Western Arthurs

[chopper]

I'm very excited to be heading off to the Western Arthur's Traverse on Saturday. I just found this forum last week and it's been very helpful, seems like the Western Arthur's is a popular trek with a fairly obvious trail to follow. My partner and I really enjoyed the overland track last summer although too many people for my liking, and if it's a notch or two up on that then I know I'll really enjoy the challenge. Unfortunately I don't have much time so I'm hoping to do the shorter traverse in 4 days/3 nights - I do quite of bit of running and quite a few walks lately in and around Katoomba in the blue mountains so reasonably fit. Thinking of night one at Lake Cygnus, night two at Lake Oberon, night at Haven Lake and walking back to the car on day 4 - perhaps someone who has done the walk will know if that's the best option given the weather forecast is a bit drizzly on the first two days.

[ILUVSWTAS]

We did roughly that recently, it took 14.5 hrs to walk from haven lake back to the car.
And its more than JUST a notch or 2 up from the overland... the overland is a stroll in the park by comparison! theres LOTS of VERY steep sections that need negogiating. and while there is a good track/pad leading through it yes.. it still is very rough in places. Pack a rope just in case........

[ILUVSWTAS]

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3075

Check the trip report out, and remember pictures NEVER do justice of how rough/steep the terrain is.

[tasadam]

I've only been as far as camping at Lake Cygnus myself, and exploring a bit beyond.
I think you'll find it more than a notch or two up on the Overland tracfk (putting it mildly).
Several topics here on the forum including South West Walking Simulation have some interesting info here for you.

[eggs]

I haven't been past Pegasus, but I would have thought going from Oberon to Haven is also a very long day.
And probably the day you will be thinking "what have we got ourselves into" - climbing up cliffs, dropping down extreme mud walls and negotiating the very vertical Beggary Bumps.

Actually - you would do well to consider how it was getting to Oberon, and if you feel it has been very tough, I would seriously contemplate going back the way you came. Its still a most glorious walk. That would line up with our 3.5 day effort - afternoon walk to Junction Creek - next day to Square Lake - then a half day exploring through to the top of Pegasus before returning with packs to Cygnus - then getting wind blasted going back over Hesperus to Moraine A and back to the car.

Edit - I thought the trip url from ILUVSWTAS might have been this one http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1998.
His is a great sample of fantastic scenery - but please read this link - it is about a recent journey that tested one persons expectations to the limit.
It also has a few more track centred photos.

[ILUVSWTAS]

True Eggs, though it wouldnt be as hard as going from Haven to Scotts peak was.

[Beeper]

You should stay a night at High Moor, the traditional next camp from Lake Oberon. High Moor in good weather is one of the best spots in the southwest.

[ILUVSWTAS]

And in bad weather one of the worst! My walking partner had a pole in his tent snap and go thru the roof of his tent at High Moor... But it was a lovely spot

[Beeper]

There are tent platforms there now, so at least you can tie the tent down and not have a wet bum.

[Son of a Beach]

I think that your first two days sound reasonable, but your second two days sound way too long for most people to do it in an enjoyable way. For many people that would simply not be possible and only the very fit and experienced would do that. I'm an average speed walker (not fast or slow) and I would stop at High Moor and possibly also on he plains (is it 7 mile creek or something?). So I would take at least 5 days, probably 6. In fact I did take six but went the other direction (ie, up K and down A). Could have done 5 but would not have enjoyed it as much. Possibly could have done 4 but would not have enjoyed those two days much at all.

I think doing it the other way is better because you get a shorter plain walk out from morraine A and the long plains walk on the way in builds a lot of anticipation walking the length of the range in view.

[DaveNoble]

You may want to consider this itinerary -

Day 1 - Scotts Peak to Square Lake
Day 2 - Square Lake to High Moor
Day 3 - High Moor to Lake Cirona (or near L Vesta)
Day 4 - back to SPD

Its a great shame to race through the range in a short time like this on your first visit. And it is definitely worth traversing all the way to the end of the range (Crags of Lucifer). And if you are fit, experienced, competent and like scrambling AND have a good spell of weather - then you may want to consider - Day 1 - SPD to L Oberon, Day 2 - to Haven Lake, Day 3 - to L Rossane, Day 4 - back along the Arthur Plains to SPD. It is common and part of the Western Arthurs experience to spend at least one day stormbound in your tent.

But if you have bad weather, or a bad forecast - then you may only want to walk out to Lake Oberon and back (via Moraine A)

If you don't like the scramble down to Lake Oberon - then seriously consider not going beyond L Oberon.

Have a good walk.

Dave

[PeterJ]

You mentioned that you were going with your partner so they would need to be equally as fit as you. The only real comparison between the Western Arthurs (WAR) and Overland track is that they are bushwalks in beautiful country; however as mentioned by others the WAR is very rugged.

