The history of Mount Saddleback is proving difficult to find. It has been suggested that the steep columns got their name from the Surveyor General of Tasmania, James Sprent (1808 – 22 September 1863). Maps compiled by Sprent in 1859 could be the first record of the naming of the Mountain.
Finding the walk is relatively easy from each direction on the compass. There are a maze of forestry tracks in this region of the country. from Launceston it would be about an hour and a similar time frame from the East Coast. Mathinna Plains Road is the road that you want to be on, and then the turn off to the walk, which is signposted really well, is about 2 kilometres from the Mt Albert road intersection.
Be aware that adverse weather conditions can close this road from time to time.
The coordinates are: Latitude: -41.389999389 Longitude: 147.759994506
We approached Mt Saddleback from the East Coast along Argonaut Road, which then becomes Mt Albert Road. As you approach the end of Mt Albert Road the climb becomes visible and the excitement starts. We were climbing with children aged 3, 4, 7 and 8, so it is easy to feed your own enthusiasm with their energy and excitement.
The road to the walk is quite overgrown and I would not suggest taking a vehicle that you do not want to get scratched. The track can also be a bit slippery in the wet, so I would suggest a 4x4 if at all possible, just in case it is a bit slippery that day.
With an altitude of about 1256m above sea level, this sounds like a long and daunting walk. It is daunting, however the walk starts at around an elevation of 960m. There is not a car park as such, more a spot to pull over at the side of the road with a hand painted sign. At first you look at the track and think, this is not going to be too bad.
After 10 meters, you begin to think, ok there are a few challenges, then at 50 meters, you begin to think to yourself, maybe we should not have taken the kids. Our children love to hike, and the bigger the challenge, the more exciting it is for them. Had we been on our own, it would have been a little easier, and a lot quicker, but then why would you want them to miss out.
The majority of the first half of the walk is rock hopping quite a steep ascent. We were there early in the morning and the sun had not yet dried the dew from the rocks. Our foot placement had to be extremely meticulous and I found myself constantly judging the texture of the surface before making a sure footing. Despite my best efforts, I now wear bruises as evidence of my poor judgement.
Not rushing has its advantages though, and I would suggest to anyone, take your time going up. There are so many thought provoking sites that will distract your mind from the rugged track. From the unusual fungi, the abundance of native pepper berries to the striking rock formations that make you wonder, how did that get there like that?
One thing in particular that caught my eye on so many occasions was the knotted wood scatted throughout the walk. The intricacy in the patterns is not like anything I have ever seen before.
With all these distractions it is easy to loose your way, or forget that you are looking for the markers that show the correct way. We found the placement of cairns to be the easiest marker to follow. It turned in to a bit of a game with the kids as to who could see the next cairn first. Who ever went to the trouble of putting these up, you saved us on more than one occasion.
We stopped twice on the way up to allow the children to rest and refuel. It is also a great opportunity to look out across the plains at Mt Victoria and Mount Albert. I thought about the earlier settlers and the indigenous that may have scaled these same cliffs in search of food, new home, or un touched land. I wondered how they enjoyed doing it in bare feet, or basic footwear. These thoughts soon faded as we looked, almost skyward, at our next challenge. The path became steeper, less stable and more concerning.
The upward path was now littered with shale rock, that was less stable than the rocks that we had just scampered across. Our two most adventurous children went ahead of us to where the path levelled out and they could wait safely. If I was going to do it again, I would suggest that you stay closer together. We found that those that went ahead often caused rocks, some quite big, to come tumbling down the path in our direction. Luckily no one was hurt.
At the top of this section, it levelled out quite considerably and there was a sigh of relief as we wove in and around what felt like a maze. It is at this stage that you feel like you are almost at the top. The views become more expansive. The first of these looks towards the Scottsdale and Bridport region. We could tell by the golden shimmer, that it was water in the distance.
As we continued to walk we began to see more and more familiar landmarks. Mount Arthur, Mount Barrow and all of the valleys in between. As we looked southwards, we realised that we had not made it to the summit. There was still about 20 mins of walking to complete before we made it to the very top. Some of us attempted the walk, while others rugged up or sought shelter from the chilly south westerly winds.
I went with the adventurous two for another 10 mins before we finally succumbed to the chilly winds and the long shadows. Before setting back we took in the amazing views of the plateau of Ben Lomond. I can only imagine what the summit must have looked like. The only view that we missed out on was that of the Fingal Valley. But our safety was starting to be of a concern. The sun lowering quickly I became apprehensive about our decent back down. It had taken us around three hours to make it to the top, then half an hour looking around and eating lunch. We anticipated that the decent was going to take about 2 hours with the little ones. This is not a walk that you want to get stuck on in the dark.
The race against the light went well. The children enjoyed the "slide" down the shale rocks, getting dirty bottoms and the excitement of remembering the things that we had seen heading up. It took us about one and a half hours to make it back down to the car. I am proud to say that the kids did an amazing job. Our three year old had had enough by the last half an hour of the walk. She still had enough energy at the car to take some crazy photos.
Would I do it again. Absolutely! the views from the top are just breath taking. With the right equipment and a good buddy the sunrises and sunsets from up here would be breathtaking. You can see the ocean to the South East, North East, and North. We pointed out the mountains that we would like to tackle next and mapped out a route home from our vantage point of over 1250 meters.
Mt Saddleback, a challenge with no formed paths, but the reward at the top makes it worth the effort.
