Hey all,
I wanted to share some photos and stories from a recent packrafting trip my brother and I took to Tasmania.
We arrived just as a big high pressure system settled over the Southwest National Park in Tasmania, so we were lucky to have mostly dry days and light winds. We took advantage of the calm conditions and spent the first 3 days paddling on Lake Pedder, camping on the islands of Mt Solitary and Scotts Peak. We explored both islands and climbed Scotts Peak. The packrafting involved open water crossings of up to about 2.5 miles between the islands. Even with the relatively benign conditions, the afternoon wind affected our plans, so we had to abandon the circumnavigation of Mt Solitary and return with the wind at our backs (which was great fun!).
Next up was our main objective: the Huon River, a remote Grade II river flowing from Scotts Peak dam to Huonville.
The hike in along the Port Davey Track was hard going, especially with heavy packs as it was extremely muddy most of the way. We were lucky with the continuing good weather and had fantastic views of the Western Arthurs mountains stretching into the distance. As the river levels were very low (borderline runnable) we opted to skip the upper part of the river and put in near Junction Creek, where the trail and the river converge and are less than a mile apart. However, the vegetation was so thick as to be impassable. And, much as my brother and I love a good sufferfest, after taking hours to cover only a few hundred feet towards the river, we cut our losses and instead hiked along the Arthurs Plains track until the river and path converged again, near Seven Mile Creek. We slithered along the muddy paths with heavy bags for another day and camped next to Seven Mile Creek at the end of day 2. The following morning we were able to paddle the few hundred feet down the narrow gorge of Seven Mile Creek to reach the Huon River proprer.
My brother and I have done many mountain trips before, but this was our first backcountry trip with packrafts. We felt a mix of excitement and apprehension as we paddled downriver into the remote Huon gorge. It was quite bony but the rafts didn’t care as we scooted over countless rocks on this first day. They’re tough little boats.
The gorge was an incredible place. High walls on both sides, fun rapids, lots of birds, big gum trees and huon pines lining the banks. And we had the river entirely to ourselves for days.
After 2 days of paddling, we took out, turned around and tried to hike back to the car along the Huon Track (plan A). Much like our earlier attempts at off trail travel, the Huon Track was a no-go. The supposed trail barely existed and whenever we found a trace of it, it quickly disappeared into thick, impenetrable bush. After a couple of hours of hard work and little progress, we opted for a Plan B. Return to the river and paddle the remaining miles downstream to Huonville. Once there, we would have to figure out transport back to the car 60 miles away at Scotts Peak dam.
In the end, the transfer was easy to come by (thanks Airtasker!) so running the full river was a much more enjoyable and satisfying trip. Instead of slogging along with heavy packs, we floated down the beautiful river and enjoyed a few days of serene, chill paddling and occasional rapids. All good except for the flat battery greeting us on our return to the car, which we only discovered after our ride drove away. Ooops, but that’s a story for another day.
The gauge at Judbury was around 0.7m during our trip, which was definitely on the low side. The first day on the river, starting from Seven Mile Creek, was scratchy, and we repeatedly had to jump out to scoot over rocks. But it got better as we got further down the river. But the upper rapids would definitely be more fun and you’d move a lot quicker if the gauge was over 1m. We took 6 days to cover 60 miles from Scotts Peak dam to Huonville (2 days hiking, 4 days packrafting), but you could cover the river miles much faster at higher flows.
All-in-all, it was a fantastic river expedition and has me fired up for future missions! Packrafts are so much fun and open up so many possibilities for backcountry expeditions. I’m back home on the East Coast of the US and itching to get out on the river again. And hey, I’m looking for Mid-Atlantic based folks to paddle with.