I have been there several times, the last being in February 2009 and you can read my notes on the web Personally I wouldn't contemplate going from Oberon to Haven in a day, we did side trips and took 6 hours from Oberon to High Moor and another 6 to Haven. These are the hardest sections from a technical perspective with plenty of tricky ups and downs. Also be warned you need good weather for them. The log history for the range indicates that lots of parties turn back and on my last trip we encountered a couple who decided on that course at Square Lake.

[ILUVSWTAS]

If you don't like the scramble down to Lake Oberon - then seriously consider not going beyond L Oberon.

This is probably the best advice so far, It all seems quite easy up until this point. And all of a sudden it's like WOAH STEEP!!

BUT it is only a taste of whats to come! It gets MUCH MUCH steeper.....

[Son of a Beach]

It would also be useful to know more about what your (and the rest of the groups) bushwalking experience is, in order to give better advice. If the Overland Track is the most substantial bushwalk done by any of the group, then I would suggest that people may get quite a shock at just how difficult the Western Arthurs is. Although any fit healthy walker can do the WA, it is a LOT harder than the Overland Track - in terms of cardio-vascular work out; in terms of technical clambering up and down rocks, and near-vertical cliffs of mud; and in terms of 'exposure' to doing dangerous walking and climbing on dangerous heights.

If there is anyone in your group who has not experienced anything more substantial in this regard than the Overland Track, then you should definitely allow longer for this walk. It's not a "notch or two up from that". It's more like 10 notches up from the Overland Track.

Additionally, if the weather forecast is "a bit drizzly" for any location anywhere near there, it's quite likely that it will be quite drizzly, and perhaps full-on rain, for the entire trip (although not necessarily the case). That part of the South West has a very localised wet climate all of its own.

[alliecat]

If there is anyone in your group who has not experienced anything more substantial in this regard than the Overland Track, then you should definitely allow longer for this walk. It's not a "notch or two up from that". It's more like 10 notches up from the Overland Track.

That raises an interesting point. Should we have a "difficulty rating" list of Tassie walks somewhere on the site? Say the OT is a 1 and the WA is a 10, and people can rate walks on that scale? With a whole 'nother scale for off-track areas maybe. Maybe different ratings for vertical exposure, scrub, exposure of campsites, etc.

Just a thought.

[ILUVSWTAS]

A damn good idea too! Might stop people taking on walks that are obviously out of their capabilities therefore putting the lives of our SAR team at great risk!!!!

[ollster]

That raises an interesting point. Should we have a "difficulty rating" list of Tassie walks somewhere on the site? Say the OT is a 1 and the WA is a 10, and people can rate walks on that scale? With a whole 'nother scale for off-track areas maybe. Maybe different ratings for vertical exposure, scrub, exposure of campsites, etc.

Just a thought.

Nice thought. It'd be good if the site system could do a poll whereby you could allocate 1-10 to each major walk listed. Then you need to look at side trips too... Maybe too complicated?

I think off track walking shouldn't have a scale, considering it's too variable. At that point if you don't have the experience to figure it out for yourself (with a little prep info) then don't even attempt it. I'm sure you know what I mean.

[Son of a Beach]

If there is anyone in your group who has not experienced anything more substantial in this regard than the Overland Track, then you should definitely allow longer for this walk. It's not a "notch or two up from that". It's more like 10 notches up from the Overland Track.

That raises an interesting point. Should we have a "difficulty rating" list of Tassie walks somewhere on the site? Say the OT is a 1 and the WA is a 10, and people can rate walks on that scale? With a whole 'nother scale for off-track areas maybe. Maybe different ratings for vertical exposure, scrub, exposure of campsites, etc.

Just a thought.

It's a great idea, and could be done on the Wiki. As suggested, a series of polls could be used to formulate a consensus for each value.

The wiki page could be set up similarly to the List of High Places page, with a column for each rating variable (eg, days/hours, kilometres, steepness, technical climbing, scrub, overall difficulty). The name of the track could then link to a wiki page dedicated to that particular track (these per-track pages do not need to exist, but the links will encourage people to add them if they wish to).

Anybody want to take this on?

[plaz]

I can second the advice about using LAke Oberon as a guide. I did this trip some 5 years ago and was very anxious about how hard it would be. My previous walking had included PB and the overland track combined with a traverse of the ducane range, and I knew from reading John Chapmans book that the WA range was much harder. The advice I recveived from a very experienced walker was that there is a section on the descent to Lake oberon where it is steep and you may have to use a rope.(we did). The following 2 days - one to high moor and then to Haven lake are generally no steeper or harder than this short section, but are like it more or less constantly, over and over again. I found this advice quite accurate, with the proviso that once you get past lake oberon if the weather turns bad you may end up sitting in your tent for several days as there is no easy way down, and it can be just too hard to continue in a storm. Walking to LAke Oberon and spending a day or two there in many ways would be a more pleasant trip, and would be my preferred trip if taking my wife who is less keen on suffering in general. There is no way we could have done oberon to haven in a day - I am 42, can run 10 ks in one hour, (about once a week) and have a sedentary job, cycle about 30ks a week (to give you a sense of fitness). Other parties can and do - a lot of it is about how much time you spend scratching your head and saying "man, is that really the track" and "Wow, I've got to take another photo"

