sunset above Lake Venus



Day 11: Walk to Lake Rosanne. Rip pants in scrub. Cold night. Rain during the night.


Near West Portal looking back over the Western Arthurs


Near West Portal looking back over the Western Arthurs



Day 12: Wake to beautiful lenticular clouds. Storm hits while on Lucifer Ridge. Decide to take shelter for lunch under rock overhang. Clothes become wet after I decide to go back to Lake Rosanne for water. Build small fireplace once back and get a fire burning despite the rain. Dry most of my clothes and decide to spend the night on the ridge. Pitch tent uneven on top of button grass.


Awake to Lenticular Clouds. Realize now what a warning these are!



Day 13: Spend until 5pm sheltered from the rain in front of a small fire. Rain clears around 4:30 so I pack up and walk to Pass Creek. Pass Creek was flooded, decided to camp on the plains and let the water level drop.


A break in the storm



Day 14: Wake to clear skies. Dry gear and let water level drop. Walk to Stuart's Saddle. Almost step on large tiger snake while not wearing gaiters near Lake Leo. Meet two other hikers, share chocolate and stories. Learn of bad weather and possible snow next 3 days.


Awake webbed in on The Arthur Plains


Waking up on the Arthur Plains


Early morning views of the Arthur Plains


Sunset over Lake Leo


Mark and Jeremy. Two great guys I met at Stuarts Saddle. First people I had the gift of conversation with in almost 7 days! They shared the weather forecast with me letting me know the snowstorm and freezing rain was incoming for the next three days. They helped motivate me to continue on in hopes of waiting on the storm. They gave me food, and a much needed ink pen to continue writing in my journal



Day 15: Walk to Goon Moor in hopes of waiting out the storm.


Sunset over Federation Peak viewed from a ridgetop near Goon Moor.


Sunset looking west from Goon Moor over Bathurst Harbor


Sunset over Bathurst Harbor


Panoramic looking west towards Bathurst Harbor



Day 16: Storms at Goon Moor



Day 17: Storms at Goon Moor


Snow in Summer!!


Snow and Pandani



Day 18: Storms at Goon Moor


Sunset with Pandani and Scoparia from near Goon Moor within the Eastern Arthurs.


Sunset with Pandani and Scoparia


Pandani Sunset



Day 19: Wake to high winds and rain, decide to go back. Walk to Pass Creek. Very wet upon arriving.


Day 20: Clear Weather, slight occasional rain. Walk to Seven-mile Creek.


The Arthur Plains


The road to mushrooms!



Day 21: Clear Weather, slight occasional rain. Walk to Junction Creek.



Day 22: Clear Weather, slight occasional rain. Walk out and catch a ride back to Hobart.

Rachel and Andrew - I met them at Junction Creek on Day 21. We walked out the next morning and they gave me a ride back to Hobart (:


Just me


My first meal. Amazing dirty pizza from La Bella in Hobart, Tasmania!



Days After

My last sunset in Australia


My last night in Hobart overlooking the city



Thoughts:

Most of the advice I was given should have been heeded, however I made due with the gear and weight that I had. My rain gear was not sufficient for this type of environment and my pack was extremely over weight for the first couple of weeks. Although having enough food to go slow was perfect for the time I wanted to spend. I should have had more than one change of clothing in case of getting wet. Having the gear strapped to the outisde of my pack caused a lot of rips and tears to everything. The food I carried turned out to work great although I will have more variety and less food next time. I planned to eat 15,000kj per day but this was impossible for me. My daily eating scedule was, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 3 energy bars. I rarely could eat all the energy bars per day. Even with the food I gave away and the food given to me I estimate that I had enough food for 27 days. Also during this I was injury free. Never once had to use a band-aid or take any medication. I was also amazed that I lost practically no weight, less than 2kgs! My primary cooking fuel was Petrol, 1 liter, which lasted me 19 days. The Arthur Mountains were completely different than I anticipated. Although spending twenty two days within these mountains are one of the most amazing things that I have ever done. I feel like I learned more during this than any other trek I have attempted. I wish I could have attempted Federation Peak but I think it was wise I didn't push further in foul weather. I can always come back. After this I decided to come back home to the Appalachian Mountains, grab some new gear and head to New Zealand for a year January '16. Thank you to everyone who offered advice and suggestions while I was planning this. A huge thanks to biggbird for the hospitality, taking me rock climbing, and even driving me to the airport. Would love to payback the favor somewhere in the world, thank you both for being such amazing hosts! Also without biggbird I would have had no EPIRB or the sufficient maps I would have needed. I'm sure I left out a lot but here is my rough trip report. I apologize for the fire...If it wasn't out of necessity I would have not had one.

Love and light,

Jordan
http://www.facebook.com/wirednomads

Last edited by Wirednomads on Tue 07 Apr, 2015 9:25 pm, edited 3 times in total.

[wildlight]

Hey Jordan

Words and images from a true artist. Apart from being ahead of your time and possibly in another dimension- (see quote below)- you've come out well.

Route:
August 17 - March 10, 2015

Now, I don't know the state of your eyesight- but doing such a hike minus one contact lens would definitely make life interesting. These are great images and words, the selfie within the Arthurs speaks volumes. You got some great light in some of the scenes, and worked the images well in mono when the light was probably less than what you'd have preferred.

Roll on, safe travels.

Cheers

WildLight

[simonm]

Thanks for sharing Jordan. Great photo's from a great adventure.

[ofuros]

Captured beautifully, a trip to be relived & looked back on over the coming years....

