Adamsons Peak

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Adamsons Peak

Middle of winter in Tasmania means there is little time for Abels. However, this has never put me off and on a work trip to Hobart I found an opportunity at the end of July. I had freed up a day mid week and roped in Ferg and Troy (Hobartian mates) to join me for the drive down to Dover.

The drive down saw us in the sunshine - a beautiful winter's day. We headed south to Dover which took about an hour and a half. From here we had a great view of the distinct peak and weren't surprised to see snow on the top. Not too much but enough for a bit of fun. After a short drive along forestry roads we found ourselves arriving at the trailhead by about 10am.

By 10.15am we were on our way through the forest. The weather was clear but cool and we enjoyed the initial stroll along the old logging tracks from yesteryear. It was pleasant walking. As we progressed along the well formed track, we commenced the climb after about 20 minutes. It rapidly grew steeper although at one stage we did cross a muddy flat section. We managed to find a bit of water and mud here. Pretty soon after this we were pushing hard up the next climb to reach the plateau we knew existed above us. After about 2 hours we arrived at the clearer plateau and the old abandoned rock hut that we had read about in the Abels book. We had separated a little and Troy and I waited for a few minutes for Ferg to catch up. The climb had been steeper than all of us had expected. The winter pudding had caught up with us!

Ferg was a bit out of sorts and after arriving at the plateau he decided to take in the views and have a rest while we headed for the summit. I could see why he wanted to stay. The views from here were fantastic and to the east we could see right across Bruny Island to the Tasman Peninsula and Tasman Island. To the south we could just make out Recherche bay and Cockle Creek. Awesome! This would be a could pit stop.

Troy and I moved onwards and continued towards the peak. The walking was now through shoulder to head high tea tree with some nice open sections. We climbed to the top of the plateau and after half an hour or so after leaving Ferg, arrived at the small ridge that led up to the peak. We tracked up this through some small trees and open rocky sections to find our first snow. We kept coming across small sections like this and trod through them enjoying our winter adventure. We climbed to the top of the small ridge and sidled a knoll. The country was now open and we could see the final climb to the main peak ahead. There was more snow. We quickly moved forwards and each took our own time to climb up to the final summit ridge. As we walked up here there were some deeper drifts of snow which added to the fun.

Mist had started rolling through which meant the views were intermittent. The final summit ridgeline consisted of a slippery boulder field covered in patches of snow. It was here I realised this was probably my first winter boulder hop since breaking my ankle on Rats Castle two years earlier. I tried to put that thought to the back of my mind.

After twenty minutes or so along the summit ridge we finally arrived at the large beehive looking summit cairn about 3.5 hours after departing the car. All in all not a bad effort. Troy and I sat down and enjoyed a subway footlong each while we watched the mist come and go. We had some superb views but the wind chill was very cold. We called Ferg and told him to start heading back to the car. We then took some summit shots and made the trek back.

The trip back was quicker. We didn't really stop for a break and found ourselves back at the car 2.5 hours after leaving the summit. 6 hours all up. Nice effort for a mid winter walk - we were stoked! Ferg was waiting for us when we arrived and looking in good form. He had enjoyed his solo sojourn back. After stripping off wet gear, we hopped in the car and headed back to Hobart via the Kermandie Hotel for a cold one.

Highly recommend Adamsons Peak!

STATS

Distance 11.07km

Time 5hrs 54 mins

Ascent 1100m

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