We woke to a misty morning, wet tent and mostly grey skies but it does appear to be clearing to the west. This morning is a minor miracle for me as my body has seemingly repaired itself overnight enough that I no longer feel like I'm teetering on the edge of a back spasm. I’ve walked so many long distance hikes solo that it is weird walking with a hiking partner. In my thru-hiking, I have routines upon awakening that I rigorously follow - one of which is that I immediately deflate my sleeping pad (a pale imitation of conquistador Herńan Cortez scuttling his ships on the shores of the New World - there is no turning back!) and I always pack up before leaving the tent. Once I’m out of the tent, I don’t go back in! Greg, however looked over at me like I’m a bloody idiot and barks “what in the hell are you doing?” His style is to go in and out of the tent but, most of all, to stay warm in his bag while he waits for the sun to dry the tent and any other condensation-wet gear out. So, we have a leisurely morning, Greg style. We’re not packed up and on the trail until 10:40 am! If it was me alone, I’ve have three hours of walking behind me by now! However, there is no point fighting it so I might as well adapt to my partner’s routines. Greg 3, Carl 0. Our first order of business this chilly wet morning is to climb Mount Jerusalem with only our lightweight summit packs. Greg's dallying actually pays off as it is clearing as we set off. We walk by Dixon's Hut, another picturesque historic but rough wooden building. The climb up Mt Jerusalem is much much easier than our previous day's climb up King David's Peak. I'm glad we climbed as we get some great views to the eastern WoJ area that Greg had once raced in a mountain marathon. It's an intricate and fractured glaciated landscape filled with small lakes. I have no doubt that route finding would be a challenge there! It's turning into a nice day when we return to camp where we have a quick lunch and pack up. We leave Dixon around noon with sixteen kilometres of hiking still in front of us. We head towards Lake Ball, skirting the slopes of Mount Moriah. The track conditions are still good - nothing like the challenging “tracks” we will soon face! We start to see Lake Ball below us through the trees but we are quite a ways up the forested slope and the trail does not approach the lake edge. We’re making reasonable time but nowhere near the 4 Kph pace I average on thru-hikes in more open country or better trails. Interestingly, although we are still on the popular WoJ loop circuit, we have seen no other people since leaving Dixon’s Kingdom campsite. About halfway down Lake Ball we come across the Lake Ball hut, another small rustic hut. We have a quick look inside and we head off again. We reach the end of the lake and leave the slopes above Lake Ball behind and walk through flat spongy green and marshy bogs - pretty easy walking although one has to pay attention to keep one’s feet out of water or the mud. I try hard not to break new trail while still avoiding the nasty spots. We reach Lake Adelaide and a trail junction. To the north, the loop trail continues away from Lake Adelaide. In fact, the third loop campsite, Lake Adelaide campsite, is only 300 metres away to the north. However, we now leave the loop trail and head south along the Junction Creek Track which follows the shores of Lake Adelaide. Adelaide is a big lake and the trail isn’t as groomed as the loop trail and undulates up and down along the lake shore. After maybe five kilometres of following the lake we enter another flat boggy grassland section as we transition over to Lake Meston. The trail along Lake Meston steps down again in quality, at times being a bit overgrown with vegetation. We reach the Lake Meston hut halfway down the lake and are surprised to find six tents set up around the hut, occupying almost all of the level space in the hut’s clearing. I’m glad we aren’t camping here! It’s been a big and long day and we still have 3-4 kilometres to climb over to our planned campsite at Lake Myrtle. We struggle a bit to find the Lake Myrtle track near the hut but eventually we find it after a bit of flailing around in the heavy scrub. The trail is overgrown with vegetation grabbing at us and our packs. Clearly, this track is less used than the others we have walked. It’s also a steep climb. Twenty minutes in, we come across six day walkers - these are the people camped at Lake Meston hut and they are returning from climbing Mt Ragoona (1350 m) with slack packs. We push on through the heavy brush and continue the steep climb over the saddle. We get mobile signal on the saddle so I fire off a few pics and text messages to family and friends saying we are safe. We descend to Lake Myrtle and are rewarded by a lovely campsite, located on a green meadow at the lake’s edge, surrounded by stands of pencil pines. Perfect! We quickly set up camp. An older lady wanders out of the pines and we learn that three persons are camped there but I never see their campsite and very little of the campers. Once she goes in the trees, Greg and I strip nude and go for a swim in the very cold lake. It feels great to wash the sweat and grime off and we emerge invigorated from the icy cold water. Once again, I have a diminished appetite and I struggle to eat all of the hearty cottage pie dehydrated meal. We’ve just finished eating as the sun sets and the sunset colours are outstanding. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a golden glow to the sky! The pictures are not heavily edited - it really was that amazing! Once again, I’m in my bag by 8pm, too tired to journal. Greg quietly reads his book with his torch while I fall into an exhausted sleep. Carl / Pilgrim Fine Weather, upper teens 3260 Kcals burnt

