Frenchman's Cap - Day 2

It took us 2 hours to make it to the top.. this is the final staircase, and Clare and Leo coming up it.  

By this time I was the sweatiest I’d ever been but very happy to make it - without a doubt it was the hardest stretch of the pack walking/climbing I’ve ever done - although I must admit haven’t done the really serious Tasmanian multi-day walks (like the infamous Western Arthurs).

It was two hours later that we reached maximum frustration point (as per the prologue).  It wasn’t that it was THAT bad, but it was more that the reality wasn’t matching our expectations. We’d walked and walked and huffed and  puffed up and down steep pinches, and scrambled over scree, and plodded through mud and we STILL weren’t in sight of the lake. Or even a flat surface that someone could think a lake could reside. It seemed endless.

But of course it wasn’t and about 20 minutes past the maximum frustration point (MFP) we descended a set of stairs and suddenly saw a camping platform. Like Lake Vera, Lake Tahune and surrounds were nothing like I’d imagined. There was no nice-open area next to the lake, it was just tight dark vegetation right down to the water, with about a metre wide access point if you wanted to swim. I would have called it a tarn rather than a lake as it had steep sides all around. The hut certainly didn’t look very inviting either - although I appreciate that a lot of work goes on to maintain it. Clare and I were  pretty adamant we’d camp rather than suffer the noise (and after all, we’d carried our tent all this way), In contrast to the hut, the camping platforms were actually pretty new and clean - so we grabbed one and put up our tent before the rest of the day’s hikers rolled in.  (there were a lot due to the Australia Day long weekend). 

Tahune Lake Hut 

After some lunch and a short lie-down, the weather cleared (just like the forecast said it would), so it was time to grab our daypacks and head up to the summit, just 1.5km but 450metres in elevation away.  It was a steep walk, but absolutely beautiful and we made it in just under 90 minutes. There were a couple of hairy bits, but generally it was a pretty easy climb, if there is such a thing. 

Of course the views were breathtaking. And it was great to see 3 generations of Hawthorne’s make it to the top, although not quite all of them at the same time, as Clare found the summit a bit exposed, and retreated before the others made it. 

Clare retreating from the moonscape 

I wasn’t so worried about the exposure, so I hung around for a while - it wasn’t just great to be at the top, but I also felt a great sense of relief. We’d actually made it! As we hiked in to Lake Vera, and also at the hut, we’d encountered hiker after hiker who hadn’t been able to get to the top due to the weather, even those who waited an extra day at Tahune just in case the weather cleared.  There were people amongst them for whom it was their second attempt, and they STILL hadn’t had the good fortune we had. We were very lucky.   

Leo and Tom, metres from the edge. 

Flowers growing right on the edge. Amazing. 

After soaking up the summit for a while I happily ambled my way back down, taking photos of the flowers and views along the way. There was an abundance of them - and these Tasmanian Purple Stars grew right up to the summit - which was amazing considering how delicate they looked.