DuCane Range High Point

Date: 21st March 2021 Summit: 1520m+

It would just so happen that this kinda underwhelming climb would be my 100th Abel! Now don't get me wrong, the views are spectacular but the Abel itself wasn't quite the challenge its neighbours were! I summited the Du Cane Range High Point after climbing Mt. Hyperion earlier in the day. If you intend on climbing them both - assuming you come up from The Labyrinth - then definitely do the challenging Mt. Hyperion first!

After all, like Mark Twain says - "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first".

** Important Note **
Access to the Du Cane High Point from the southwest requires passing through a delicate area known as The Labyrinth. This ecologically sensitive area requires extra care from visiting walkers. Please stick strictly to the formed pads already present. Select already established and hardened areas for camping, and limit the number of nights spent in one location. Please ensure you pack out ALL waste including human waste.

Not quite a hop, skip and jump but almost...

Continued on from Mt. Hyperion essay…. Very hot and bothered but elated, my friend and I returned from Mt. Hyperion back to the saddle at the base of the Du Cane Range. Now back on the Lake Elysia track we refilled our water bottles at the small tarns near, where we would branch off up to the Du Cane Range Abel.

From our vantage point at the small tarns we could see where the high point would be located to our north west - it was not yet visible. It appeared that we could just head in that direction to the top of the range through the light scrub and rock so that's what we decided to do!

When a bee-line is exactly the right thing to do.

Climbing the hill towards the high point was a simple affair. Picking our way through pineapple grass patches, low scrub and manageable scree made for what should have been an easy going climb. Normally we would scoot straight up terrain like this, but we were both rather hot from the Mt. Hyperion climb and the sun was beating down on us. I was also limping a little and was glad it was only about 800m to the summit, that's for sure.

Cresting the hill, we had reached the flat plateau we had planned on camping before our plans went astray. How charming this plateau is. With easy access to water, enough shelter should the wind pick up and views towards Mt. Massif I was a saddened that we would miss such a clear night pitched up here upon Tasmania's highest mountain range.

My disappointment was short lived though because a few steps in, we came across an enchanting area of cushion plants. Huge cushion plants, all shades and textures of green! Walking through areas like this it is impossible not to have a smile on your face, even if getting across without stepping on their delicate mounts requires a lot of patience at times. Carefully picking our way around all these ancient plants, we headed towards the rocky outcrop that held the summit.

Number 100, baby!

The rocky outcrop between us and the summit cairn was easy enough to scale. Nothing difficult, no gaping holes or sketchy ledges. Just nice sized boulders to scramble up. In no time at all, we had the small summit cairn with its protruding, weather-beaten stick under our hands! And it marked my 100th Abel. The universe had blessed us with clear skies and mountainous views for as far as we could see! We sat in the midday sun, enjoying our two-day-old croissants and that feeling that only comes from sitting on top of the world!

Alas, all good things must end and it was time for us to start the trek back down. As it turned out, it would take us under 1.5 hours to return to camp. No doubt because gravity was assisting greatly and we weren’t making any stops. Oh, except for taking some snaps of a gorgeous White-lipped snake - he too was enjoying the afternoon sun.