Frenchman's Cap: Take 3

 Having poorly executed this hike twice before, we thought we'd nail it this time. It was also a good excuse to use up all the expired trail snacks which had accumulated over the years of missed adventures due to injury and COVID. It was forecast for sunny and 28 degrees and for once the BOM looked correct as we headed to Derwent Bridge on Thursday afternoon. After a delicious if slightly over priced Sri Lankan curry at the Derwent Wilderness Hotel (there's not exactly fierce competition for business out there) we slept in a carpark the back of the Subaru. If the Tesla station cameras were actually working I apologise to the reviewers who caught my 2am underwear run to the public toilets. 

Some would say 'out of date', I say 'vintage'. To be honest, this one tasted a little funky.

After a 5am wake up, short drive, coffee and breakfast at the trail head, we set off in the crisp morning. The thermal top only lasted until the first climb and it was t-shirt weather for the rest of the day. Although there are some exposed stretches, a good deal of the hike is under the forest canopy, surrounded by moss and tree ferns. It's one of the loveliest walks in Tasmania, especially along Lake Vera. 

Barron Pass

The one working-arm bandit and some scenery

From Tahune hut there was a lot of scrambling we didn't remember from our last rushed summer trip. It's not that extreme but was certainly complicated by the fact that John had surgery to repair his broken scaphoid only 7 days before and was still in a cast. It was pretty impressive him getting up and down with one arm. What a view from the summit! It couldn't have been a more perfect day with very little wind or cloud. 

Making friends at the top. Ollie left around the same time as us for his first Frenchman's.

What a view from the summit.

Obligatory couples selfie at the top.

The trip down reminded me that I'd had knee surgery 3 months ago and had done zero hiking since our Overland adventure in June. As a result, we can both barely walk 2 days afterwards. We got back to the car 11h 40m after we left which was faster than we thought and not too far off our run time. The track is quite technical so there's a lot of sections which are better fast-walked. We checked in to our room at the Tarraleah Estate and hobbled over to get a drink. Every step was an act of supreme will and I only saw the upstairs floor of our cute room once because walking back downstairs made me cry. The best thing about this hotel is they arrange a slow cooked meal for your room if you're going to be late getting in. Huge chunks of fall-apart beef Rendang, rice, and sticky date pudding for dessert. Just amazing. It also has Highland cows which we were told we could go in the paddock to see better. I wouldn't recommend it though as they are enormous and we had to back away calmly after they became a little too friendly (or aggressive, it's hard to tell with those horns). Is it an adventure if everything goes to plan? I don't know but this is such a fantastic hike so please check it out. There's a registration system to manage numbers but you only need to register if you're staying in the park overnight. If you're prepared to have a long day, you can certainly tick this off without camping.

A friend from the homeland?