Overland end of September

[mackville]

I understand a thousand variations of this same question have been asked, but here goes.

It seems the weather is unpredictable at any time. I was wanting to do the track for the first time in the last week of September, with one other person. We are both from Canada, and while I have a little bit of experience with multi-day snowshoeing trips in Canada, I have never done a multi-day hike. From what I have read on this board, I am assuming the weather at that time is somewhere between 5-15 degrees...

1. With our lack of experience, is it stupid for us to be doing the hike in winter? It is the only time we have available, but if need be we can change plans for a warmer hike on the mainland...
2. Is it wise to bring an EPIRB? Can we hire one?
3. What sort of dress would be appropriate for end of September weather? I was hoping a thermal-fleece-waterproof layer combo would suffice, but I have been told that is summer wear for the OT. I don't really want to lug around a ski jacket... is it necessary?

Thanks for any responses.

[tasadam]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm going to cover points 2 and 3.
Point 2, I would say yes take a PLB (EPIRB). You can hire them, I think a search here on the forum will find where from.

Point 3, clothing.
September is still quite variable so you will need to be prepared for full-on winter walking, and also be prepared to alter your plans if there's a significant snow dump and you're not confident or experienced enough to deal with that.
Usually a 4 to 5 day weather forecast is possible, but they generally cover the major centres, none of which are applicable in the Tassie highlands. That won't cover your whole walk but give some indication of at least the first half.

I don't know about a ski jacket as such, I don't own one.
My layers for winter walking are (not being loyal to any brand and showing examples of similarity rather than actual) -
Up to 6 layers max, thermal, shirt, vest, thermal pullover, windstopper jacket, japara.
Up to 3 layers on legs, skinny legs so mot much to keep warm...

Thermal long sleeve top, here is an example.
Long sleeve day walk top to go over that, perhaps something from here. I use a polo type top, hard wearing and has lasted some years.
Then a vest over that, as is seen here.

If it's really cold and I want many layers, I will put one of these between my top and the vest. But I try and keep that layer dry because it is SO warm around camp and in the sleeping bag.
Over the vest goes something like one of these. Basically, a warm layer like a thermal fleece jacket or pullover design. Some might replace that layer with a down jacket, maybe you can lose a layer with that but for a winter walk I would always have my 6 walking layers ready just in case, as well as my dry layers for camp / sleep of course.
Then a windstopper jacket, then the Japara. Most I've worn while walking is 6 layers and I needed them, but you do sweat a lot so putting the clothes on again the next day is not pleasant if they're still damp.

Legs - jocks, thermal long johns, walking trousers like the ones in the photo, then waterproof trousers such as these. Expensive overpants, but so worth it - I've been through many pairs of $35 rainbirds or 3 peaks, cheap and nasty, rip easy, fall apart, I have a box full of them. Should throw them out one day...

Dry clothes - thermal long johns, thermal fleece long pants, thermal long top, optional fleece top or use your vest / windstopper jacket / japara if they're dry. Gotta keep warm, lets the body rest properly and recover after a days walking.

15 degrees on the OLT in September? You'd have to be lucky to get it that warm IMO. Remember it's at altitude and for every roughly 100 metres above sea level you lose approx 1 degree.

I'll come back and address point 1 if no-one else does, but there have as you say been a number of posts about whether or not to take on a walk such as the OLT if you lack experience.
We're not here to turn you off, we want you to make the right decision for you, only you can do that after gaining advice and opinions from others, then weighing that up against your own ability, fitness, experience, preparedness, health, age, etc...

[Fizzygood]

Hey guys,

Been a while since I poked my head in...

I will address point 1... change your plans...

The snow on the OT can be deep ... it is cold... very cold ... heaters in huts are unreliable ... people are few ... without the right preparation and experience it is highly unlikely you will enjoy much...

In saying that however, it is an amazing place in winter but very unforgiving!

Cheers, Erin

[ILUVSWTAS]

Id just add the 5-15 degrees would be on a good day a rare, good day. and you cant expect too many good days over a 5-8 day period up there. The temperture at night could drop as low as -10 or lower.

[whiskeylover]

I love walking in winter here, but September can be very variable, so as Adam said you will need to layer your clothing well and understand the importance of having dry camp clothes. From Canada you are obviously used to the cold, but you need to be aware of the dangers of wet clothing and wind chill factor. If you are well prepared and fit the Overland Track is very suitable in winter, with mostly good track marking, huts along the way which make cooking and getting gear sorted easier. Take a tent anyway though and make sure you are prepared for any type of emergency. If you research thoroughly on this site and elsewhere regarding gear lists, maps and times, suitable food choices and suitable pack weight you should find the Overland Track to be an excellent choice, but don't underestimate the possible dangers. The actual variations in temperature are not really relevant, but you will find clothing layers are different than they might be in the dry colder cold of places like Canada. Our snow is usually wet and slushy.
I wear icebreaker underlayer, thermals, polarfleece vest, windstopper jacket and gortex coat if I'm worried about wet weather in camp - or down jacket if I think I'll be in huts mostly. Thermals and shorts on legs and waterproof trousers if it's cold and/or wet - the trousers are actually a wind proof layer rather than intended as a waterproof layer. I also have my walking beanie and my thicker and dry camp beanie.
Don't think you would need a ski jacket - depends what it is and how bulky and heavy it is.
In a nutshell, do your research and decide from there - we can't know your individual circumstances, so it's your decision, but I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility based on what you have revealed to us so far.

[cixelsyd]

1. With our lack of experience, is it stupid for us to be doing the hike in winter? It is the only time we have available, but if need be we can change plans for a warmer hike on the mainland...
2. Is it wise to bring an EPIRB? Can we hire one?
3. What sort of dress would be appropriate for end of September weather? I was hoping a thermal-fleece-waterproof layer combo would suffice, but I have been told that is summer wear for the OT. I don't really want to lug around a ski jacket... is it necessary?

Whiskeylover pretty much said it all.

I think another key variable is being an able to assess risk and effectively manage it/and or mitigate it is (in my opinion) as valuable as experience in some situations. I really knew my physical limitations because i had trained for the hike prior to doing it in September 09 in 1.5 meters of snow. I considered a PLB for that trip, when I considered the risk I took the personal decision and accepted the responsibility for not taking one. I now have a SPOT2 which is very similar and alot lighter. You may want to check these out.
In terms of clothes, i have had excellent experience with the Icebreaker gear mentioned by whiskeylover. Like tasadam stated, understanding how to layer is pretty vital.
I found that hiking long days I would really heat up to a point where I was taking off layers. If you stop you want to be able to get them back on quick. Wet Weather gear is also pretty vital.

The cool (or cold ) thing about winter is that the scenery is so much more highly contrasted in snow. I stood outside waterfall valley hut standing in awe of Barn Bluff covered in snow. The whole trip really left an impression on me. It really is stunningly beautiful.