Comments on: The Overland Track – Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair – a nice slow trip

By: Lightweight LED lantern – Santa delivers! | Our Hiking Blog

Lightweight LED lantern – Santa delivers! | Our Hiking Blog — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:25:18 +0000

[...] saw this light in use at Waterfall Valley Hut on the Overland Track in September and were very impressed. We usually just take headlights and a couple of tea candles but this [...]

By: Seasons Greetings – Looking back and forward – is that headspinning? | Our Hiking Blog

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:10:26 +0000

[...] – We hiked the Overland Track in September with John and Colin – We had a fine adventure at Louisa Bay and part of the South Coast Track with John & Mark – We wandered through the Walls of Jerusalem to the Overland Track and Cradle Mountain Lodge with Tom, Colin, Alex & Paul Lost in Wilderness by bass_nroll / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 [...]

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:06:37 +0000

Hi Paul,
Frank here. I am up to my 4th pair of “boots” and have finally settled on what would commonly be called “mid weight” They are Keens walking shoes and I LOVE EM. They are similar to these Keens

They are expensive but the most comfortable footwear I have used hiking. I have recently used them on the South Coast Track and wore them on the Overland Track this September (in snow)

I did not find them waterproof (but expect to get wet feet anyway) We have seen people hiking the Overland Track in runners, thongs, sandles and a wide variety of footwear. They all seem to make it!

My main bit of advice is to make sure they are in good, strong condition and have been well broken in, while you have been wearing your pack (your feet behave differently with a pack on)

This guy wore his 25yo boots and got into a bit of trouble (like a lot of people) http://ourhikingblog.com.au/2008/05/what-footwear-to-wear-on-overland-track.html

The boots / shoes debate is everywhere on hiking / bushwalking sites. My advice is to chose something comfortable that won’t fall apart.

Good luck and drop back, I will write up a full blog post on footwear in the next week or two.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:45:13 +0000

Hey guys, great blog, what kind of footware do you reccomend for the track in Dec – Jan period (Dec 28 – Jan 5. I was thinking just comfortale runners/walking low cut shoes but everyone seems to have boots?

By: Frank and Sue

Frank and Sue — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:25:09 +0000

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the comment.
Mate, no gondolas in Tasmania!
You might have noticed in the trip report we only saw 20 people in the whole 7 days AND no one for three of them!

You should get out here for a visit. LOTS of German people love the place. Have you checked out Matthias's blog? http://mattworldwide.com/ He has "escaped" from Germany. (for good)

Enjoyed checking out your blog. Some great stuff there.

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:41:11 +0000

Looks really remote and quiet: 1000% less touristy than most places one can hike in Europe! Sometimes I long for mountains without gondolas going to the top of 'em.

By: Frank and Sue

Frank and Sue — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:53:10 +0000

Thanks everyone for your comments.

@Peter - as regards the Bert Nicols hut.
Good points-
- separate sleeping area so quiet at night
- great space to put your packs and gear out side sleeping rooms
- drying area /"veranda" is pretty good - needs more hooks

Lets call it "needs improvement" rather than bad points.
- should have had an open veranda (excuses / reasons against) have been made by Parks
- fire in the wrong spot. Too easy to hog it. ? should have been in middle of room or middle of a wall.
- air locks would have been great between outside and inside
- materials used for flywire was cheap domestic quality is now wrecked when possums enter!(and they try and head into the "lounge" to scrounge food.)
- Sue reckons you could fit in more tables, I was happy with the spacing
- One GREAT comment in hut book was to make the sculptures lower so they could also have been used to hang wet clothes off!
- Will be interested to see what it was like in summer - was pretty dark and gloomy in September.

All in all, probably a 6/10 but at least it was dry, vaguely warm and had a water tank!

By: Peter Franklin

Peter Franklin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:49:22 +0000

I have read the Bushwalk Tas forum on the hut at windy Ridge. As I haven't been there I was curious to know if there all the comments on the log are negative about the hut. I notice you mention you can see both views.
The local Tas National Parks Assoc newsletter indicates that "…not heard a single positive comment…" and I am wondering if this is a fair and balanced assessment

By: Matthias

Matthias — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:24:51 +0000

Looks like it was a really cool trip. Love the photos. I think if you walked the track yourself you can understand the wish to walk it again, it's simply beautiful there.

By: Auckland property manager

Auckland property manager — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:11:21 +0000

You really had a good time,and the scene is ,indeedly,beautiful.Thanks for sharing your photos.