The Tyndall Range continues north of
the Anthony Road culminating in the turretted Mount Murchison at 1278
metres at the very northern end of the range. We had seen Mount
Murchison from our first Tasmanian hike up Mount Farrell a few weeks
before, and, in the meantime, I had found out about two tracks into
the area, one to the summit of Mount Murchison, the other to Lake
Sandra (my namesake) about 3 km to the southwest along the spine of
Mount Murchison. This, of course, allows for a through walk from the
Anthony Road, hiking to the top of Mount Murchison then ambling along
the impressive ridge that encircles Shaded Lake and creates a narrow
cirque, descending to Lake Sandra and taking the track back down to
the Anthony Road.
Shaded Lake and Murchison Cirque
On through walks such as this Doug and
I usually start at opposite ends, meet in the middle, then continue
on, but, as much of this walk was off-track and we had no real idea
where the Lake Sandra track actually was (few tracks are marked on
Tasmanian topographic maps) we decided to walk this one together
thereby adding about five kilometres of road walking at the end of
the day.
Gaining elevation quickly on the Mount Murchison track
The Mount Murchison track starts at
pole D15 on the Anthony Lake Road and is well signed with a log book
at the start of the track. It appears to be a, rightfully, popular
walk. The track is gentle by Tasmanian standards (!) and begins up a
forested spur ridge. Within half an hour, you emerge from the forest
into lower bush and the views begin. There is an un-named lake
(shaped much like Australia minus Tasmania) in a narrow valley to
your left, above this, some falls guard the narrow entrance to Shaded
Lake cirque, which is very impressive viewed from above. Higher up,
the track climbs more steeply to a little pass on the ridge and
sidles around the east side of the mountain high above another
unnamed lake. At this point, the trig station is clearly visible to
the north.
You pass through another small notch on
the ridge this time to the west side of the mountain above Shaded
Lake, some small unnamed tarns, and the impressive cirque enfolding
Shaded Lake. The track then sidles up below low angle slabs to the
summit where Roseberry lies off to the west, Tullah to the north,
Mount Tyndall virtually due south, and the peaks of Cradle Mountain -
Lake St Clair National Park to the east. We were about two hours to
this point and as we are still (perhaps always will be) in Canadian
alpine climbing mindset did not stay long on the summit before
beginning the traverse.
Doug where the track crosses to the cirque above Shaded Lake
The ridge ahead appears to be bristling
with gendarmes and we made the rookie mistake of assuming the route
did not lie along the ridge line so we followed the track back down
below the slabs and attempted to traverse west below all the
pinnacles on the ridge. This put us into thick bush, slippery slabs,
and general unpleasantness. Back up we went to the summit and I
ducked down the ridge from the summit heading west and immediately
noted a faint foot pad and a few cairns. Duh!
Off we went again, sticking to the
ridge (which we would have done in Canada) and scrambling up and down
a series of small little rock steps. One section required sidling
along a narrow ledge above a short cliff band then a YDS class 3/4
downclimb (I have no idea what the Ewbank grade would be) to easier
terrain below. This is the "crux" of the traverse and if
you can do this, the rest of the route will be a doddle. There is
some more fun ridge scrambling along tilted slabs, a climb up to
another little summit, a bit more easier scrambling and then the
ridge broadens out and all difficulties (such as they are) are at an
end.
Mount Tyndall to the south
It is very pleasant walking over talus
and alpine meadow above Shaded Lake down to a first broad saddle.
The next minor bump on the ridge can be sidled on the north to
another narrower saddle above a narrow cliff-lined valley. Finally,
up about 50 metres to another small highpoint on the ridge. It is
worth scoping out your route down to Lake Sandra so you do not get
mired in dense bush before you descend. Generally, what looks best
on the map, a broad gently curving spur ridge is best and with
judicious route finding there is minimal spiky bush. Down among the
creeks that drain into Lake Gaye, you'll want to stay on the higher
ground (obvious from above) and climb gently up to the 950 metre
mini-ridge to the southeast of Lake Sandra. The track emerges onto
this ridge and we walked right to the last cairn marking the faint
foot pad.
Doug ridge-walking
The Lake Sandra track is not nearly so
good as the Mount Murchison track but it is serviceable. Follow the
foot pad up to the high point of the little ridge east of Lake Sandra
to an elevation of about 950 metres and then descend in a very windy
fashion down the spur ridge that runs east, then south. The track is
easy to loose up high so keep your eye on the many cairns and red
paint splotches. We had to backtrack a couple of times when we
wandered off the track as it seems to wander around in quite a
circuitous fashion. Lower down, as the track descends into thicker
forest there really is only one way to go and there are no more
cairns or splashes of red paint. But, you could barely penetrate the
forest down here were you to wander off the track so no difficulties
should be encountered.
Looking down on Lakes Gaye and Sandra
Eventually you'll come out at pole D55
on the Anthony Lake Road and will have about a five kilometre walk
back to your vehicle. You could try hitch-hiking but we didn't
bother as the walk takes only about 40 minutes. All up, the day is
around 17 km with about 800 to 900 metres of elevation gain and is a
really excellent day out.
Doug on Lake Sandra track
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