Stories of the mountains…
On to Junction Cabin
IT was a mystery. Who built this?And when? We had ascended along the North-South Track and now we stood by the crumbled stone wall of an old mountain hut at the intersection with the Old Hobartians Track. Was it one of those built in the early years of the Twentieth Century when Hobartians constructed sometimes elaborate huts on the mountain? Perhaps.
The crumbled stone walls stand on a level patch close to a stream that tumbles down the mountain. There is something about coming across old hut ruins in the mountains. You stand there and think about who might have built them, about the time they spent in them and the lives they led. Then you wonder why the huts were not maintained by the people who came after.
Time to keep going. Junction Cabin is our destination. We come to a direction sign, its arrow pointing down the track beside a gully. So off we go, not knowing that the more direct, shorter track is the unsignposted one leading straight ahead.
We had been in Hobart for an appointment that morning and figured what better way to spend the afternoon could there be than a return walk up and down the North-South Track, destination Junction Cabin.
It is midday when we change into hiking shoes and swing packs onto backs. The weather is fine with patches of cumulus crossing a blue sky, the temperature around 15°C. Ideal.
We start at the Glenorchy mountain bike park. The start of the North-South Track is signposted a short distance along the road into the park but we continue on along a fire trail because that is what our phone’s navigation app says to do. Should we take more notice of signposts than navigation apps? Perhaps. A note on the Wellington Park Management Trust’s website says that apps contain geographic errors for some of the park features.
The trail steepens through this lower section, crossing fire trails as it ascends through silver peppermint woodland, the tall, open eucalypt forest covering the steeply-ridged country. Blackened lower trunks revealed that fire has come through not long ago. Bushfire or fuel-reduction burn? These forests accumulate leaf fall, bark and branches on the ground that given the right conditions set the scene for fires that the steepness of the land makes difficult to fight.
Possibly as a consequences of the fires, the ground is largely clear of undergrowth. The understory is predominately cherry ballart (Exocarpos cupressiformis), a tree growing to around 10m that is indigenous to Australia, a partial parasite whose seed appears on the outside of its edible red fruit. Here in this part of the forest it grows in profusion.
The track ascends and we climbed steadily and steeply before coming to an intersection. Which way? We take the wrong turn into the water catchment, realise we have made an error and retrace our steps. It is an unnecessary kilometer side trip redeemed by a variety of acacias in bloom.
Here at the lower elevation of the mountain the ground is rocky, the slopes steep where they fall away from the track as it ascends the ridges. The track is easy to follow as it climbs and sidles to become less-steep where we encounter New Town Falls. They would make a fine destination for those who appreciate waterfalls, perhaps walking in along the less-strenuous section of the track from The Springs. After rain would be the better time as the falls would really be performing then. They continue as a cascade and when in full flow care would be needed where the track crosses the stream bed.
Passing out of the steeper terrain of the eucalyptus forest we enter a thick, higher altitude vegetation of small, close packed trees. Having followed the signpost at the intersection with the Old Hobartians Track, our approach to Junction Cabin is more circuitous and steeper, the final few hundred metres up a steep and rocky fire trail. It is good to get there.
Junction cabin is what its name suggests. It is located at the junction of a number of tracks that connect with The Springs, the start of a number of bushwalking tracks that crisscross the mountain.
The cabin is a stone structure with a roof of galvanised iron situated in a clearing around which tall eucalypts lend an enclosed feel. I push the door open. It is the same inside as last time I was here. A fireplace, bench seating. The rainwater tank is enclosed in a round stone extension to the cabin.
This is our destination today and from here we will retrace our route. Now it is time for a snack—scroggin, dried apricot, banana on a bread roll eaten on the bench outside the cabin. We won’t stay long as the afternoon has reached its midpoint and we have a long descent ahead of us.
A couple men, one I guessed to be in late middle age, cruise in on electric mountain bikes along the track from The Springs. A guy with a large day pack came off Hunters track which rises steeply behind Junction Cabin to take walkers higher up the mountain.
Another man, his hair in long dreadlocks who I guess to be in his thirties, appears from the direction of Hunters Track and continues downhill without stopping at the cabin. Interestingly, he doesn’t carry a pack and is dressed in only a black, long-sleeved shirt and trousers. Walkers usually pack something warm as well as waterproofs, as the mountain weather can change rapidly for the worse. Where is he coming from, I wonder as he walks past? And where is he going? The steep and lesser-used Old Hobartians Track? He passes without acknowledging our presence. It is a practice among bushwalkers to say hello in passing, or at least to acknowledge others with a nod of the head. I watch him disappear into the forest as the thought crosses my mind that he might be a homeless person living on the mountain. I have only encounter one homeless person in the bush. That was in Royal National Park on the southern edge of Sydney when I worked there as a ranger-bush guide. He was camped under a sandstone overhang beside one of the lesser used tracks with a large leg of some kind of meat unprotected from the flies, some personal stuff and a pile of his excrement.
Sure, I have heard stories of people taking to the bush on becoming homeless and I am sure that it is more common than is imagined, however people encounter homeless bush dwellers infrquently because they make the effort to remain inconspicuous. Recently, I read how in the US people are learning bushcrafting in anticipation of homelessness. Bushcraft is a set of skills needed to improvise shelter, cooking, travel and associated needs using a minumum of equipment of which a fixed blade knife, a small folding wood saw, a small tent or shelter tarp, a cookpot and a means of fire starting are basic possessions.
Was this man homeless? It was his appearance and lack of the usual bushwalking kit that made me wonder, but perhaps he was nothing more than some local out for an afternoon on the track.
The track
The North-South Track from Glenorchy to Junction Cabin is a continuous uphill. The track is obvious because it is well used. We make good time on the return walk and set a fast pace along the more or less level stretches. Our walk, including our wrong way diversion lower down the mountain, our snack break at Junction Cabin and our taking the longer route, has taken around five hours.
My advice to anyone planning to follow the North-South Track is to follow the foot track where it is signposted soon after entering the Glenorchy mountain bike park and to keep following it as it climbs. And, when you get to the place by the stone hut ruins where it crosses the Old Hobartians Track, ignore the sign pointing down the gully to Junction Cabin and go straight ahead.
Notes
The North-South Track is dual use, hiking and mountain biking. You might also encounter trail runners. We encountered only a single mountain biker on the walk in, a young woman higher up on the mountain making her slow ascent of the trail. Usually, the trail is ridden as a mostly-downhill ride from The Springs to Glenorchy.
Location: kunanyi-Mt Wellington, Hobart, Tasmania.
Start:Glenorchy mountain bike park.
Destination: Junction Cabin.
Season: Walk the track any time. Pack a hat, warm clothes and a waterproof parka as cold rain comes in anytime of year. There may be snow in winter.
Difficulty: Rated as moderate, our route was a little longer and rougher.
Distance: 15.52km.
Elevation gain: 589m.
Maximum elevation: 640m.
Moving time: 3hr 26minutes.
Total time: 5hr 20 minutes.
Wikiloc entry: https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/glenorchy-to-junction-cabin-return-112938104
