It has been highlighted in a most unfortunate way recently, that sometimes, when walking, things can go wrong.
There have been numerous examples of people getting injured or worse in the Tasmanian wilderness.
Make no mistake, that is exactly what it is - wilderness. Untamed, wild, remote. When you set off on a walk, you may think you have it covered.
You may have the latest / best gear on offer. You may have been there before and "know" what you are setting out on. You may have heard it isn't that hard, or that the track is easy to find, or you may have been told by someone that you head north from the car park instead of following the track, and after a little while you will come across the track that heads north-east, which is the one you should follow, and that this little short-cut will save you a heap of time (assuming the trail you are aiming for hasn't moved or isn't covered in several feet of snow). Are you confident enough to do it / go there? Can you deal with anything that may happen? Any weather that nature throws your way? Can you find your own way if you have to?
At the outset, you need to be aware of one simple fact - it is you and solely you, that is responsible for your safety. The only time when this changes is when you are taking inexperienced people (including minors) into areas where you will be responsible for aspects of their safety.
I say "aspects", meaning things that you can control - such as where you are, what gear you have etc, but again it comes down to "you" that are responsible for your own actions. If you trip on a tree root or slip on an icy rock or a slippery part of the track, you are the one that took the judgement to place your foot there, or off-balanced for whatever reason.
If you slip and sprain an ankle, or worse, you are the one responsible.
As a child, we were encouraged by our parents to "stay away from the edge". Our natural curiosity is to peer over, to go for the better view, to try and capture that special photo angle, whatever. It is "you" - yourself, that took the judgement as a responsible person whether to take a risk for whatever reason. And you as that responsible person to wear the consequence of that action. You may find yourself at the bottom of a slippery rock with a broken ankle, wondering whether you are going to be found before hypothermia takes its course. You may indeed come to grief in a more sudden way.
Accidents happen out there. They are usually the result of a loss of traction between the boots and the matter to which you placed them on. They could be the loss of balance. They could be the failing of gear, or the lack of gear, or the improper use of gear. They could be because of poor judgement, brought about by emotion, exhilaration, exhaustion, inexperience....
To blame someone else for any accident is in my view a cop-out.
That can be taken in a number of ways. If for example someone loaned you a tent and it blew apart in the middle of a storm one night, you are the person that decided to put it there - did you check the weather, did you inspect the tent for its suitability or assume its condition?
If you were not told of the dangers on an icy mountain top, who was responsible for not telling you? Perhaps it is you that should endeavour to educate yourself before you go there?
An example - on a recent walk on the Overland track, we went to the top of Mt Ossa for the first time. There was a lot of snow on top. The last 20 or so metres to get to the highest rock consisted of boulder-hopping on snow-covered rocks - big rocks. I have been to the top of Cradle Mtn when there was no snow there, and seen some pretty big crevices between the rocks. I had not been to the top of Ossa before, so did not know whether any of the gaps between these boulders were indeed snow-covered crevices we could have fallen in. So we used good judgement not to proceed. Can you imagine? 20 metres or so from the tippety top and not proceeding? It's called "safety". I look forward to returning when the rocks aren't all covered in snow, to see whether someone that's been there in fine weather might think I am being a bit paranoid about it. I took the judgement based on common sense, being on top (well, as good as) of the highest mountain in Tasmania in the middle of winter. And even with an EPIRB with us, the purpose of being there wasn't to use it if we came to grief taking unnecessary risks. Better not to take unnecessary risks in the first place.
If someone doesn't come looking for you because you signed in to a park but didn't sign out on the predicted day, why not? Read the purpose of the sign-in books carefully! The old saying, "Let someone know, before you go!"
When choosing a walk to do, how do you find out whether you are properly equipped to do such a walk? ASK! If you feel you are not getting the information you require, ask someone else.
How many people actually take a look at these?
Of them, how many read this one??
Then there's this which is worth a look.
As well, there are many books out there with a lot of good information on walking in Tasmania. Take the time to look at some.
The recent talk of inadequacies of some elements of Tas Parks and Wildlife Service may have some merit.
I recently completed 9 days on the overland track, walking over 100km in total. I met up with a couple of lads from Sydney. They hired an EPIRB from Cradle Mtn visitors centre. They asked about where to sign in, as they were starting their walk from Dove Lake and going up the direct route to Marions Lookout before continuing. They were told by someone at the visitors centre to sign in at the first hut at Waterfall Valley.
My view is that they should have been told to sign in at the Ronny Creek car park sign in station and put in the "where are you starting" section "Dove Lake" instead of "here", or perhaps preferably, to sign in at the log book at Dove Lake in the shelter that has been built there. I heard this situation from them so cannot account for it first hand - who they spoke to and what they were told, but it is an issue.
To be a little bit more blunt, though intending not to be disrespectful, if a pack was found somewhere and subsequently reported to parks staff, by the time anything would have been done I suspect it would be too late. A bold assumption perhaps? Personally speaking, if I were covered in snow, even with the maximum number of layers I might have on including shell wear, I doubt my ability to survive for long if I were stuck in a rock crevice filled with snow. Not so for a sprained ankle not far from help. But on a mountain covered in snow, it comes down to taking responsibility for your own actions, and to take it on the chin rather than blame others as it seems so many are doing in the media lately.
I hope I am not bringing the curse of a thousand poxes upon myself for airing my views on this matter so openly. But if I do and something does happen to me, at least I will know who to blame.
Please, please educate yourselves on where you are going. Be prepared for events such as weather. A many fantastic time is to be had walking in the Tasmanian wilderness, but please be prepared, and take care!
Stay safe and enjoy
