Western Arthurs advice

[davids]

Planning the A-K traverse in mid Dec and have a few questions for you knowledgeable lot.
I have read some of the posts here and have JCs SW book.
Party of three. One a bit of a novice, but is young and fit, and has the important ability to be cheerful in any circumstance.
Plan to fly in to Hobart Sunday morning and fly out the next Sunday night - so 8 days to allow for delays. Leave a hire car at Scott's Peak to give flexibility. Are there many breakins here?
In Vic it can be a bit hard to get Shellite. Is there a hardware in Hobart open on a Sunday morning that sells shellite? Or in New Norfolk?
I'm a bit worried about the stories of blown apart tents, as one tent I was going to bring was a Snowgum dome tent - probably only 3 season. The other should be OK - WE Dart 2 although can be a bit of a pain on platforms with the numbers of peg points.
Is the unmarked short cut off K moraine back to McKay track straightforward? I imagine the start would be cairned (or use GPS), but is there thick scrub if you lose the route near the 7 mile creek? Its always annoying if a short cut ends up being not so short!
David

[norts]

Not sure about the shellite, but I would have thought Bunnings would be open, also there is an Anaconda just near the airport.
The only real exposed campsite these days (if you plan on using the platforms) is High Moor. The other platforms have some shelter provided by the surrounding bush.

The shortcut off morraine k is not marked, well I havent noticed on the last 2 trips. Last trip we turned off too high and made it hard for ourselves.

Roger

[ILUVSWTAS]

I have taken the shortcut twice, and it's been successful both times. Cuts off a signifigant distance off, and is relatively straight forward as it is open as far as the eye can see.It's not cairned or marked, but an obvious pad can be followed if you keep your eyes open.
Not sure about buying shellite, MD'S is open of a Sunday, but I do not know if they stock it.

The carpark at Scotts peak is pretty safe. I've never heard of anyone having any problems while parked there.
also your tents should be fine, it's only at High Moor where you are fairly exposed, all the other sites offer good protection.

Enjoy, it's the best walk you will ever do!!!

[davids]

Thanks for your advice.
I'll ring Anaconda or Bunnings closer to the time.
Yes I'm sure it will be the best walk I've done, and a great way to get to know my daughter's boyfriend! I find all the prior thinking and planning and anticipation that goes into a walk like this is half the fun!
Cheers
David

[Azza]

I have taken the shortcut twice, and it's been successful both times.

Ah, yes planning... I should do more of that...
lol.. Dave and I werent so successful with the short cut. Being a bit slack and not really paying enough attention to the track note and map.
We left the track too low and didn't really head on the correct bearing. Ended up getting funnelled back into 7 mile creek by the scrub and creek itself.
End result - took longer than it would have taken to just walk the track. Weather was pretty average.

I guess we all have those little stuff ups from time to time.
I was just going by memory of the track notes and probably didn't have a decent map which didn't help.
Ended up walking out very late in the day ~ 11pm at Scotts Peak - head torch had gone flat we walked the last few km's in pitch black darkness.
Being rather tired by that point I managed to park the car sort of with the wheels not properly on the ground.
Ended up sleeping in the car overnight. Thankfully the parking situation was easily resolved in the morning.

We did do A-K return in 4 days... that was another bit of perhaps poor planning. Probably should have taken a little longer.

[weetbix456]

anyone got a photo of the tent platforms along the arthur ranges?? i've got one of those little boxy vango helium tents and have never set it up on one before..are there other hardnened options available at the sites? just trying to figure out how it would hold up

[stepbystep]

Cygnus is the only hardened campsite without platforms like you see at Pelion etc. You can use standard pegs on this rubber matting, I preferred this over the timber ones.
Do you want pics of the others?

[weetbix456]

oh great thanks sbs. yea that looks better than platforms hey, and a little springy All i really wanted to know was if there are those metal tie down extension things or plenty of nails/undercuts for the chords on the platforms as my tent kinda needs that tension to keep it upright! I'd prefer to use the platforms to minimise impact but are their alternate areas to pitch? Lets sayyy the platforms were all taken up, would there be room nearby?

[Maelgwn]

oh great thanks sbs. yea that looks better than platforms hey, and a little springy All i really wanted to know was if there are those metal tie down extension things or plenty of nails/undercuts for the chords on the platforms as my tent kinda needs that tension to keep it upright! I'd prefer to use the platforms to minimise impact but are their alternate areas to pitch? Lets sayyy the platforms were all taken up, would there be room nearby?

Yes there is normally room nearby but sometimes muddy. Both Lake Oberon and High Moor spaces nearby would be muddy. The others are probably not soo bad.

Having spent a forced rest day at High Moor in the past, I was glad to be in a stable tunnel tent. Your tent is probably ok if it is in good condition, but if is getting old or doesn't have guy ropes etc, I would try and borrow something better.

Take some extra cord to use the platforms, we had not trouble with them, using non freestanding tents. Some people also carry very small screw in hooks (seems excessive in my opinion).

Make sure your tents are long enough and you are using a full length sleeping mat. You will get condensation inside the tent fly (possibly the inner also), and on the floor, due to the general high humidity. To avoid a wet sleeping bag, make sure you don't touch the end and have the floor under all of your bag covered.

Scotts Peak Dam is too remote for thieves!

Have a great trip, it is definitely my favorite walk thus far and I have great memories! You will love it.

[norts]

I have also had issues at High moor and Haven lake with really heavy rain hitting the boards and bouncing up under the tent fly. You will want make sure that the fly of your tent goes very low. This was with a Macpac Microlight.

I would carry extra cord, I dont remember any of the platforms having the wire tie downs like on the OT. High moor had lots of ropes.

DSCN6750 (Large).JPG

Roger

[norts]

I have also had issues at High moor and Haven lake with really heavy rain hitting the boards and bouncing up under the tent fly. You will want make sure that the fly of your tent goes very low. This was with a Macpac Microlight.

I would carry extra cord, I dont remember any of the platforms having the wire tie downs like on the OT. High moor had lots of ropes.

[weetbix456]

Thanks a lot for the info guys! Thats covered it. Can't wait..woohoo!!

[north-north-west]

High Moor has plenty of ropes, but Oberon was virtually free of the stuff when I was there, and there was none at Haven. It may have been replaced by now, but it would still be a good idea to carry a bit or take some cuphooks.

[davids]

Thanks for resurrecting the thread - never got around to a TR!
Re ..'the important ability to be cheerful in any circumstance' ... which I felt was crucial for my daughters boyfriend as he tackled the WArthurs with us on his first bushwalking experience!
Well ....
Raining all the first day, carrying wimpy girlfriend (just joking Sarah) across swollen Junction Creek to find the campsite full, so continue to the 'good campsite' in the trees 500m further on to find it sodden and muddy,
and silly me accidently packed the tent for them to use that had the hole in the floor,
and silly daughter packed the thermarest for him that had the hole in it so his bed was hard each night,
and the raincoat I'd borrowed for him was actually not that waterproof and was pretty smelly,
and had to unload a fair bit of weight into his pack going up Alpha Moraine because I'm fat and old and unfit
and we all found the track just a little hairy at times even with rope for pack-hauling ........ still cheerful!
And yes, it was the best walk of my life, on lots of different levels. And now the E. Arthurs, fed peak, Mt.Anne, PB and SCtrack all beckon ....
David