Best alpine camping locations?

[L_Cham_67]

Hi all
So I've noticed that the forecast for southeast and southwest Tassie this upcoming Sunday and Monday is about as good as it gets. As a result, an idea came to my mind, where I could go and camp up on the top of a mountain somewhere and really take advantage of the good weather.
What are people's recommendations for the best places to go camping at high altitudes? I know Mt Olympus is meant to be a spectacular camping place, but if anyone else knows of a fantastic place to do it, I'd love to know about it.

[davidf]

My limited tas experince would be on top of frenchmans or ben lomond

[doogs]

Walled mt
Du cane range
Olympus
The guardians
Cheyne range
King william 2
Wylds craig
Mt field west
Adamsons
Picton
Bobs
Moonlight ridge
Agamemnon
Frenchmans (great views, pitching a tent is marginal though)
Eve (Anne range)
The Needles
Mueller
The sentinels
Clear hill
Wright
Stepped hills

[ILUVSWTAS]

Walled mt
Du cane range
Olympus
The guardians
Cheyne range
King william 2
Wylds craig
Mt field west
Adamsons
Picton
Bobs
Moonlight ridge
Agamemnon
Frenchmans (great views, pitching a tent is marginal though)
Eve (Anne range)
The Needles
Mueller
The sentinels
Clear hill
Wright
Stepped hills

Yep, anywhere you are happy to carry a tent to above 1000m works very well....

[ILUVSWTAS]

Quite seriously though, if you haven't done alot of high camping or off track walking, a nice easy one to start with is the Hugel plateau. Go up to little Hugel and head off towards Hugel. There is some lovely camping near a tarn up there with excellent views.

[L_Cham_67]

Quite seriously though, if you haven't done alot of high camping or off track walking, a nice easy one to start with is the Hugel plateau. Go up to little Hugel and head off towards Hugel. There is some lovely camping near a tarn up there with excellent views.

Ah OK! I've read about Hugel on other parts of this forum and on blogs + the Abels book. Is it feasible to head down from the summit of Hugel to the Mt Rufus track with a large pack on, considering the tricky terrain that exists around there?

[eggs]

I can second Ducane Range - one of the highest points on the island.
To wet the appetite see:
Trip report - http://new.bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=12896&p=170373&hilit=ducane+range#p170373
Our campsite - http://new.bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5745&p=201992&hilit=+Ducane#p201992

[north-north-west]

Is it feasible to head down from the summit of Hugel to the Mt Rufus track with a large pack on, considering the tricky terrain that exists around there?

Yes, but make sure you keep to the left when negotiating the boulder field between the Hugel summit and the flatter ridge beyond. If you go for what looks like an easier route through the boulders in the gully, you will end up having to do a very awkward sidle on a very steep slope. It's not very far from the gully to the easier terrain, so stick with it. Once on that flatter ridge, it's straightforward navigation down to the saddle and over to the track.
It's a great little loop. I think Nik did a trip report on the circuit some years back.

[Son of a Beach]

Yes, it is feasible. But I wouldn't attempt it if you're not comfortable with large boulder hopping as well as general off-track navigation, etc. There is a moderately extensive boulder field to negotiate, and it is tricky (ie, dangerous) and a little hairy (ie, scary). Not as bad as some other boulder fields, but use great caution, nevertheless. It's the usual dangers with boulder fields: Awkward slopes, slippery surfaces sometimes if wet/icy, large gaps between boulders with very deep holes under them, etc.

See:
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=2225&p=19095
viewtopic.php?f=42&t=7039&p=90106

Is it feasible to head down from the summit of Hugel to the Mt Rufus track with a large pack on, considering the tricky terrain that exists around there?

Yes, but make sure you keep to the left when negotiating the boulder field between the Hugel summit and the flatter ridge beyond. If you go for what looks like an easier route through the boulders in the gully, you will end up having to do a very awkward sidle on a very steep slope. It's not very far from the gully to the easier terrain, so stick with it. Once on that flatter ridge, it's straightforward navigation down to the saddle and over to the track.
It's a great little loop. I think Nik did a trip report on the circuit some years back.

[L_Cham_67]

Thanks for the info. I reckon I will go with Hugel as my destination, and leave the plethora of other options for other times. I'll suss out the boulders when I get there and make a judgement at the time. I have done Rufus before, but I'd like to add it in so I can avoid backtracking.

[Son of a Beach]

Thanks for the info. I reckon I will go with Hugel as my destination, and leave the plethora of other options for other times. I'll suss out the boulders when I get there and make a judgement at the time. I have done Rufus before, but I'd like to add it in so I can avoid backtracking.

You don't have to do Rufus to avoid backtracking. When you hit the Rufus track (after descending Hugel's south side), you can turn left instead of right/straight-ahead, and rejoin the Shadow Lake circuit without using any of the same track.

[L_Cham_67]

You don't have to do Rufus to avoid backtracking. When you hit the Rufus track (after descending Hugel's south side), you can turn left instead of right/straight-ahead, and rejoin the Shadow Lake circuit without using any of the same track.

Yeah that's true, and I haven't walked that connecting section of track before.

Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself (probably the case ), but would heading up to the Hugel area for an extra day, and visiting the Cheyne Range be possible? Is it an 'easy' (for Tasmanian standards) off-track walk, or is scrub an issue? I've been trying to find good info on accessing the Cheyne Range from Hugel, but most posts on this forum talk about accessing it from Gell.

[eggs]

True. But they have generally exited via the Hugel plateau. My understanding is that the scrub is not too bad.
At least I hope so. We were intending to go that way on my last trip but changed plans on the run due to weather reports.

[doogs]

I dropped off near the lake on the hugel plateau when I went that way. The scrub isn't bad by tasmanian standards, the worst being the forested descent from hugel. But it really depends ones ones perception of tough scrub though - there certainly isn't a pad but the forest is mostly open, lots of climbing over fallen trees and pushing through what I'd describe as light scrub. The upper Franklin can be wuite a torrent after decent rains too!

[pazzar]

It is worth just heading down to Lake Hermione and Orites Falls. As Doogs said, by Tassie standards, scrub isn't bad. In reverse the ascent is easy as there is a large landslip that can be used to gain considerable elevation with ease. It is quite stable to walk on.