A resource that I would have liked and suggest in parrallel to the rating scheme above is for experienced walkers to list comparable walks in other states. I imagine in the blue mountains the three peaks walk over 48 hours would give you a sense of the endurance, and maybe the Taros ladder or CArlton head off narrowneck a sense of the exposure...Its been so long since I've been to these places I've forgotten how steep they are, but I would have liked to be able to plan a training walk of similar intensity to the WAs near home, more for the confidence than anything else.

HAve a good trip.

[Ent]

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[ILUVSWTAS]

Mt Anne in a day
Not really anywhere else that comes to mind is anything like the Arthurs

[chopper]

Thanks David, Square Lke to High Moor sounds like a good option and I appreciate your thinking in terms of a stretch goal given favourable weather . And it is a shame to rush such a walk but I know I'll be back one day for a full West \ East traverse - I do enjoy a good sramble for a worthy cause.

[Lindsay]

If there is anyone in your group who has not experienced anything more substantial in this regard than the Overland Track, then you should definitely allow longer for this walk. It's not a "notch or two up from that". It's more like 10 notches up from the Overland Track.

That raises an interesting point. Should we have a "difficulty rating" list of Tassie walks somewhere on the site? Say the OT is a 1 and the WA is a 10, and people can rate walks on that scale? With a whole 'nother scale for off-track areas maybe. Maybe different ratings for vertical exposure, scrub, exposure of campsites, etc.

Just a thought.

It's a great idea, and could be done on the Wiki. As suggested, a series of polls could be used to formulate a consensus for each value.

The wiki page could be set up similarly to the List of High Places page, with a column for each rating variable (eg, days/hours, kilometres, steepness, technical climbing, scrub, overall difficulty). The name of the track could then link to a wiki page dedicated to that particular track (these per-track pages do not need to exist, but the links will encourage people to add them if they wish to).

Anybody want to take this on?

The Wildwalks site has done this for parts of NSW. Their classifcation sytem may be of interest.
http://www.wildwalks.com/bushcraft/tech ... ystem.html

[Beeper]

Day 1 Scotts Peak to Lake Cygnus, is enough for most people. The up and down walking in the WAR is very tiring. I wouldn't try and do too much each day, either you will miss too much scenery or you will completely wear yourself out, leading to other problems. The steep descent down into Lake Oberon is a very good litmus test for how you may cope for the rest of the walk, if you need to pack haul, take too long or panic etc then you will struggle with other sections after Lake Oberon. This will affect your ambitious walking agenda. That said if you're very fit its achieveable, I know someone that walked Scotts Peak - Moraine A - Moraine K - Scotts Peak in less than 3 days.

[norts]

You need to consider your gear too. The gear needs to first rate, no huts to fall back like on the OT. You need a good tent and good wet weather gear. I have helped a walker whose gear was ok for the OT then tried the WAs and it was found wanting.

Roger

[pez2290]

Hi I'm a keen bush walker / trekker, I am very keen to trek the Western Arthurs next year sometime in March. I haven't done too much research on the WA yet. But I'm just after some advice if possible. I'm 34, keep reasonably fit and have completed such treks as: South Coast Track, Overland, Milford, Kepler, Routeburn. All treks have been done by myself.

Q: Most of the discussions on the WA have involved groups (2 or more) completing the trek. Is it possible to be completed alone without too much risk?

Q. Would mid to late March be an advisable time to go?

Thanks
Pez

[ILUVSWTAS]

March would be a good time.
There is LOTS of info scattered around this site on the Western Arthurs. Use the search function on the top right of the page.
Also check John Chapmans Walking in SW tas.
Going solo into the Arthurs is always risky!! Unless your very very experienced I wouldnt advise it. Its subject to some of the worst weather in Tas. It's exposed, its steep VERY steep in places, and if something does go wrong your often a long way from help.

[Son of a Beach]

Welcome to the forums, pez2290.

The Western Arthurs is a LOT more difficult than the other walks you've listed (physically and psychologically) - at least the ones I know . I would recommend against doing it solo unless you've had considerable experience on similar routes.

[Orion]

I haven't done too much research on the WA yet.

Pez, come back and ask questions after you have done a little more reading and poking about.

The thing about the Western Arthurs is that it includes a fair amount of exposed and sometime loose or slippery scrambling. That makes it different in an important way from the other things you've listed.

[Steve]

I'm very excited to be heading off to the Western Arthur's Traverse on Saturday.

Think I passed you two on the way out (an hour and a half from the Scotts Peak carpark). Were you that bloke with the scruffy hair putting gaiters on?

Regardless, was pretty miserable weather that end of the week.