Alexander Pearce Memorial Overland Crossing

[wanderer]

Hi again,
we had an interview with The Examiner tonight and with luck the
story should be in the paper on Sunday.
Should be a photo of the team courtesy of Phillip Biggs.
I'm the younger looking guy ha ha...

[Lady McGuyver]

Hi everyone, I'm another of the 6 people tackling the Cannibal Run. Hi Wanderer (fellow Van Demon ), hows the packing going? It's really hard to concentrate on doing work when I still have so much to do! I just want to be out there...
Hi Geoskid, finally found you! You'll have fun tracking us through the Spot too. Prickles will be the least of my problems!! Going that long without a down-down will be a challenge!! There'll be some photos of what we went through posted on the website, after the halfway point thanks to our WebWizard!

[geoskid]

Hi Pri....er....Lady McGuyver, welcome to the forums. Love the name, it suits you perfectly.
Perhaps you should take a hip flask - medicinal purposes only, of course.
See you when you get back - take care!
(geo)Skid.

[johnw]

Looks to me like the Cannibal Run guys have just left Sarah Island, if I'm reading the SPOT screen correctly.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Picy0uPEDGKCslxupUzImf2HnSFaHC6u

[David Simpson]

Hi everyone

First post, nice to be on board. Thought I would post a note on The Cannibal Run so anyone interested knows where to get updates. I'm a fellow SES Search & Rescue Team member & friend of the group and created and host the expedition web site. Regular updates are posted on the site and we also have a forum set up for it, nested within the Tassie Weather Forums. I hope the webmaster here doesn't mind me posting the link, many thanks.

David Simpson

Expedition Forum

Expedition Web Site

[Son of a Beach]

thanks for the info Dave - no worries here

[johnw]

I think the Cannibal Run expedition has been doing it pretty tough. By my calculation they are averaging about 4km/day. Looks like they might attempt to cross the Franklin R sometime today and seem to be closing in on it at present.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Picy0uPEDGKCslxupUzImf2HnSFaHC6u
and select Terrain view.

[tasadam]

I happened to be in the area of the start of Frenchmans Cap walk 2 days ago (Thursday 4th). I looked in the log book to notice the six travellers had passed through two days earlier.
The entry went like this -
Start Date 17/11/08.
Number of days - 16 days SO FAR
Todays Date - 2/12/08
Route / Track number - Convict Route 102
Sarah Island - Coal Head - Mt Sorrell - Mt Darwin - Engineer Range - Franklin River - Deception Range - Livingstone Range - Lightning Plains - Lodden Plains - Here.

Thought I'd share the update - as can be read at http://www.stormplanet.com/thecannibalrun.htm (as already linked, I think).

[johnw]

Thought I'd share the update - as can be read at http://www.stormplanet.com/thecannibalrun.htm (as already linked, I think).

Thanks Adam, I've been checking their website every couple of days. Inspirational. Latest update as of yesterday 7th Dec. indicates that they hope for a PM finish tomorrow Tuesday 7th. Currently south of Lake Echo as per SPOT.

[johnw]

Thought I'd share the update - as can be read at http://www.stormplanet.com/thecannibalrun.htm (as already linked, I think).

Thanks Adam, I've been checking their website every couple of days. Inspirational. Latest update as of yesterday 7th Dec. indicates that they hope for a PM finish tomorrow Tuesday 7th. Currently south of Lake Echo as per SPOT.

Subject to confirmation, looks like they finished at River Ouse around lunchtime Tuesday .

[wanderer]

Hi all,
Jason "Wanderer" here.
Finally back home. Great to read comments and that entry in
the book Adam was quite enjoyable to write ticking off all the obstacles
that we had covered so far. We all finished in good spirits, I'm just a
tad lighter, 5.4kgs actually. Great to see how SPOT worked now
I'm home and can check all the maps out.
Cheers...

[stu]

A big congratulations to you & your team Jason, a very fine effort.
The weather certainly let you have it, just to further increase your sufferance & discomfort!
Any future plans from the team, or are you all content to rest on your laurels for a while now?
Looking forward to seeing some photos from in the 'thick' of it!
Also, I noticed in your web site photos a Bibler tent - any feedback on how this performed in such atrocious conditions?

