Preamble:
I've been lucky enough in my outdoor
career to be able to share a rope, a kayak, a tent, with some real
legends in the outdoor community. These trips are always special,
not necessarily because of the places we've been or the mountains
we've climbed - although those were wonderful too - but because these
people are somehow larger than the rest of us. They dream bigger,
push harder, continue further and are real inspirations to everyone
in the outdoor community. Meeting these folks is fantastic, doing a
trip with them is a privilege.
King Davids Peak From Damascus Gate
When Jason B, who won the 2014
Australian Geographic Adventurer Of The Year Award for his solo kayak
circumnavigation of Australia, which included crossing Bass Strait
twice (once by the western route and once by the eastern) and
circling Tasmania, contacted us about doing a bushwalk in Tasmania,
Doug and I leapt at the opportunity.
Bills Lake From Solomons Throne
After some rather brief telephone
conversations and even briefer text messages we agreed to meet up in
Deloraine and walk in the Walls Of Jerusalem National Park. We would
all walk together through the Walls Of Jerusalem and, while Doug and
I would make a loop walk back to the start of the track, Jason would
continue through The Never Never (yes, it really is called The Never
Never) and out the Overland Track.
Hanging around at Junction Lake
Dixons Kingdom, Mount Jerusalem:
If you've paddled solo around
Australia, you know how to get up early and get moving, and we were
all up before dawn on our first day of walking. The parking lot at
the Fish River had about a dozen walkers cars testament to the
popularity of this National Park which is in many ways more beautiful
than the more famous (nearby) Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National
Park. Despite all the vehicles, we had quiet campsites as most
people seemed to be on their way out.
Mount Ossa and Pelion from Solomons Throne
We started our walk at Fish River which
is one of the commonest entry points to the Walls Of Jerusalem and
wandered up a good track to the first of many old huts found in the
park, all relics of early times when trapping and cattle grazing were
allowed. Soon after Trappers Hut, a track junction is reached. We
headed off to the southeast along the track that leads to Dixons
Kingdom. The track running due south goes down to Lake Adelaide and
can be used to make a short 22 kilometre circuit walk.
Pool of Bethseda and The Temple
We were soon up in beautiful sub-alpine
meadows passing Solomons Jewels, a series of tiny blue tarns. At
Wild Dog Creek there is a campsite with hardened tent pads, where we
stopped for a break. There is another short climb before you walk
through Herods Gate under the north facing cliffs of King Davids
Peak. Lake Salome is framed between Zion Hill and The Temple, and
behind is Mount Jerusalem. Another short climb leads to a narrow
pass between Solomons Throne and The Temple where a cold south wind
made lingering impossible. We scooted down through a gorgeous forest
of King Billy Pine (some trees 1,000 years old) to Dixons Kingdom
where there is another old cattlemans hut, several grassy campsites,
clear streams and a good track leads north through Jaffa Gate to
Mount Jerusalem.
The track through the rock cleft to Solomons Throne
Tents were put up, tea was had, and we
wandered, in a bitterly cold wind, north through Jaffa Gate and up
past many small tarns, ponds and colourful gardens of alpine plants
to the top of Mount Jerusalem. There are an extraordinary number of
lakes, puddles, pools, tarns and other bodies of water in the Walls
Of Jerusalem and it is quite an amazing view from the summit looking
across all this pooled water. We found a spot tucked under the
summit out of the wind and simply sat soaking it all in.
The afternoon and night felt bitterly
cold. Jason had dinner at 4.30 pm, and while Doug and I held out
until 6.00 pm, we were all in our tents well before dark.
Mount Moriah from Damascus Gate
The Lakes: Ball, Adelaide, Meston,
Junction:
Twelve hours huddled fully dressed in a
too well ventilated tent is enough for anyone so I got up in the dark
and walked - carefully on the frosty boardwalk - back up to Damascus
Gate and on up the re-routed and well constructed stone track to the
top of Solomons Throne (Halls Buttress on the old 1:25K topographic
maps). The final section of the track climbs rock steps through a
narrow chasm. I watched a stunning sunrise over the surrounding
lakes, forests and mountains, and, when the sun was fully up, walked
back down to camp where Doug and Jason were getting breakfast. The
wind of the previous day had subsided and the sun, when it reached
into the narrow valley was warm.
King David Peak from Solomons Throne
A faint foot pad leads down Jaffa Vale
to join a more prominent track along the north shore of Lake Ball.
Fagus, a deciduous beech tree, was turning and the bright yellow of
the tiny scalloped leaves was stunning against the blue sky. At the
western end of Lake Ball, the meadow was white with frost and another
stunning rock garden of many coloured alpine plants set off the blue
of the lake.
Fagus
We descended down to the north end of
Lake Adelaide where there is a serviceable, but dark campsite. The
better camp is on the southern shoreline four kilometres away. The
track wanders up and down along the eastern shore of Lake Adelaide,
climbing and descending short distances to avoid rock bluffs. At the
south end, it traverses light forest to reach a sandy beach and
delightful camp site on the north shore of Lake Meston. Halfway down
Lake Meston is another old cabin, this one has a dark campsite nearby
and some people have even been sleeping in the ramshackle hut.
Lake Adelaide from Solomons Throne
Beyond Lake Meston, the final four
kilometres of track to Junction Lake wanders back, forth, up and
down, passing brief patches of Button Grass at the Mayfield Flats,
slender Lake Youd and eventually reaching Junction Lake near another
old hut. The campsite is above the lake on a level bench with some
large scattered boulders and big eucalpyts. It was a warmer night
and it was nice to stay out of the tent until dark, which comes soon
at this time of year.
Lake Myrtle, Lake Ball, The Blizzard
Plains:
We had an even
warmer night thanks to the cloud cover that moved in early on, but
the morning air was damp and promised rain. Jason left us heading
west through The Never Never to meet the Overland Track just north of
Ducane Gap. Doug and I walked back to old hut halfway along Lake
Meston and took the track (marked by a cairn) that leads up over a
saddle to the east of Mount Rogoona and down to Lake Myrtle. By the
time we had crossed the 1200 metre saddle, Mount Rogoona had
disappeared into the cloud.
Lake Myrtle and Mount Rogoona
There is another
beautiful grassy campsite on the north end of Lake Myrtle with a view
of Lake Myrtle and Mount Rogoona. Then the track follows the creek
and is muddy at times to Lake Bill. Button Grass meadows along the
Blizzard Plains north of Lake Bill are, as usual, soggy with water,
but this section is short and we managed to keep our boots dry. A
300 metre descent down a dry track through eucalpyt forest quickly
leads to the parking area. While Doug put the tent up to dry off the
morning dew, I walked eight kilometres along the stony Mersey Forest
Road back to Fish River trail head to retrieve the car.
Morning Light
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