Lake Judd
On Saturday the 22nd of January 2022, I set off on a solo overnight hike to Lake Judd — in part to see the lake and take the packraft out, with the track having been closed for the past three years due to fire damage, and also to test out a new lightweight tent.
Access
The Lake Judd Track is accessed off Scotts Peak Road near Lake Pedder and is about a two-hour drive from Hobart. The track forms part of the Mt Anne Circuit, being the exit point for the circuit, which also starts on Scotts Peak Road. The start point for the Mt Anne (and the circuit) is the car park at Condominium Creek, while the start point for Lake Judd (or finish for the circuit) is further along Scotts Peak Road at the car park at Rd Tape Creek.
The Track
The area was substantially damaged by fire in 2018/19 and the track was closed from that time through to December 2021. As a consequence, most of the online guides describe the track as it was prior to the fire, but the track works that have been done to enable it to be reopened have substantially improved it.
Much of the track is duckboarded or has been hardened. There is one small section about a kilometre out from the second Anne River crossing that is a bit rougher and had a few boggy muddy sections, but this is definitely the exception.
The first Anne River crossing maintains the long-standing suspension bridge and the second, which used to require wading across the river, now has a bridge as well:
The second Anne River crossing is the intersection to the Mt Anne Circuit (in reverse) and Lake Judd. It is a about 1km from the river to the camp site at Lake Judd, and this section of the track is definitely rougher. There is some minimal duckboard at the start, but after that you pass through a first with a narrow and winding pad that required a lot of scrambling up slopes over root and trees, as well as passing through narrow gaps between tress (and under fallen ones).
It took me about 3 hours to get from the car park to the lake, without really stopping to have any breaks.
The Camp
There is a roomy camp site near the edge of the lake, where the Anne River starts. Unfortunately, when I got there, there were already three tents set up. As a consequence, I retreated back along the track and found another clearing.
This is where I got to test out my new tent. Previously I have used a One Plannet Goondie 2, which has been excellent, but it weighs in at 2.14kg. As I’m now often carrying the additional weight of my packrafting gear, I’ve been looking for a way to get my gear weight down (which would be nice regardless). After being unable to get hold of a Nemo Hornet (a YouTuber favourite, apparently made popular by Kraig Adams), I was debating between the Nemo Dragonfly and One Plannet Goondie 1, but ended up with the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL1. The Copper Spur, although not as light as the Hornet, was lighter and cheaper than the other two options, coming in at 1.25kg (with a footprint).
I know there are other ultralight tents that would have come in lighter, but I liked the fact this tent is freestanding and has a tent inner and a fly, plus it was substantially cheaper than many of the other less substantial options.
It ended up working well and I’m happy with my purchase. However, being a 1-person tent, it has far less room inside than my Goondie 2 does, which meant I couldn’t fit all my gear inside the tent as I normally. do. As a result, I’ll be keeping the Goondie 2 for when weight isn’t such a priority (like when I’m not also carrying the packraft).
The Lake
After getting the tent set up, I went for an enjoyable 1½ hour return paddle to the end of the lake.
However, after my paddle and dinner I ended up retreating to my tent to escape the incessant flies. I’m not sure if these are a regular feature or were just active because it was such a hot summer’s day.
Walk Out
In the cool of the morning the following day, and aided by the fact the track is mostly downhill, I managed the walk out in under two hours, enjoying some stunning views of the Western Arthurs.