[DanShell]

I knew the pics would be brilliant, congratulations that is very inspiring.

[biggbird]

Nice to see the report up! Glad to be of assistance

[Azza]

Wow.. What an epic..! Good job on making it out intact!

Most of the advice I was given should have been heeded

There are so many people that post on here asking for advice and then selectively choose to ignore certain key points, its quite frustrating actually.
Maybe this site needs a FAQ on SW Tassie walking or sticky post / something because this advice thing seems to fall on deaf ears frequently enough.
We know your gear is going to get shredded and you are going to suffer with a heavy pack up pegasus and in the begary bumps.
And you'll probably have issues route finding... and at some point you'll probably get smashed by a storm.

But the Arthurs makes you a better walker and I'm sure the experience you've gained now will help you with future trips.
And you know what we're on about now our trails are a bit different to what you find elsewhere in the world.

[tazrich]

Amazing photo's Jordan. What an adventure it must have been

[Nuts]

Beautiful photoset, as others have said. That does look like one tasty pile of food.
Bit of a fail on needing the fire. Whatever.., i'm not much of a rules nazi but It's not a good idea leaving that pic on here mate.
Thanks for taking the effort to let everyone know how you went.

[Scottyk]

Great trip report from a great trip
Not a fan if the fire, those pictures should be removed

[walkabout]

Jordan, I was looking forward to the pics and report - and it doesn't disappoint. What an amazing adventure giving you a lifetime of memories. Now I know you're a Baggins, despite your denial

[norts]

Me either Scottyk. I cant understand the need for it, there is a tent pitched in the shot, so he has shelter and also presumably warmth unless sleeping bag is wet.
Rest of the photos are very good.

[GPSGuided]

Brilliant stuff! Thanks.

[whynotwalk]

Hi Jordan - some great images from what sounds like a huge journey. Glad you picked up some learnings about walking in this amazing wilderness. Glad too that you removed the fire photo. I have to agree with Nuts, Scottyk and norts on that one. Frankly you were admitting to breaching the Fuel Stove Only law, which was not a smart thing to (a) do in the first place and (b) show that you had done.

If we're going to be nazis about any aspect of bushwalking in the WHA, it should be about keeping campfires out of this fragile area. It's not a trivial matter as the future of whole species and ecosystems depends on our individual acts. Your pic added a sour note to what is in most respects an amazing report.

cheers

Peter

[Suz]

Awesome trip, from your OP it seemed so impossible with so much stuff! Great pics

[tigercat]

Thanks for the photos Jordan, I look forward to venturing beyond Pegasus in the future. Milky Way over Lake Oberon perhaps my favourite. Glad you made it to Square Lake and Procyon Peak at sunset.

[Mark_O]

Beautiful photos!

Like others here I am extremely disappointed about people lighting illegal fires in such a fragile environment. Unfortunately I have seen a lot of it over the past five years - with the worst area being the South Coast Track. In walking Moraine A to K last week my wife and I discovered two major fire scars (Junction Ck & Two Mile Ck) along McKays Track. We were shocked to see them and particularly as neither looked like they had any effort made to either put them out or remove the burnt logs, ashes and scar. Disappointed.

[GPSGuided]

Petrol as fuel is interesting. Was it just because it was cheaper and available? Or does it provide more competitive energy density to other common fuels for the camp stove?

[icefest]

Petrol as fuel is interesting. Was it just because it was cheaper and available? Or does it provide more competitive energy density to other common fuels for the camp stove?

IIRC it's because he already had the stove.

[GPSGuided]

Petrol specific stove?

[icefest]

I think so.

[whynotwalk]

Petrol specific stove?

Maybe a multi-fuel, like this http://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/msr-dragonfly-multi-fuel-hiking-stove-burner/11774

... or since Jordan is from the USA, where the term "shellite" is not used, he may be referring to that.

cheers

Peter

[Strider]

Shellite is known as white gas in the US, is it not?

[whynotwalk]

Shellite is known as white gas in the US, is it not?

Yes, that's what I'd heard. Also white spirit.

[Nuts]

iirc he said petrol for his msr stove, in the other thread. I asked about it, tried petrol and wouldn't be first choice.

[stu]

Great photos & congratulations on getting through.
Totally appalled by the fire lighting tho, this shows an inherent disrespect for our fragile & precious wilderness.
As others have said, you had a tent, a (dry?) sleeping bag & i'd assume some dry clothes, this was totally unnecessary.

[north-north-west]

Great photos & congratulations on getting through.
Totally appalled by the fire lighting tho, this shows an inherent disrespect for our fragile & precious wilderness.
As others have said, you had a tent, a (dry?) sleeping bag & i'd assume some dry clothes, this was totally unnecessary.

+1

[Nuts]

Maybe it's for the exercise but i'm sure, with a page of reminders, the message is across.
In this case, It could be as much a failure to communicate how seriously this is taken.

[jmac]

If you had done your research thoroughly you were in no doubt that fires were not permitted. If conditions were good enough to stay out of your tent long enough to light a fire, then no emergency existed; you just wanted a fire. If I was in a position of authority I would probably forgive this once, because of the difficulty of obtaining a conviction, but if you ever showed such disrespect to our law again I would prosecute to the max. Great pictures, but please show more respect and just tough it out next time.

[Nuts]

..should just add, for my part, I feel a bit guilty bringing it up. The pic/s(?), that he put up. I just thought they should go asap, I didn't get to delete the reference to them in my post in time.