I'm a poor photographer, so I've posted this trip report to try and give people an idea of what it was like. I will post a couple of photos soon, but don't expect them to be up to the usual high standard of this forum
So here's a synopsis for those interested:
On Friday night we drove from Hobart and camped by the bridge on the Arm river just before it reaches Lake Parangana. We set up in the dark and the rain. This was the first outing for the new tent (Hilleberg Nallo 2) and it was amazingly easy to set up, it coped with the rain beautifully, and kept us warm and dry throughout the night. A good start to its bushwalking career.
Saturday we were up and off after a leisurely breakfast. We found the start of the Arm River track easily enough (signposts help...) and prepared to head off. A group of 9(!) other walkers turned up and were getting organised as we left. The first part of the track leads to a steep but relatively short climb. We had been warned about this - "hamburger hill - it turns your legs to mincemeat" we had been told. Pretty accurate, but the pain passed quickly. Before long we arrived at Lake Price - simply beautiful with Mt. Pillinger in the background. We kept on walking and began the long slow descent towards the level of Pelion. We crossed an open saddle before moving through stunning moss-covered mytle forest. The rain set in at a steady drizzle, which grew to quite driving rain by the time we reached Lake Ayr. The walk from there to Pelion hut took longer than we expected but I think the weather played a big part in that. The track overall was in excellent condition with boardwalks over most of the boggiest sections. We didn't rush and it took us 4.5 hours from car park to hut.
We stayed in the hut that night, but it was so crowded with at least 60 people in there, it was a poor night's sleep. There was plenty of drama with one woman arriving with a broken leg - she had tripped and fallen on a tree root. Luckily it had happened only a km from the hut, and even more luckily her husband was a doctor! Then a group of private school girls arrived with their guide. One of the girls was suffering from hypothermia - not dangerously so, but pretty scary for her and her friends. By this time, the snow had started to fall in earnest and everything was turning white.
Sunday morning, the plains looked stunning covered in snow; at least 6 inches had fallen in the night. A pademelon and her joey were foraging near the hut - I don't think the youngster wanted to leave the warm pouch for the cold world outside. The rescue helicopter arrived to take the two injured people to hospital and we waited for Mt. Oakleigh to appear out of the mist. Eventually the sky cleared enough for us to decide to have a shot at climbing Mt Oakleigh. We crossed the incredibly soggy boggy moor to the trees, where the path remained boggy for some time. We lost one person up to their waist in the mud but they pulled themselves out, and I tried really hard to go for a swim in the creek, but somehow I avoided total immersion. Eventually we moved from bog to icy, slushy, snowy rock on the steep climb to the plateau. After playing "dodge the pandanis" where a section of the track winds through tightly packed pandani, we emerged onto the first plateau. We moved to the first point with good views only to see the weather rapidly closing in on us. We decided not to push on to the second plateau and made our way carefully, slowly, wetly, and coldly back down the mountain. We returned across the boggy moors to the hut and a welcome warm dinner. Because of the noise the night before we set our tent up on one of the platforms and had a fantastic sleep.
Monday saw a sojourn to Pelion gap. Two of our group made an attempt at Mt Ossa but turned back because of excess snow and ice on the rocks - better safe than sorry. We returned to Pelion hut at a leisurely pace, enjoying the incredible range of forest you pass through in the short distance from the gap to the hut. With snow on the moss covered trees it really was a "winter wonderland". We had a leisurely afternoon and evening, punctuated by a nosy quoll coming right up and sniffing my feet. We then saw two quolls fighting - presumably over territory, while a wattle bird repeatedly swooped to try and drive them both away. The sun had pretty much melted all the snow and the plains were their usual buttongrass-covered selves - a completely different vista to the day before.
Tuesday morning saw a beautiful sunny day arrive. We could see Cradle Mtn and Barn Bluff in the distance. Heading up the gentle ascent back towards Lake Price we stopped by a small tarn after crossing an open plain some 2 hours after leaving Pelion. After a quick snack the bravest member of our party took a quick dip in the tarn.... "refreshing" he called it. "B!oody nuts" I thought. Actually, frozen nuts was closer. The descent down hamburger hill was long and torturous - much, much harder than the ascent had been. Whether this was because of tired legs or simply because I didn't want the trip to be over, I'm not quite sure, but I do know that it hurt going down that hill. Back at the car we felt good, happy, tired, and a bit sad to leave.
Highlights? The animals of course - quolls, pademelons, potteroos, a couple of snakes quickly vanishing, and the sturdy wombats. The variety in the forests left me stunned by how much beauty can be contained in such a small area.
I will definitely not leave it so long before returning next time.
Cheers,
Alliecat
