Eastern Arthurs

Looking north from Federation Peak. You can see all the terrain of the Eastern Arthurs I have covered to get to where I am standing. Usually when I do the Western and Eastern Arthurs as one trip it takes me around fourteen days (although some of those days are spent in the tent when the weather is very bad).
Stuart Saddle camp Looking back towards Federation Peak (although you can't actually see it in this photo). The view from the camp site on my last day on the range.
Campsite at Hanging Lake. Nice when the weather is good but it can be very exposed when the wind is in the wrong direction.
The Crags of Andromeda in the Western Arthur Range. This photo was taken from the Eastern Arthur Range not too far from Stuart Saddle. The sheets of rock on the right are known as The Boilerplates. The track threads its way through these plates.
Looking north from Federation Peak. Federation looks very pointy and sharp but the summit is surprisingly roomy.
Federation Peak. A very old picture of one of the first times I did the Arthurs. So old it was taken with slide film!
Federation Peak from near Stuart Saddle. It doesn't look that far away but it is a fair bit of hard work and effort. If you ever do it your self – make sure to bring some rope along for pack hauling. There are a few bits where the way is too dangerous with a pack on your back. Especially in bad weather (Stuart Saddle is named after a bloke buried on the saddle. He isn't the only one to have died in the Arthurs).
The view from Federation Peak on a lovely still and sunny day.
Hanging Lake seen from Federation Peak near sunset.
Hanging Lake as seen from Federation Peak. You can clearly see the score marks on the cliffs from the glaciers as they ground their way down to the plain. It wasn't that long ago. There would have been people in Tasmania that would have seen the glaciers whose presence can still be seen on the Eastern and Western Arthurs.
Lake Geeves. Taken while climbing Federation Peak (and that's not the worst bit). I actually tried to climb it earlier on this same day, on the way to setting up camp at Hanging Lake, but it started raining just as I got to the part where you rock climb (so I climbed Federation one and a half times that day!). So I did it again after the weather cleared. As you can see it turned warm, golden and utterly still. Not a breath of wind even on the peak. Glorious!
The summit of Federation Peak and the view along the range.
Mackays Track. This track parallels the Arthurs Ranges on the plain to the south of the two ranges. Twelve days in via the ranges but only two days back via the plain.
Campsite at Hanging Lake in the rain. The campsite (timber decking) is under the slope below Hanging Lake and is the closest campsite to Federation Peak. It is a lovely campsite but can be very exposed if the wind is in the wrong direction.
The shores of Hanging Lake.
Sunrise from Thwaites Plateau. This was taken on an actual film camera on the second time I visited Federation Peak. I awoke to this glorious vista; jumped into my boots and galloped to where the final ascent to Federation begins. By which time it was under thick cloud. But I climbed it anyway. Oh well.....
Sunset from between Federation Peak and Hanging Lake. Taken after climbing the peak. I didn't get back to camp until near dark. So breakfast at 7am, one nut bar at 12 45pm and no dinner until 9 15pm. But that day was the most still, beautiful and golden moment I have ever had at Federation (needless to say, the weather turned bad that night)
Part of the climb up and down from the summit of Federation Peak.
The Needles and behind them. Stuart Saddle.
The toilet at Hanging Lake! A beautiful vista but you would be surprised at how hard aiming is when the weather is bad and the howling wind is in the wrong direction.
Lake Leo, East Portal above it and Mt Taurus behind.

I love hiking in Tasmania. It is probably my favourite place to go bush walking and the Western and Eastern Arthurs are my favourites of all the walks in Tasmania. I usually do the two together as one walk. The draw back to this is that you have to carry two weeks of food and fuel on your back but it is worth it. The Eastern Arthurs only have two really hard bits. Luckmans Lead, which takes you from the plain up to Stuart Saddle (the first campsite on the range) and Four Peaks.

Luckmans Lead is not dangerous but it is bloody hard work sometimes. For something so steep it has ludicrously bad bogs but it is really just hard work and mud. Four Peaks, on the other hand, is rock and a lot of going up and down, sidling around things and pack hauling (make sure you take rope for getting down cliffs and drops). Although some of the worst and most dangerous ascents/descents have been bypassed now it is still hard going. But there is still potential for serious injury or worse.

As always in Tasmania, the weather can make something difficult into something very dangerous. The campsites compared to the old days are fantastic. The very first time I camped at Stuart Saddle I had to wedge my soaking wet pack under one side of my sleeping bag or I would have rolled straight through the wall of my tent. Both my head and my feet were lower than my belly and I could hear the water as it flowed around my tent on the way downhill.

What made it worse was that it was a three man tent. The two mates I did the trip with chickened out on the plain before we even got to the range. So not only did I have to carry an insanely oversized tent but also try and get through a full (deli) sized salami. I ate salami every breakfast, lunch and tea on that trip. To this day Mettwurst salami gives me the shudders. You had to get water from drips under the cliff and the track was much, much worse than nowadays. Much rougher, muddier and more dangerous but also confusing with many false pads.

But Federation Peak is the culmination of the trip and absolutely worth all the pain, suffering and effort. Of the five or six times I have done the trip I have only been able to get to the top less than half of the time. The first time I did the climb I awoke to a crystal clear blue sky and golden dawn and I set out from Thwaites Plateau to make the ascent only to have it covered under cloud by the time I got to the final ascent. I climbed it anyway (it was dry and still – just foggy). But what a let down! Still, you have to be sensible. When the weather is bad, when the wind is high, when the rock face is streaming with water or snow – then you are an idiot if you try it. Keep a few days in hand so you can wait out bad weather. But if you don't get to climb Federation Peak (and more than a few parties take one look at the final ascent and turn around) do not be disappointed. It is still one of the best and most beautiful bush walks in Australia.