by philm » Tue 22 Dec, 2015 7:59 am
Hi
I know this area fairly well and have done a few walks through fromt he Walls to Overland Track.
I assume you ar experienced in Tasmania winter conditions and off track navigation as you will need experience here,
I would say you are better going in June / July rather than later as snow can be worse in the later part of winter - you can get snow anytime but chances are greater that there will be a lot of it in the later months of winter!
There are a couple of ways you could go. The best part of the Walls is enter from Trappers Hut to Dixon's Kingdom then head South along Lake Adelaide, Meston then to Juntion Hut - the track to Junction is fairly straight forward apart from a short stretch of off track between Dixon's and Lake Ball and the area just before Junction Hut can be a little hard to follow. You can enter the Walls further South on the Messey Forest Road and come in to either Meston Hut or further South again to come in direct to Juntion Hut - although in my opinion you will miss the best parts of the Walls if you miss the trip into Dixon's Kingdom.
If there is a lot of snow then this can white out the track altogether - hence the importance of navigation.
From Junction Hut there are 2 main ways through to the Overland Track - Via the Never Never - as you suggest to Harnett Falls or through to Lake Artemis and over the Traveller Range dropping down in Dun Cane Gap to meet the Overland Track.
The Never Never is messy and there can be a lot of water if the Messey has a lot of flow. In winter the main challenge is crossing the Messey - there are a few options that have been written up in various posts.
The trip from Junction through the Never Never to Windy Ridge is a solid and big day - assuming you are going to exit via Lake St Clair.
The advantage of the alternative trip over the Traveller range is that you don't have to deal with the river and too much water - although it is off track and very exposed in rough weather - so caution is needed if the weather is bad.
Transport to the start of the Walls is limited - so a private bus is a good but expensive option.
Let me know if you need further advice.