Duncansons Plateau - Sat. 27th December 2014

You are invited to attend the Boots N' All walk to Duncanson's Plateau this coming weekend, Sat. 27th December.  Work off some of that Christmas cheer! The walk promises wildflowers which should be at their best, and alpine tarns as well as expansive views.
Walk route:
Starting from Pine Lake on the fully sealed part of the Lake Highway (aka Highland Lakes Rd) just south of Projection Bluff, the walk passes between Projection Bluff and Adams Peak, heading west to a high plateau with expansive views of the Meander area and beyond, before returning via a south-easterly route south of Adams Peak and back to Pine Lake. While there are some moderately steep inclines, there is less than 100 metres altitude between the highest and lowest points of the walk, which crosses fairly open terrain. The walk is rated easy-medium and would be suitable for energetic and reslient younger children, although it is largely off-track. Total walk distance is approximately 7km.

Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Basil Tkaczuk on 6331 1155 (or reply to this email by Thursday evening) to book in. The departure time is 8:00 am from Door of Hope car park. The alternative meeting place/time is Deloraine at 8 am. (Turn onto the Lake Highway at junction in Deloraine on Launceston side of  bridge over Meander R.). Other meeting places by arrangement with leader. 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.
You should always contact the walk leader if intending to participate in a particular Boots N' All walk. The leader should also be notified of any other people you intend to bring along.
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 to turn left after 7 km at signposted junction for Highland Lakes Rd.  Continue south through Golden Valley, up past Quamby Bluff and Projection Bluff to Pine Lake, approximately 25km from the junction. A car park and boardwalk on the west side of the road mark the starting point for the walk.
Warnings:
    E    Exposed alpine conditions – can be dangerous in poor weather if not fully equipped
    Make sure you have a good supply of drinking water.
    Walkers are advised to wear strong shoes or boots. Gaiters would be desirable. You should always carry wet weather gear as well as warm clothing in case of sudden weather changes.

If you are 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:
(Adams Pk): 1:100000 map is Meander (8214) and 1:25000 map is Breona (4637)
Map reference:
Short ref.  n/a
Zone      Easting        Northing    Latitude    Longitude
55G    4 74 540    53 79 230    -41.73834    146.69383
This walk will not include any peakbagger points from the Hobart Walking Club Peakbagger's Guide (2000 revision) which can be found and downloaded (as an Excel spreadsheet) from
http://tastracks.webs.com/peakbaggers.htm  The same web page contains several other listings of Tasmanian peaks.

GPX and Google Earth versions of the approximate track are attached. Double-clicking on the Google Earth (kml) track should open Google Earth and zoom in to the location if you have Google Earth installed on your computer. The .gpx version of the track should import into mapping software or devices that support gpx tracks and waypoints.
(Google Map View:  Google Earth .kml files in the past could be overlaid on Google Map provided the .kml file was on a website - not just on your local computer.  There is now a new version of Google Map, and I haven't yet figured out how to load kml files into it. If you know how to do this, please let me know.  Watch this space!)
GPS Discussions See http://bootsnall.sutas.org.au/GPS_discussions.htm for discussion about the respective merits of hand-held GPS devices and smartphones with GPS built in, as well as information about how to use a Garmin Etrex10 GPS.
File Repository  Boots N' All now has its own file repository on the sutas website. See http://bootsnall.sutas.org.au  At the moment, this is only a file repository, and not a proper website, but any of the .gpx and .kml files from recent walks can be downloaded from there. These can be found in folders called GPXfiles and GoogleEarth. Eventually, more tracks will be uploaded there, and hopefully some more detailed walks descriptions for possible future walks.
Gear sale: Retired Boots N' All walker, Gary F, is keen to dispose of his extensive bushwalking gear (some quite upmarket) at very affordable prices. See http://bootsnall.sutas.org.au/Gear/DisposalgearGaryF.htm for list and pics of same. EmailBasil for contact details if interested.
Facebook users (and others): www.facebook.com/SUTasBootsnall
For the full list of Boots N' All walks planned for 2015,visit www.sutas.org.au and follow the Camps and Programs link to Bushwalking
Please note that there has been a change of date for the Quamby Bluff walk from the earlier version of the 2015 walks calendar I sent out a few weeks ago. The attached version and website have been corrected.
Know someone who is interested in bushwalking but not receiving our email updates? Please forward this email to them, and invite them to email basilt@outlook.com.au to add their details to our distribution list.