Western Arthurs

[wander]

Unless I have missed it in the earlier posts one of the tricky and underated issues on the Western Arthurs is it is often in cloud or rain and the resulting poor visibility makes navigation difficult. The use of compass and map can be difficult due to the terrain. You cannot rely on the foot pad you are following going where you want to go or continuing. And a GPS is not the whole answer. It will not tell you if it is best to go left or right of a huge rock wall. (well maybe if it had a breadcrumb trail in it, but where is the fun in that).

So you do need to be comfortable navigating in 20 to 5M of visibility, prepared to travel slowly to get it right, be prepared to go backwards to correct rather than any other choice. And be prepared there will be a nav error somewhere.

That said in clear weather it is luverley.

[ILUVSWTAS]

The track going through the Arthurs is pretty easy to follow. Most of the rocky sections are cairned. I dont think it'd be too difficult in misty weather, just unpleasant, and dangerous on the slippery sections.

[chopper]

Thanks all for the advice, I think I took a bit of each suggestion on board. The most helpful was to stay at High Moor rather than push through. After a couple of days of rain and limited visibility I arrived alone at High Moor around noon just as the sun came out - a divine experience. Watched the sunset and the sunrise. In the end day one was pretty wet, windy and miserable and made it to Lake Cygnus rather than Square Lake. Second day was wet and cold and decided to stop at Oberon. Day three the weather improved and stopped at High Moor despite plans to carry on. Day four ended up being longer, High Moor to Junction Creek and out first thing on the fifth day. Ironically I was apprehensive about two parts of the track, the picture of the sidle around the beggary bump in the guidebook and the often mentioned Tilted Chasm. On the first bump out of high moor I followed the track over and down the fist bump and found some of that a little disconcerting, making me more alert of what may be to come. I arrived at Tilted Chasm and found it straightforward with minimal exposure and after the dragon was wondering were the dreaded sidle was? Read the guidebook and realised my mistake, I had gone directly over the first bump. When I do the walk again....I'll do the sidle!

Attachments

[JamesMc]

Terriffic photos. Glad you had a nice walk.

JamesMc

[eggs]

Thanks for the photos
They would have to be some of the best I have ever seen of this area.

It looks like you handled the walk very well - and a long walk from High Moor means you move pretty fast.

[chopper]

Thanks Eggs, very nice of you to say so regarding the photos. I was using a Nikon D60 entry level DSLR and have been trying to resist my own thoughts of upgrading. These photo, my best by to date, give me hope that it's more a question of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right light rather than having a heavier more expensive body and lens.

[dee_legg]

They are such amazing photos chopper! Love the depth of field in the first.

[songairen]

Gorgeous pics- now my desktop wallpaper

[ILUVSWTAS]

Second picture is amazing! well done on the photos and the walk!! I know how long High Moor to Junction is, we went from High Moor to Scotts. one of my longest days ever!

[stepbystep]

First pic is stunning, second is spectacular, third is sublime.
Thanks, the WA never seems to disappoint.
sbs

[frank_in_oz]

Great thread and reinforces the value of this Fourm.

ie. advice requested, considered opinions given, some exchange on information and clarification, assistance taken and acted upon.
Feedback loop completed by a report back so others can share AND fantastic images of the area provided for all to see!
Well done to all.

[north-north-west]

Brilliant photos.
And yes, I've long thought that 90% of good photography is being in the right place at the right time and having your eyes open to the possibilities.

I really, really, really have to get in there. Soon. Before I'm too old and decrepit.