Mountains of Jupiter Sat. 7^thMon. 9^th March 2015

The fine weather brought out a good group for the Bridport walk last weekend (thanks Chris!) and now we offer a real wilderness experience - South from Lake Rowallan via Chalice Lake, Cloister Lagoon and Junction Lake into the heart of the alpine wilderness.

Please note that due to unexpected family commitments, Ian Waterhouse is unable to lead the walk, and Graham Alexander has kindly offered to lead instead.
The walk begins at the very end of the Mersey Forest Road, south of Lake Rowallan. About 10 km of walking past Chapter Lake (views of Grail Falls) and Cloister Lagoon will bring the party to Junction Lake - the likely campsite. The section to Chapter Lake involves some steep climbing, but past there, there is only minor rise and fall. (A very slow party might camp at Cloister Lagoon, or a fast party at Lake Artemis which is 2.5 km further south.) The main Mountains of Jupiter high point is less than 1 km from Lake Artemis, and only 200m higher. A very fit and energetic party might make an attempt at Mt. Spurling, a further 5 km south of Lake Artemis, but your leader will make all these decisions during the walk to make sure the walk remains enjoyable for all the party.
As this is a camping trip involving carrying your food and camping gear, you need to check requirements with Graham, and discuss sharing of tents etc. It may be possible for non-walkers to meet the walking party near the power station, but again, discuss with leader. Fresh water should not be a problem in the area.
Meeting Times and Places:
As this is a camping trip, we are sending this email earlier than usual. Could you please contact Graham by end of Tues. 3rd March if intending to participate? A minimum of 3 walkers is needed to make the trip viable.
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Graham Alexander on 0407 436 556 to book in. The departure time is 7:30 am Sat. 7th March from Door of Hope car park. If you wish to meet with Graham at any other place (he will be setting out from Devonport), please arrange with him. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time. However, you still need to contact the walk leader per details above if intending to walk. The leader should be notified of any other people you intend to bring along.
To access the area from Launceston, proceed along the Bass Highway to Deloraine (about 51 km), but do not turn off at the eastern exit into Deloraine. Instead, continue across Meander R. and up hill to the western exit, and to the roundabout at start of Mole Creek Rd. A further 24km will bring you to Mole Creek (sometimes used as a meeting place for our walks - check with leader). Continue west past Mole Creek, on what is now Liena Rd, making sure you turn south at the caravan park 4 km from the town. The road continues west until about 14 km from Mole Creek, it branches south, now called Mersey Forest Road. A little over 6 km south, you will pass turnoffs to Cradle Mountain and Devil's Gullet (Lake Mackenzie) but keep going south, crossing the Mersey at Lake Parangana and passing the turnoffs for Bare Hill and Arm River. Another 17 km should see you cross below the Rowallan Dam. Continue south along the east side of Lake Rowallan, for about 16 km, by which time you are south of Lake Rowallan, until you reach the very end of the road and the beginning of the Moses Creek walking track.

Warnings:
The following codes [from our 2015 walks calendar] apply:
    D    Drive distance requires early departure
    S    Steep incline for at least part of the way
    L    A long days walk in excess of 3 hours each way
    M    Marshy or muddy sections be prepared to walk with wet feet.
    E     Exposed alpine conditions ; can be dangerous in poor weather if not adequately equipped; see www.sutas.org.au/bush-walking/bush-walking for some guidelines.
As this is a camping trip, a checklist of essentials is a good idea. See http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=28383 for a suggested list. However, much of this gear can be shared with a partner - perhaps a more experienced walker who already has some of the big ticket items such as tent and stove.
Unsure of equipment requirements? Visit the Boots N' All section of the sutas.org.au website per link below and read "Clothing suggestions for exposed conditions"

Map details:
Mts of Jupiter (alt. 1350m): 1:100000 map is Mersey (Tasmap 8114) and 1:25000 map is DuCane (Tasmap 4235)
Map references:
Short ref. 320562
Zone      Easting        Northing    Latitude    Longitude
55G    4 32 110    53 56 420    -41.94127    146.18100
In case Mt. Spurling (alt. 1280m) does prove reachable for the party: same maps as above, short ref. 310524 and
Zone      Easting        Northing    Latitude    Longitude
55G    4 31 130    53 52 480    -41.97667    146.16872

For peakbaggers, Mts. of Jupiter 2 points, and Mt. Spurling 1 point. For listing of peakbagger points, see the Hobart Walking Club Peakbagger's Guide (2000 revision) which can be downloaded (Excel) from http://tastracks.webs.com/peakbaggers.htm The same web page contains several other listings of Tasmanian peaks.

GPX version of the track: Click here to download. Google Earth version of the track: Click here to download.
Right-click on the file and save target as to a location of your choice. (Suggest you click the Last modified at top to sort by date to get the most recent at top to find the file for the next walk).

Boots N' All Walks Calendar (and printable version): www.sutas.org.au and follow the Camps and Programs link to Bushwalking
GPS Discussions See http://bootsnall.sutas.org.au/GPS_discussions.htm
Boots N' All File Repository: http://bootsnall.sutas.org.au
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blessings,
Basil Tkaczuk

Boots N' All - An activity of Scripture Union Tasmania ...Tasmanian wilderness hiking with a difference!

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