0

Your Cart is Empty

A Walk in the Park. By Geoff Murray

February 10, 2021 2 Comments

Mt Field National Park. By Geoff Murray

I am fortunate in having a beautiful national park, only an hour’s drive from my home. Mt Field National Park is one of Tasmania’s oldest parks and covers landscape that includes rainforest, spectacular and charming waterfalls, and heavily glaciated alpine regions. 

My destination this time was a small alpine tarn called Cleme’s Tarn. I had walked past this tarn 4 days earlier on a day walk out to Mt Field West, and it looked very inviting for an overnighter.

The beginning of the walk is a steady uphill climb until the ski fields are reached then a very civilised boardwalk section leads to a junction where it splits with one track dropping down to Tarn Shelf and the other heading up to the Rodway Range. The track to the range changes to a rough pad interspersed with extensive boulder hopping sections.

Views from the top of the Rodway Range are extensive, with the mountains to the west and southwest particularly impressive.

Mt Field National Park Tasmania

More boulder hopping delivered me to K Col where a small emergency hut is located. I spent one memorable night in this hut many years ago during a blizzard. Opening the door in the morning, I was greeted with an almost solid wall of snow...

A few hundred metres past K Col hut and I was at my destination. Conditions were a little less friendly than my last visit with a cool wind gusting to 20 knots. The sky reflected the conditions with some very impressive clouds above. 

Mt Field National Park Tasmania. By Geoff Murray

The evening brought a superb golden view to the distant mountains, and then it was time to cook dinner and slip into my sleeping bag.

I was in my Dragonfly tent, and even though the wind was still gusting, it was almost unnoticeable inside. A quiet haven. 

The mist and rain came in overnight and after a short wander around for a couple of photographs, I packed up, donned my waterproofs and headed for home. 

It wasn’t long before the sun broke through, and it was time to pack the waterproofs away. A slow exploratory wander along the track eventually delivered me to my car. 

By Geoff Murray, photographer and Mont Ambassador

Gear used


2 Responses

Jim Campbell
Jim Campbell

February 16, 2021

Love it when a blog revisits one of my favourite places. I remember spending a delightful few days around Tarn Shelf some time in the early 80s. Gorgeous country. My then girlfriend and I reached K Col hut in a rising gale after being blown over a couple of times by fierce wind gusts. We contemplated overnighting there but the noise of howling wind and rattling roof sheets was horrendous so we retreated to Newdegate. Very memorable. Later we went wandering down in the valley in search of some glacial erratics marked on the map. Following a wombat trail through fairly thick bush we were surprised when the wombat track turned sharp right instead of going into a clearing. I walked two steps into the clearing and the ground started to ripple – it was a quaking bog. The wombat knew exactly what it was doing and I have never mistrusted one since :-)

Mark
Mark

February 15, 2021

Thanks Geoff, another interesting read with great photos. Would like a longer read please!

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in The Mont Blog

What does it take to be comfortable at  -25°C on a frozen lake?
What does it take to be comfortable at -25°C on a frozen lake?

August 30, 2024

On my recent trip to Mongolia, I expected some pretty low temperatures, temperatures that I had not experienced before so I took a range of clothing and gear with me to protect me from the elements.
Read More
Climbing in the Warrumbungles
Climbing in the Warrumbungles

July 10, 2024

The sunrises, campfire stories, wondering if you are on route, and memories made with friends is what it is about. The Warrumbungles is certainly a special place to experience these things.
Read More
Fantastic Fagus
Fantastic Fagus

July 09, 2024

It’s that time of year again when Australia’s only native deciduous plant, Nothofagus Gunnii or the Deciduous Beech, affectionately known as Fagus, or less affectionately....Tanglefoot, bursts into a mass of golden colour before the cold Tasmanian winter.
Read More