Mother Cummings Peak Sat. 25th August 2018
We are pleased to announce that the vacant spot on
our walks calendar has been filled with a short but energetic trip to
Mother Cummings Peak. We have decided to make this walk a focus for
teenagers who took part in the February Bush N' Biscuits
camping trip to the Scout Hut at Cradle Mt, but it will still be open to
other walkers. Note that this means a different meeting place in
Launceston. This means, however, that
we will try to keep the walk at a pace more suited to young people,
so if you are very slow on steep and rocky tracks that are not
well-formed, this may not be the best walk for you. Parts of the track
also follow a watercourse, so wet feet are likely!
The walk itself is not particularly long - basically, a steep climb over
1 km of 300 metres altitude starting from the 900 metre contour at the
end of Scotts Road, followed by a more leisurely meandering around the
plateau of Mother Cummings Head (distinct from the more prominent but
lower northern peak) - a plateau somewhat isolated from the main central
plateau due to the precipitous drop to the Meander Valley on the south
and Mother Cummings Rivulet to the west. On a clear day, it offers
spectacular views in all directions. Total walk distance will depend on
the day - a 2-3 km circuit of the top if weather is suitable, plus the 1
km each way for the steep section. The walk, rated medium, should be
fine for energetic children who don't mind the steep, rocky conditions.
Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Basil
Tkaczuk on 6331 1155 or 048 664 402. The departure time is
8:45 am from Barneys Church - 17a Georgetown
Road, Newnham (at the junction of Alanvale Rd). Alternative meeting
place: Deloraine 9:20 am. Check with leader for meeting spot. If you wish to meet
with the group at any other place,
please arrange with the leader. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes
ahead of departure time. However, you still need to contact 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, head towards
Deloraine on the Bass Highway (50 km) and take the first (eastern) turn
from the highway into Deloraine. Continue into the town and turn left
immediately before the bridge (meeting place - see above).
From Deloraine, head south along the "Lake Highway" - now Highland Lakes
Rd. (but the first bit may be called Meander Rd!). Make sure you stay on
Meander Rd and go straight ahead (DON'T turn left) at 7 km from
Deloraine, where there is a signposted junction for Highland Lakes Rd.
Continue a further 9 km to Meander and continue through the town. After
about 6 km, the road swings right. The turnoff for Scotts Rd is a little
under 2 km further on the right, and marked by a sign indicating a
lookout. Follow Scotts Rd about 5 km to the carpark at the end where the
track begins. Note that Scotts Rd is bumpy in places - passable for 2WD
vehicles with reasonable clearance – a couple of fallen trees angled
over the road, but high enough to drive under. A few bumpy bits,
potholes, and a couple of bigger puddles (but solid under the water).
Warnings:
The following codes [from our 2018
walks calendar] apply:
S Steep incline for at least part of the
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.
Walkers are advised to wear strong shoes or boots. Gaiters are
recommended. You should always carry wet
weather gear as well as warm clothing including gloves and beanies in
case of sudden weather changes. The destination of this walk is above
1000 metres altitude, and can be very exposed if the weather turns bad. Be prepared!
Winter bushwalking can be dangerous in poor weather if not adequately equipped; see
http://bootsnall.sutas.org.au/Pages/Equipment_Safety.htm for some guidelines.
Map details for Mother Cummings area:
1:100000 map is Meander (Tasmap 8214)
and 1:25000 map is Quamby Brook (Tasmap 4638)
Map references:
Short ref. 618854
Mother Cummings Peak (Head):
Zone Easting
Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 4 61 905
53 85 630 -41.68019 146.54230
Mother Cummings Head (which we will visit) 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).