Federation Peak South West Tasmania 26 December 2005 to 3 January 2006This trip had it all - primeval wilderness of the first order; horrendous weather; dangerous cliffs and waist deep mud. It was the most arduous 9 days of hiking I have experienced. Then there was Federation Peak itself. Climbing Federation Peak is extremely dangerous and one member of our party was lucky to escape with his life. No wonder they call this the toughest track walk in Australia and a must do trip for Australian bushwalkers. I learned a lot about cold, wet weather walking (we had rain every day and cool temperatures) and the type of gear you need to survive an expedition style walk: Rain gear - only 3 ply Gortex will do in South West Tasmania. My Paclite Gortex jacket and pants were both damaged by the scrub and could have been destroyed. If I was doing the walk again I would take a 3 ply Gortex jacket and light disposable rainpants. The jacket is crucial but you only need the rain pants some of the time and it doesn't really matter if they rip.
Tent - take a tent that is one person bigger than you need. This helps you stay away from the soaking wet tent walls on rainy night. Tents with less than 3 poles are unlikely to withstand strong winds well.
Sleeping bag - make sure you have a weather resistant shell of Dryloft or Epic. Two of the guys sleeping bags didn't and ended up absorbing water like sponges.
Tarp - a tarp wirth reinforced tie out points is fantastic to cook and eat lunch under when its raining.
Thermals - take two sets of thermals so you can afford to get one wet during the day and still have a dry pair for the night.
Thongs - take some light thongs to wear around the camp at night. It is miserable standing around in soaking wet boots and your feet freeze if you walk around camp barefoot.
This walk was orgainsed by Simon Wallis through the YHA Bushwalking Club. It was a great adventure that took me to the limits of my endurance.
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