Day One: Lake St Clair to Pine Valley:
It's about 14 km to paddle from the
south end of Lake St Clair to the north versus an 18 km walk along a
deep forest track to reach the same destination. Opting to paddle
our kayaks up the lake, particularly with a northerly wind forecast
for the day we came out, was the obvious choice. We launched from
the boat ramp and parked at the main visitor parking area (a short
walk from the boat ramp), although there is a small amount of parking
at the boat ramp. Alternatively, you could launch from Frankland
Beaches where there is parking and a sandy beach.
The wind must have been swirling a
little down in Cynthia Bay because we actually managed to get a
little help from the sails for the first two kilometres but the wind
was so gusty it wasn't that effective. The rest of the way the wind
was light, occasionally in our faces, but over all, not a steady
headwind. We reached Echo Point, where a couple of hikers were
lounging on the jetty, and, in another 45 minutes, paddled into
Narcissus Bay. The boat that shuttles walkers up and down the lake
passed us twice as we paddled north.
The Acropolis from the track along the plateau
All our gear was quickly moved from our
kayaks to our backpacks and we headed off along the jetty track to
the Narcissus Hut. There were many unhappy looking hikers at the
hut, either the Overland Track was not what they thought or the fact
that they were locked out of the hut (renovations) until 5.30 pm was
the cause. The first four kilometres was along the Overland Track
which is extensively duckboarded in this area but still has some
rooty sections and is buried deep in bush with scant views. We
stopped for a break at the Pine Valley junction and had a delightful
chat with three passing hikers (part of a group of five) who had come
down from Cairns and walked in via the Walls of Jerusalem over seven
days. This is a bit of a hard slog as there is no track and the bush
is dense, but these folks (all easily in their 60's) were having a
great time. It was just what I needed to stop being a princess and
get up and walk the last four kilometres into Pine Valley.
Again the track is deep in the forest,
some times on duckboards, often in rooty dark rain forest, but all
the time running northish up Cephissus Creek. There are three or
four campsites scattered around the Pine Valley Hut, all in very dark
locations, as is the hut, and the mosquitoes are bad. We stripped
off for a dip in the creek first thing as it had been a sweaty walk
in, and then spent the rest of the evening on the deck of the hut
where the mosquitoes were slightly less ferocious. Pine Valley and
The Acropolis are popular side trips with Overland Track walkers and
there were four other walkers detouring off the Overland Track
staying either in the hut or camping.
Mount Gould and The Minotaur from The Acropolis
Day Two: The Acropolis and The
Labyrinth:
Even deep in the forest we could tell
it was going to be a gloriously sunny day as we set off up the track
to The Acropolis. The track continues up Cephissus Creek for half a
kilometre, passing the small Cephissus Falls, then climbs steeply
(200 metres in 700 metres distance) to the south ridge of The
Acropolis. This is the typical Tasmanian track, steep, rooty, and
direct. There is a big sub-alpine plateau running south from The
Acropolis and a half a kilometre of flat walking, mostly on
duckboards along this delightful section. The views, all of a
sudden, are tremendous and there are groves of unusual palm trees in
patches of mossy greenery.
Soon, however, the track resumes its
steep ascent climbing up the south shoulder of The Acropolis until
you are right under the characteristic dolerite columns. There's
another half kilometre or so of up and down on a rocky rooty track as
the track heads northeast along the base of the cliffs before a gully
leads very steeply up to the summit plateau. There are one or two
scrambly sections on this last bit, but no exposure. Once on the
summit plateau it's a simple talus walk to the (not quite) summit.
The actual high point is about a metre higher on a narrow stand alone
tower, difficult to climb and very exposed.
Doug on The Acropolis
We hung out here for quite a while in
glorious sunshine watching as clouds boiled and spilled over Mount
Massif and Falling Mountain due north across the Narcissus River
Valley. Mount Geryon, the next and slightly higher peak to the north
is impressive and there are some infrequently climbed rock routes on
the steep faces. Through Big Gun Pass, we could see Mount Ossa
(Tasmania's highest peak), while to the east lies the lake studded
Walls of Jerusalem plateau, and to the west, The Labyrinth and the
peaks and lakes surrounding that smaller plateau. Mount Olympus is
prominent on the west side of Lake St Clair and pyramidal, Mount Ida
on the east.
Delightful as the scenery was, we also
wanted to walk up to The Labyrinth so we scuttled back down the
steep, ladder like track to the hut where we had lunch and then
walked up the only slightly less steep track to The Labyrinth.
This track begins climbing just beyond
Pine Valley Hut heading pretty much due west for a pass between The
Minotaur and The Parthenon. It's about 400 metres pretty much
straight up, until the track emerges into bright sunshine on the
south shoulder of The Parthenon. The cairned track continues north
along the west slopes of The Parthenon until you are overlooking the
myriad tiny lakes of The Labyrinth. Mount Geryon and The Acropolis
come strikingly into view and, a short steep descent leads to the
Cyane Lake, the first small tarn on this plateau. The cairned track
continues to Lake Elysia, a kilometre to the north, but we stopped at
Cyane Lake and swam in the warm shallow waters.
This whole plateau
is reminiscent of the high Eastern Sierra's of California, except you
are about 2000 metres lower. There are rock slabs, small lakes,
gnarled white trunks of King Billy Pine and low alpine vegetation.
Back at the hut, the Overland Track walkers had all left but two
other couples had arrived to explore the area.
Cyane Lake
Day Three: Pine Valley to Lake St
Clair:
A warm northerly wind blew through the
trees all night and it was hot first thing as we marched down the
track, past the Narcissus Hut and out to our waiting boats. The
first thing we did was swim in the lake, then pack up and launch for
the journey back. We could hear the wind whistling through the
trees, but we must have been sheltered in Narcissus Bay for the first
kilometre as our sails were hanging limply from the mast. That
didn't last, and the wind (or perhaps our exposure to it) steadily
built until we were rocking along in a steep following sea with a
strong wind behind.
Doug was surfing on the tops of waves,
but I seemed to spend most of my time wallowing in the troughs
behind. After about half an hour, we pulled the tops off our sails
reducing the volume as we were yawing about too much. This worked
well all the way down to where the lake narrows near Fergies Hill,
where we reduced the sail volume a little more as the waves were
getting steeper confined by the lake shore. Beyond the narrowing,
the waves diminished, but not the wind. Our greatest difficulty was
trying to see where the boat ramp was before we got blown onto the
rocks at the end of the lake.
Mount Geryon from The Acropolis
While Doug went off to get the car,
another couple of kayakers arrived sailing in (Flat Earth sails) from
Mount Ida which they had climbed the day before. Apparently the
route was hard to find, the rock quality poor, but, nevertheless they
had a rollicking grand adventure. And, although our trip was
considerably less technically difficult, we too had a rollicking good
time.
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