Again, well done & looking forward to the books / newspaper articles / movies...

Stuart.

[johnw]

Hi all,
Jason "Wanderer" here.
Finally back home

Another congratulations and well done Jason, glad you all finished safely . It was great to be able to track your progress (how difficult it must have been at times).

[Paul]

Hi Stuart,

I used the Bibler I-tent on our Mr Alexander Pearce expedition. Although it is rated a 1 + person tent, my wife ( Maureen ) and I shared it. As a team we all previously agreed that finding sites for our tents was always going to be a problem, let alone fitting them all in - for this reason we went with the Bibler I-tent rather than 2 Hilleberg Akto's.

As you can imagine, having two in it was very "cosy". Yes, we had condensation which was managable, however when we had 7 consecutive days of torrential rain things were getting wetter and wetter by the day - as were others of our group in their tents.
By the 7th day of that atrocious weather, we were all entering the "dangerous" zone - everything was wet through, including our down sleeping bags. At that stage we were also experiencing snowfalls and we were in trouble because we were about to climb above the snow line to the peak of Mt King William in wet clothing.

Luckily, the next morning the sun shone through and we managed to dry our clothing. Our gear then dried during the next two days.

In summary, the Bibler performed really well even though it was wet after 7 consecutive days of torrential rain. A fitted vestibule would have been appreciated, however footprint would then have made sites more difficult.

Would I take the Bibler again ? - yes.

The weather was crap, but hey, what an experience for our team !!!

Paul.

[stu]

Thanks for the feedback Paul, it sounds like you all endured some pretty horrible times, glad you all got out safely.
A wet sleeping bag is pretty serious stuff - would you consider synthetic next time? Did you have synthetic or down jackets?

I guess hunkering down in the igloo on KW1 summit for a night would have been against the ethos of this walk?

I'm surprised the Bibler performed so well, so much bad feedback on single walled tents in general in Tassie conditions -
I may now review my position on them; they are so appealing - freestanding, pitch from inside, speed of pitch etc.

Look forward to hearing / reading more about this adventure, pretty inspiring stuff.

Cheers.

Stuart.

[Paul]

Hi Stuart,

I would continue to take a down sleeping bag. Lighter, less bulk, warmer ( if dry). All 6 members of our team carried down bags.
Your question of down or synthetic jackets is interesting. One member of the team carried a synthetic jacket. The rest of us had outer shells, windstoppers and various under-layers - no jackets.

I had never heard of this site until we were about to set off, however "Lady McGuyver” mentioned it to me and, WOW, what a surprise. I have enjoyed browsing through many of the pages - heaps of info for anyone getting started, lots of good ideas. I have always supported the theory that we can all learn something from someone else, whenever we walk with others.

Cheers,
Paul.

[stu]

Hi Paul,

thanks for the feedback, much appreciated as always.

I have swayed to synthetic jackets over down jackets recently & have been very happy with the warmth provided in such a light weight package.
The main factor is their ability to retain warmth even if they get wet & to a lesser extent weight & packability. I usually also carry a very light weight down vest, mostly for use in the tent / sleeping in. Coupled with a synthetic jacket & thermals it is & great combo.
I'd probably agree on the sleeping bags, even tho I haven't tried synthetic ones; down will probably always win for comfort, loft & warmth.

Yes, this web site is a great resource - always someone out there with an answer no matter how obscure the question.

Hope you have all recovered from your adventure / ordeal.

Cheers.

Stuart.

[stu]

Hi team,

are we going to hear anymore about this amazing journey, or have you all blocked it out of your psyches?
Has / is it going to be published in Australian Geographic, who I think sponsored the trip?
I think everyone on this site will be looking forward to the tales / more photos

I notice Van Diemen's Land the movie is coming out at the end of September, great to see a land mark Australian movie coming out of Tassie.

http://www.vandiemensland-themovie.com/

[Son of a Beach]

Hi team,

are we going to hear anymore about this amazing journey, or have you all blocked it out of your psyches?
Has / is it going to be published in Australian Geographic, who I think sponsored the trip?
I think everyone on this site will be looking forward to the tales / more photos

I notice Van Diemen's Land the movie is coming out at the end of September, great to see a land mark Australian movie coming out of Tassie.

http://www.vandiemensland-themovie.com/

It will be interesting to see how it compares to the recently released movie, "The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce", which I thought was excellent, and a deeply moving tale. The preview of the new one looks like it takes a different perspective on production of the same story, and it looks like it may also be a very good movie.

