Great Pine Tier (Walls) - Sat. 11th March 2017

Thanks to an offer from Graham, this walk to Great Pine Tier in the eastern Walls of Jerusalem area is able to go ahead despite the ongoing closure of the Mersey Forest Road and the unavailability of our original leader.
Day 1: (Sat. 11th March) Walking in from Lake Ada, the 11 km track to Lake Fanny is a reasonably good one, well marked with no major challenges. Fairly flat through open bushland, with no more than 100m ascent, and drinking water in places. Fine for energetic and resilient children. Camp will be set up at Lake Fanny.
Day 2: (Sun. 12th March) Walking on or off track will depend on the destination! The easier option is Great Pine Tier, about 3 km off-track walking from the campsite, climbing about 150 metres, through lovely alpine areas with many beautiful tarns and lakes to explore, though almost certain the distance covered would be increased due to the desire to explore the surrounding area. Alternatively, with an energetic party wanting to exercise the legs more thoroughly, it may be possible to head for Mt. Jerusalem along a known route from Lake Fanny. About 6.5 km from camp to summit, with the option of continuing down the south ridge to Dixon's Kingdom, and then east via Great Pine Tier to return to camp. This would be a little over 16 km walk for the day. The leader will make the decision whether to go that far, based on his assessment of the group and the weather.
Your leader hopes to have you back at the cars by 4 pm on the Monday.
Walk route:
The walk from Lake Ada begins along an old vehicle track, part of which is still accessible to 4WD vehicles, although these may not be left at Tallineh Lagoon (end of vehicular access) overnight. Continuing west and north-west, camp should be reached in 4.5 to 5 hours. For the Sunday walking, Great Pine Tier is about 3 km west of the camp, whereas Mt. Jerusalem is a little over 6 km NW. Walk out on Monday by the same route as Saturday.

Meeting Times and Places:
As this is a camping trip, we will be sending a reminder email earlier than usual. Could you please contact Graham by end of Tues. 7th March if intending to participate?  A minimum of 3 walkers is needed to make the trip viable. Late entries may be accepted, but only if the walk was already viable early in the week.
If you are interested in going on this walk, please phone Graham Alexander on 0407 436 556  to book in. The departure time is 8:00 am from Door of Hope carpark in South Launceston. The alternative meeting place/time is at the "train park" in Deloraine at 8:35 am. (If coming from east, cross the bridge and turn right at the roundabout). If you would like to arrange to meet the group at these places or elsewhere, please arrange with the leader, and please be at any meeting place 5 minutes ahead of the listed time. The leader must be notified of any other people you intend to bring along.

To access this area from northern Tasmania: From Launceston, head towards Deloraine on the Bass Highway (50 km) and take the first (eastern) turn from the highway into Deloraine. Continue into the town and turn left immediately before the bridge (unless going to the meeting place across the main bridge and turn right to find toilets and old locomotive - see above). From Deloraine, head south along the "Lake Highway" - now officially Highland Lakes Rd. (but the first bit may be called Meander Rd!). Make sure to turn left after 7 km at signposted junction for Highland Lakes Rd.  Continue south through Golden Valley, up past Quamby Bluff and Projection Bluff and past Pine Lake. Continue south through Breona, Brandum and other groups of shacks along shores of Great Lake until Liawenee is reached (approx. 58 km from Deloraine). Turn right into Lake Augusta Rd. The dam is reached after approx. 11 km. Continue SW and then west past dams and levees, past some lagoons and turnoffs to reach Lake Ada - a further 10.5 km. Signage will indicate the end of the road for normal vehicles.  Sealed roads to Breona, good gravel to Liawenee, then somewhat rougher gravel road to Lk. Augusta).

Warnings:
     L    A long day's walk in excess of 3 hours each way
    M    Marshy or muddy sections be prepared to walk with wet feet.
    E...   Exposed alpine conditions – can be dangerous in poor weather if not fully equipped
 Walkers are advised to wear strong shoes or boots. Gaiters recommended due to off-track walking. You should always carry wet weather gear as well as warm clothing in case of sudden weather changes.
As this is a camping trip, a checklist of essentials is a good idea. See http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=28383 for a suggested list. However, much of this gear can be shared with a partner - perhaps a more experienced walker who already has some of the big ticket items such as tent and stove.
Unsure of equipment requirements?  Click this link for a more detailed discussion of Preparation, Food and Safety guidelines for Boots N' All walks

Map details:

Great Pine Tier: 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8114 (Mersey) and 1:25000 map is 4436(Ada)
Map references:
Short ref. 452663
Zone      Easting        Northing       Latitude        Longitude
55G     4 45 330      53 66 400     -41.85242     146.34140  
Mt. Jerusalem: 1:100000 map is Tasmap 8114 (Mersey) and 1:25000 map is 4436(Ada)
Map references:
Short ref. 437697
Zone      Easting        Northing       Latitude        Longitude
55G      4 43 870      53 69 905     -41.82075     146.32414 

Wild Dog Tier is worth 1 peakbagger point and Mt. Jerusalem is worth 2 points. For listing of peakbagger points, see the Hobart Walking Club Peakbagger's Guide (2000 revision) which can be downloaded (Excel) from http://tastracks.webs.com/peakbaggers.htm  The same web page contains several other listings of Tasmanian peaks.

GPX version of the track: Click here to download. Google Earth version of the track: Click here to download.
Right-click on the file and save target as to a location of your choice. (Suggest you click the Last modified at top to sort by date to get the most recent at top to find the file for the next walk).