The Walls of Jerusalem NP

The early morning sun on the farms and trees as I drove to the park.

Views on the hike.

The rock field where I bailed. I didn't want to climb that up to the top left corner.

Beautiful views and vegetation on the way down.

Remnants of recent bushfires that threatened the park this year.

Thursday, March 31^st.

I was up early in my little room and left the hotel by 8:00. I popped into a local cafe, had a ham and cheese toastie and bought a sandwich and a muesli square for later. Then I drove through Mole Creek to find the The Walls of Jerusalem National Park. It took an hour and a half to get there. The entrance road started out paved and then degraded to dirt and the last ten kilometres were really rough and bumpy. There was evidence of recent bush-fires all along the road. I expected to find a visitor's centre and some information about hikes in the park, but the only thing they had was a small parking lot and a shed with a sign that told you to sign in but no book to sign in to. I was tempted to turn around and drive out, but I had heard that this was a great hike, so I decided to go.

At the beginning of the hike there was a sign that said the hike was 3-4 hours one way! And warned hikers to be prepared for changing conditions and to bring a compass and a map. I had neither. Anyway, I set out. The sign also said that the path rises about a kilometre over the hike up to the western wall. The path was narrow and really rough, with lots of stones and rocks in it. I trudged on for a couple of kilometres before meeting two people who were coming out and a couple that I caught up to. The ones leaving gave us some tips about where to go and I walked with the other couple until they wanted to take a break and I carried on. 

The going was hard, uphill for a long time and then more level but treacherous underfoot. The terrain was very rugged even after it leveled off . The scenery was nice but there were not many big views until about two hours in. At that point I emerged from the bush and crossed a large more open alpine meadow and a marshy area where there was a wooden walking track. There must be lots of animals up here judging by the amount of droppings but I saw none. I think they are around in the evening. The only thing I saw was a small lizard. I also heard a lot of birds.

I hadn't seen anyone for a couple of hours and at the end the path split and went two ways. The only way was up an incredible rock fall and the other seemed to be leading down into another area. Neither route was marked with any sign telling your were to go and I was at a loss. I sat and ate my sandwich and then it started misting and raining lightly. Plus up here is was pretty breezy and the temperature was about 12. I was already three hours into the hike and knew I had to walk back out. Going up that slide was going to be very strenuous and potentially dangerous and would add more time I would have to retrace. I was also aware that I was wearing the wrong type of shoes. I wish I had brought my hiking boots because the little runners I was wearing don't offer enough ankle support. Anyway, you guessed it, I bailed and did not reach the end destination. I was disappointed, but ultimately it was the correct thing to do. Most people who do this hike are carrying over night backpacks, not doing a day trip.

The walk back was very tiring. It was long, rough ground and damp. Right at the end a dad and his two teenagers caught up to me and I talked to him for a bit. He told me they were in there for three days and had seen lots of animals.

When I finally got back to the car six and a half hours later, I was bushed. I drove back out of the park on the dirt road until I got back to the turnoff. Here I had to decide where to go and what to do for my last day in Tasmania. I had thought of going back to Cradle Mountain (about an hour away) and do another hike or the canyoning adventure, but I also want to get to the north-west shore of the state. I would like to come back to Tasmania and Cradle Mountain NP later in the year and do two hikes that I saw while there and the canyoning, in warmer weather, so I decided to turn east and headed back to Mole Creek to pick up a better road to go north. I found one that went to Sheffield and I remembered that Keith (from the b n b) had told me to go there because the town is covered in murals. The road was beautiful through picturesque farming valleys.

More on the next post.