After lunch overlooking Tarn Shelf beside the Rodway ski tow we scrambled over the Rodway Range. We paused briefly to collect the peak bagging points at the high point overlooking Lions Den.
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| Rodway Range high point. The Eastern and Western Arthurs grace the horizon beyond Tyenna Peak. |
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| Lions Den |
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| Lake Hayes and The Watcher |
Views to Florentine Peak were a constant companion as we crossed K-col and ascended the plateau beyond Clemes Tarn. Masses of flowering scoparia, a sparkling stream and numerous tarns made the final approach to Field West delightful.
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| Peterson Memorial Hut |
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| Clemes Tarn and Florentine Peak |
The view from the top stretched to the many mountain ranges of the central and south-west Tasmanian wilderness. Most of the peaks on show feature on my unclimbed 'to-do' list. After a period of dreaming up future trips my focus turned to the Florentine Valley laying directly below our vantage point. It is sad to think parts of that once wild valley were removed from Mount Field National Park to feed the paper mill at Boyer. At least the mill has now moved to 100% plantation timber and the largely untouched upper Florentine Valley is now safely within the World Heritage Area (no thanks to the Hodgeman & Abbott governments who attempted to have them removed!).
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| Lake Gordon brooding beyond the ramparts of Mount Field West |
On our return journey a brief break in the clouds allowed us a quick side trip to Naturalist Peak for more peak bagging cred. K-col greeted us with a short sharp downpour making it easy to decide against the longer return via Tarn Shelf. The Watcher made no attempts to keep an eye on us, instead staying well behind a dark, cloudy veil - those points will wait for another day.
As we recrossed the Rodways, rain turned to sleet before making the full transition to a spectacular snow storm as we arrived back at Lake Dobson.
1 comment:
Beautiful. I'm surprised that a keen bushwalker in Tasmania hasn't done all the Mt Field walks.
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