[Lady McGuyver]

Hi team,

are we going to hear anymore about this amazing journey, or have you all blocked it out of your psyches?
Has / is it going to be published in Australian Geographic, who I think sponsored the trip?
I think everyone on this site will be looking forward to the tales / more photos

I notice Van Diemen's Land the movie is coming out at the end of September, great to see a land mark Australian movie coming out of Tassie.

http://www.vandiemensland-themovie.com/

It will be interesting to see how it compares to the recently released movie, "The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce", which I thought was excellent, and a deeply moving tale. The preview of the new one looks like it takes a different perspective on production of the same story, and it looks like it may also be a very good movie.

Hi Stubowling & SOB, no we didn’t go mad or underground! We did go quiet for a while after we finished the Cannibal Run; I think we just needed to re-adjust. ( something I had difficulty doing) Most of us had to get back to work too..
There’s been a bit of discussions about compiling some photos to post on the website, but it may have to wait a just little longer, as our Web Wizard is busy preparing for a trip to Nepal. We’ve also had a couple of meetings to sound out ideas for this years ‘wander’ but I’m sure it won’t be as hard core as that one!!

There was an article about our trip in the Australian Geograpic; it came out a few months ago. ( I can’t find which exact edition this is; I think I’ve lent mine to someone) The other sponsor involved was Paddy Pallin and I believe there were podcasts on their website available earlier this year.

Simon, our team member who carried some phenomenal weight in his pack (extensive camera gear, video camera, sat-phone, oodles of batteries etc!!) has done several radio interviews earlier in the year too. I remember one day, forcing everyone at work to stop work, crowd around, shut up and listen as Simon recounted details and answered questions. I’m sure they all thought I had wildly exaggerated a lot of the tales I’d told them when I’d completed to walk! After hearing Simon on the radio, it just confirmed what I had suspected; They thought we were all nutters!!

The new Alexander Pearce movie looks really interesting and I can’t wait to see it and be transported back into that particular kind of wilderness; only this time with dry feet, no pack, no leeches and no rain trickling down the back of my neck!!
Will keep you posted…
Cyn

[tasadam]

Thanks for the update.
Looking forward to seeing more of those photos.

[tas-man]

Paul presented a 30 minute condensed version of their trip experiences at a recent Launceston Walking Club Photo Night, which was enthusiastically received. I have had further discussions with Paul about possibly attempting to reduce the story to a 13-15 minute section for our next "Do You Know Tasmania" show to be presented in May 2010. Paul has made available all their still and video coverage of this trip, and there is so much material available to tell the story that it will be a challenge to produce!

[Buddy]

One presumes an axe in each pack will be de rigeur?

[Phil]

I notice Van Diemen's Land the movie is coming out at the end of September, great to see a land mark Australian movie coming out of Tassie.

http://www.vandiemensland-themovie.com/

Some intersting feedback about the movie so far

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/st ... 85,00.html

[ILUVSWTAS]

Wow that trailer has got me PUMPED!!

Just found out that 2 of my best friends are mates with the director, I wonder if I can get into the early screening.....

whats more my best mate did some of the music for it.... I really should pay more attention to what their up to at times... knew he was working on a movie......

[Phil]

In cinemas 24th Sep, for us taswegians, it's only screening at the Hobart State Cinema.

[Lady McGuyver]

...on the 23rd, for a few lucky 'Cannibals'!! nudge,

[Singe]

Wonder if they'll have a 'special' menu for the premiere?

[Lady McGuyver]

Wonder if they'll have a 'special' menu for the premiere?

Mmmm...Finger food most likely!

[tasadam]

Mmmm...Finger food most likely!

Oh the wit on this forum...