Mt. Nicholas - Sat. 9th April 2016
In a first for Boots 'n' All, on 9th April we will tackle Mt
Nicholas in Tasmania's Northeast. This is a fairly short walk, less than
3 km return and will take us perhaps 3-4 hours in total depending on the
group. An experienced walker could probably do the walk in 2 hours and
would therefore regard it as easy. However the main climb is very steep,
over small rocks which can be loose underfoot and which could be
slippery if wet. There is no track. Some walkers may find it a challenge
and will need to take extra care, especially when coming back down,
which is why it is rated Easy-Medium. We will be mostly in forest,
however the peak itself is open and in good weather the views are quite
good especially in the westerly direction.
Walk route:
The walk begins at a an altitude of a little over 600m, and climbs
steeply for about 900m in a southeasterly direction over a cairned
route, but off track, for about one hour to the top of the range at
840m. There we veer right and head roughly west for a further 400m along
the broad ridge consisting of open forest walking to the high point of
the range at 859m. After lunch on top we will return the same way.
Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Phil Andrew
on 0408 014 757 or 6300 1067 to book in. The departure
time is 8:30 am from Door of Hope carpark in South Launceston.
Alternative meeting points could be arranged en route, such as Conara
Junction at 9 am, or Avoca at 9.30 am. However, you still need to
contact Phil, the walk leader, if intending to walk. The leader should
be notified of any other people you intend to bring along.
Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time.
To access this area from northern Tasmania:
From Launceston, follow the Midland Highway 55km south to the
junction of the Esk Main Road at Conara. Turn left and continue a
further 54 km to Fingal. Continue east through Fingal and Esk Main Road
for a further 13 km. Turn left into Mt Nicholas Rd. Follow this for 5
km, then turn right and follow good forest trails for 750 metres, then
turn right and continue a further 1.25 km. We
will park our cars there at an altitude of a little over 600m and begin
our walk.
(Alternatively, from Launceston, proceed via St. Leonards [St. Leonards
Rd and Blessington Rd] to Upper Blessington - about 51 km. At Upper
Blessington, do not take the left turn, but go straight ahead on Roses
Tier Rd, and follow up a winding ascent. After 9 km, turn right into
Gunn's Rd. A further 8.5 km will bring you down to Upper Esk Rd. Turn
right and continue east to Mathinna, a further 13 km. The section from
Upper Blessington to Upper Esk Rd. is gravel, but should be suitable for
2WD cars. From Mathinna, continue east a further 6.5km and turn left
into Evercreech Rd. After just under 2 km, turn right into Barnes Rd.
After 6.5km, the road turns sharply south. Continue south then southeast
[ the road at some point becomes Mt Nicholas Rd] for a further 8 km to
reach a junction where you turn sharply north. You are now on the "good
forest trails" mentioned above.)
Warnings:
Water! It is
unlikely that there will be any drinkable water on this walk, so please
be sure to carry at least 1 litre in a sturdy bottle, and perhaps have
some spare water to drink at the car when we get back.
Be aware of
possible hazards such as insect bites and snakes. As we are well into
autumn, prepare for a variety of weather conditions
from warm and sunny to cold, wet and windy. Walking boots
and gaiters are recommended. If you are unsure of
equipment requirements, Visit the Boots N' All section of the
sutas.org.au website per link below and read the guidelines for clothing
and equipment.
If unsure of equipment requirements for bushwalking, see
www.sutas.org.au/bush-walking/bush-walking
for some guidelines.
Map details:
Mt. Nicholas: 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8514
(Break O'Day) and 1:25000 map
is 5840 (Dublin Town)
Map references:
Short reference: 912003
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 5 91 290
54 00 415 -41.54272 148.09449
Mt. Nicholas is worth 1 peakbagger 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).