Although a bit misty on the day we did it, this walk up onto the Great Western Tiers to the summit of Mother Cummings Head (1260m) offers good views over the tiers, as well as attractive beech forest, rocky stream beds, and alpine vegetation up on the summit plateau. There’s also a small waterfall along the way.
My original notes for this walk suggested we visited Mother Cummings Peak, however after studying the maps I realised this route visits Mother Cummings Head. (The ‘Peak’ is further to the north.) Track notes at the end.
Mother Cummings Head ascent: The Scenery
More moss.
Track Notes
From the end of Smoko Road it’s a straight up and down walk and the track is obvious enough except when you get onto the plateau, where you should probably use a compass to work out your route. We got a bit lost and wasted time finding our way to the summit cairn, (which is approximately 200m directly south once you get up onto the plateau), and the the views south-west over the Great Western Tiers were by then a bit misty as the clouds rolled in.
You can in fact make a small loop for variation at the lower end of the track. We took the old road that continues on the other side of Mother Cummings Rivulet (which was dry), then right at a large clearing containing an old wooden sign. The track continues on to cross back over Mother Cummings Rivulet, (where there is a junction with the track we used on the way down), then on to Smoko Falls, which is a short deviation off the track just as it begins to ascend into rockier country. It’s then a steep climb up onto the alpine plateau through sections of scrub and boulders.
On the way back we took a left at that junction just before the track crosses Mother Cummings Rivulet, and this alternate tracks takes you down to the car park (although from memory I think it joined the old road very near the end).
Our notes in Day Walks Tasmania included a side trip to Chasm Falls, but there is no longer a bridge over Smoko Creek so crossing this would require some navigation upstream to a safe point. We were happy enough just to summit the mountain.
