Mount Pillinger on the eastern edge of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park has tremendous views! There are two main approaches to the summit track, one from the north via the Arm River Track and one via a narrower valley to the south. Both approaches converge near a small tarn and the foot pad climbs Mount Pillinger from the east. The Arm River route involves 200 to 300 metres more elevation gain but the trail might be better. I can’t really say as it is 10 years since I was on the Arm River track. It was in very good shape then.
We took the Maggs Road approach and immediately after leaving an old cut block, the track enters dense scratchy scrub and skinny trees. Many Tasmanian approaches are through old growth forest and can be pleasantly soft underfoot and not all that scrubby. There is some of that further on, but initially the track is scratchy and scrubby climbing beside a creek for a hundred metres or so and then becoming much better walking through more open forest and even open grassy terrain. The Arm River branch joins in as the track crosses open grasslands and then, further west, another fork is reached with the left hand branch (south) beginning a steady climb to Mount Pillinger. There are some rocky sections, but the track is easy to follow with diversionary branches blocked off by old timber, and, after about 150 metres of elevation gain, the track passes through a scrubby saddle and then begins to climb more steeply to the top of Mount Pillinger at 1269 metres.
The west face is sheer and the view is excellent with all the familiar peaks – Barn Bluff, Cradle, Ossa, the Pelions, Oakleigh, etc. laid out to the west. You can also see some of the Ducane Range peaks, although I am less adept at picking those out without a map! It was quite a pleasure to make the top in under three hours after our, in excess, of eight hour day the previous day.
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