Hiking/Backpacking

Walls Of Jerusalem, Tasmania

Tasmania, Australia

time : Mar 23, 2025 8:49 AM

duration : 11h 4m 18s

distance : 21 km

total_ascent : 563 m

highest_point : 1463 m

avg_speed : 1.1 km/h

user_id : gstreet

user_firstname : Carl

user_lastname : Greenstreet

We woke to a misty morning, wet tent and mostly grey skies but it does appear to be clearing to the west. This morning is a minor miracle for me as my body has seemingly repaired itself overnight enough that I no longer feel like I'm teetering on the edge of a back spasm. I’ve walked so many long distance hikes solo that it is weird walking with a hiking partner. In my thru-hiking, I have routines upon awakening that I rigorously follow - one of which is that I immediately deflate my sleeping pad (a pale imitation of conquistador Herńan Cortez scuttling his ships on the shores of the New World - there is no turning back!) and I always pack up before leaving the tent. Once I’m out of the tent, I don’t go back in! Greg, however looked over at me like I’m a bloody idiot and barks “what in the hell are you doing?” His style is to go in and out of the tent but, most of all, to stay warm in his bag while he waits for the sun to dry the tent and any other condensation-wet gear out. So, we have a leisurely morning, Greg style. We’re not packed up and on the trail until 10:40 am! If it was me alone, I’ve have three hours of walking behind me by now! However, there is no point fighting it so I might as well adapt to my partner’s routines. Greg 3, Carl 0. Our first order of business this chilly wet morning is to climb Mount Jerusalem with only our lightweight summit packs. Greg's dallying actually pays off as it is clearing as we set off. We walk by Dixon's Hut, another picturesque historic but rough wooden building. The climb up Mt Jerusalem is much much easier than our previous day's climb up King David's Peak. I'm glad we climbed as we get some great views to the eastern WoJ area that Greg had once raced in a mountain marathon. It's an intricate and fractured glaciated landscape filled with small lakes. I have no doubt that route finding would be a challenge there! It's turning into a nice day when we return to camp where we have a quick lunch and pack up. We leave Dixon around noon with sixteen kilometres of hiking still in front of us. We head towards Lake Ball, skirting the slopes of Mount Moriah. The track conditions are still good - nothing like the challenging “tracks” we will soon face! We start to see Lake Ball below us through the trees but we are quite a ways up the forested slope and the trail does not approach the lake edge. We’re making reasonable time but nowhere near the 4 Kph pace I average on thru-hikes in more open country or better trails. Interestingly, although we are still on the popular WoJ loop circuit, we have seen no other people since leaving Dixon’s Kingdom campsite. About halfway down Lake Ball we come across the Lake Ball hut, another small rustic hut. We have a quick look inside and we head off again. We reach the end of the lake and leave the slopes above Lake Ball behind and walk through flat spongy green and marshy bogs - pretty easy walking although one has to pay attention to keep one’s feet out of water or the mud. I try hard not to break new trail while still avoiding the nasty spots. We reach Lake Adelaide and a trail junction. To the north, the loop trail continues away from Lake Adelaide. In fact, the third loop campsite, Lake Adelaide campsite, is only 300 metres away to the north. However, we now leave the loop trail and head south along the Junction Creek Track which follows the shores of Lake Adelaide. Adelaide is a big lake and the trail isn’t as groomed as the loop trail and undulates up and down along the lake shore. After maybe five kilometres of following the lake we enter another flat boggy grassland section as we transition over to Lake Meston. The trail along Lake Meston steps down again in quality, at times being a bit overgrown with vegetation. We reach the Lake Meston hut halfway down the lake and are surprised to find six tents set up around the hut, occupying almost all of the level space in the hut’s clearing. I’m glad we aren’t camping here! It’s been a big and long day and we still have 3-4 kilometres to climb over to our planned campsite at Lake Myrtle. We struggle a bit to find the Lake Myrtle track near the hut but eventually we find it after a bit of flailing around in the heavy scrub. The trail is overgrown with vegetation grabbing at us and our packs. Clearly, this track is less used than the others we have walked. It’s also a steep climb. Twenty minutes in, we come across six day walkers - these are the people camped at Lake Meston hut and they are returning from climbing Mt Ragoona (1350 m) with slack packs. We push on through the heavy brush and continue the steep climb over the saddle. We get mobile signal on the saddle so I fire off a few pics and text messages to family and friends saying we are safe. We descend to Lake Myrtle and are rewarded by a lovely campsite, located on a green meadow at the lake’s edge, surrounded by stands of pencil pines. Perfect! We quickly set up camp. An older lady wanders out of the pines and we learn that three persons are camped there but I never see their campsite and very little of the campers. Once she goes in the trees, Greg and I strip nude and go for a swim in the very cold lake. It feels great to wash the sweat and grime off and we emerge invigorated from the icy cold water. Once again, I have a diminished appetite and I struggle to eat all of the hearty cottage pie dehydrated meal. We’ve just finished eating as the sun sets and the sunset colours are outstanding. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a golden glow to the sky! The pictures are not heavily edited - it really was that amazing! Once again, I’m in my bag by 8pm, too tired to journal. Greg quietly reads his book with his torch while I fall into an exhausted sleep. Carl / Pilgrim Fine Weather, upper teens 3260 Kcals burnt