Thirty-Four Tetras: Cradle Mountain

Yes, it's true - we have been living in Tassie for 11 months and this is the first time we've seen Cradle Mountain....

I did actually make the drive out soon after moving here, but hadn't quite got the hang of Tasmanian weather (no point visiting mountains when it's overcast/cloudy/raining) and this is all I manged to see:

Anyway, we finally got around to visiting the iconic peak on New Year's Eve.

Of course, simply seeing the mountain from the shores of Dove Lake was never going to be adventurous enough, so I mapped out a walk incorporating part of the Overland Track to the summit of Cradle Mountain itself.

We started at the Ronny Creek carpark, which also marks the beginning of the Overland Track. The trail starts along an elevated boardwalk over marshy grassland, and is a good place for spotting wombats.

Although the brown lump in the foreground looks suspiciously like a rock,

I promise it is a wombat

Soon enough, though it starts to climb.

We ascended through one short patch of forest alongside the creek, but the remainder of the climb wound up through low scrub. It was a little warm walking in the sun (more like stinking hot), but the views were good.

Looking back towards the carpark

(on the far side of the bare patch in the distance)

A brief reprieve from the sun

We passed by Crater Lake nestled in the bowl of surrounding peaks.

View from inside the boatshed at Crater Lake

Crater Lake

(looking back the way we have just come)

From there it was another steep climb up to Marion's Lookout and our first sight of Cradle Mountain.

The climb out from Crater Lake

View from Marion's Lookout

The track then struck out across open alpine grassland with the Cradle peak dominating the view ahead and Dove Lake visible in the valley below. There were plenty of other walkers out, ranging from Overland Track hikers toting heavy packs, to families coaxing their kids along and enviably fit pensioners putting to shame more "touristy" types walking in hot pants and crop tops...

Cradle Mountain with Barn Bluff to the right

Getting closer...

(you can see the trail heading up the mountain from kitchen hut)

We dipped briefly down to kitchen hut - an emergency shelter nestled close to the base of the mountain with a clear view of the slog ahead.

Kitchen Hut

(note the second storey doorway and shovel so you can get in when the snow is high)

Inside the hut

We then departed the Overland Track (which skirted the base of the mountain and continued on southwards) and began the steep, hot climb to the summit. The track started off as a moderately steep scramble up the rocky footslope which ended in a jumble of broken rock at the base of the dolerite cliffs. From this point, the "walk" turned into more of a climb as we negotiated the rocky maze.

This is not so bad...

Getting a bit steeper

At least the view is good

(Overland Track to the left, Dove Lake to the right)

The track goes where?!?

The actual summit is not visible from the Dove Lake side of the mountain, and the "track" dipped into several steep valleys and over multiple rises before finally topping out onto a large plateau with expansive views in every direction.

Another false summit

Finally made it

(Barn Bluff in the background)

Looking southeast over the "back" of the mountain towards Weindorfer's Tower

(the lower peak of the "cradle")

Looking south along the Overland Track towards Barn Bluff

We enjoyed lunch at the top, then started the scramble/slide back to the bottom (yes - sliding down on your bum is a legitimate descending technique). From the mountain slopes there were several hiking tracks visible on the plateau, including one enticing trail that led off around the base of Cradle Mountain (the Face Track) to the far side of Dove Lake where it followed the ridge line before eventually descending to the Dove Lake carpark. My original plan of retracing our route was quickly revised to include this track.

Partway down looking over Dove Lake

The Face Track was quite a bit rougher than the well-trodden Overland Track and dipped up and down along the base of Cradle Mountain before descending to another emergency shelter nestled below the ridge.

Lake Wilks above Dove Lake

Ranger's Hut

From there it was an undulating climb along the ridge above the eastern side of Dove Lake. The amazing views made up for increasingly tired feet and legs with Cradle Mountain behind, Dove Lake below and an expansive view over more lakes and valleys to the east.