Decided to complete my set of scrubby west facing peaks along Mt Field NP today. They usually have some good features, but it is hard to find m/any for Dawson. You start from Repulse Rd (which is in pretty good condition at present), off Florentine. I took the second turn off up Repulse, it is not signposted so watch your GPS. I won't say exactly where on Repulse but a look at a map should show an appropriate start point for experienced walkers. I found a couple of bits of pink tape in about the right spot. That said there is no track and no other markers that I found. Typical of these peaks it is pretty much a straight haul up. The lower band of vegetation is broken up by areas where logging (long ago) has left little cleared areas, I would recommend using these as much as possible, away from them it gets quite thick. Eventually you will work your way up to an old logging track running parallel to Repulse road, it was in reasonable nick for the 100 metres of it that I could see, I have no idea if it is navigable from the southern end. Continuing up into the next green band is not too bad at first but eventually you run into the usual dense Bauera, tight myrtle and general shrubbery with several associated rock bands, I managed to get my foot tangled up here, suffice to say Rocks 1, Face nil. Eventually (around an hour and 45 for me) you hit the plateau and gradually wend your way over to the high point, with its less than massive summit cairn.
This high point is unfortunately still in the tree line so no views here. After a cuppa and a few biscuits I turned around and wandered over to the western edge, there is a fantastic vista here, stretching from Mt Field West past The Thumbs and Clear Hill, the peaks of the Denison range, and ending at Wylds Crag.
Then I slipped, squeezed, scraped and slid my way back down (an hour and 20) back to the car. Would I recommend it, …… only if you would like the full set of these peaks and/or a different view (but not that different from Lane's Peak or Mt Lord). So it will be a once only for me.
cheers
BW