You are invited to attend the Boots N’ All walk on Sat. 22nd Feb. to Ragged Jack, a spectacular prominence to the west of the Ben Lomond Plateau.
Meeting Times and Places:
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone your intrepid walk leader, David Meadows, on 0423 881 870 to book in.
The departure time is 8:00 am from Door of Hope car park. Other meeting places by arrangement with leader. Please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of departure time. However, you still need to contact the walk leader, David Meadows, per details above if intending to walk. The leader should be notified of any other people you intend to bring along.
You should always contact the walk leader if intending to participate in a particular Boots N’ All walk.
Walk route:
The walk begins a short distance from Ragged Jack Rd. About 300 metres altitude is gained over the next 2 km up the steep 4WD track to a saddle between Ragged Jack and the main plateau of Ben Lomond. (a “serious” 4WD would shorten the walk by most of this part!) Leaving the vehicular track, the walk heads south, following a cairned route (not a track) through eucalypt forest, open areas and boulder fields to reach the summit at 1369 metres. This walk would suit walkers who are familiar and comfortable with climbing over boulder fields. There are also a couple of minor scrubby patches. We have rated this walk as “medium”, and it requires moderately good fitness because of the very steep grades.
To access the walk from Launceston, follow Hoblers Bridge Rd. to roundabout, and take right exit along St. Leonard’s Rd. Continue through St. Leonards, past Corra Lynn, through White Hills and Blessington to the Ben Lomond road – approx. 43 km from Launceston. Leaving the sealed road, turn right and approx. 1 km up Ben Lomond Rd. turn right again. Follow Ragged Jack Rd. for approx. 9 km and about 300 metres short of obvious gully between Ben Lomond and Ragged Jack, there is a turnoff to left. Cars can be parked about 200 metres in. It is possible to drive 4WD vehicles further up the vehicular track, although very steep and somewhat rough in places, with the usual risk of bushes scratching paintwork.
Warnings:
B Boulder field – walkers need to be able to confidently step from rock to rock.
C Climbing sections using rocks and vegetation as hand holds.
S Steep incline for at least part of the way
E Exposed alpine conditions – can be dangerous in poor weather if not fully equipped (You must be equipped for poor conditions even if the weather forecast is promising. The long range forecast for Saturday suggests cool, partly cloudy conditions).
Recommended that you carry 1 litre of water. There should be drinkable water in the creek where vehicular track crosses.
If you are unsure of equipment requirements, Visit the Boots N’ All section of the sutas.org.au website per link below and read “Clothing suggestions for exposed conditions”
Map details:
Ragged Jack: 1:100000 map is St Pauls and 1:25000 map is Stacks
Map reference:
Short ref. 487993
Zone Easting Northing Latitude Longitude
55G 5 48 840 53 99 485 -41.55481 147.58566
Reaching the summit of Ragged Jack will earn you 2 peakbagger points! For listing of peakbagger points, see the Hobart Walking Club Peakbagger’s Guide.
See Peakbaggers and Abels – Boots N’ All for an explanation of this system (updated 2026)
[gpx and kml tracks for this walk are in our online collection. See GPX Map Files – Boots N’ All].