Mt Bogong to Mt Hotham

11 January - 15 January 2002

Walkers: Alan Spence (Leader), Mark Slater, Bob Jones, Leigh Callinan, Anthony Sheean and Bernie Young.

Below is a description of a walk from the Mountain Creek picnic ground to the Harrietville caravan park.

Old Jungle saying: "What happens on the men's walking trip, stays on the men's walking trip".

Friday 11 January 2002. Starting Out.

We departed Bendigo at 8am in 2 cars and drove via Myrtleford, Ovens and Tawonga. Opposite the hotel in Tawonga we turned left onto Mountain Creek road and after 16km and 2 crossings of Mountain creek, we parked the cars in the Mountain Creek picnic and camping ground.

We got ourselves ready and after a quick bite for lunch we headed up the vehicle track on the south bank of Mountain creek, crossing Soda water and Doorway creeks and Mountain creek itself several times before we reached the foot of Staircase spur. The afternoon was very hot and the spur track very steep. We passed through peppermint forest lower down and woollybutt higher up. Whilst climbing, a flying branch flicked the lens out of Alan's eye. After a quick search the lens was found and after some necessary lubrication with saliva, the lens was inserted and no harm was done. Alan hardly blinked an eye. Has anyone seen him get upset?

Bivouac hut was a welcome sight after 3 hours climbing and an elevation gain of 850m, according to Anthony's watch. The camping area is a bit rocky and uneven but it is surrounded by alpine oxylobium and Tasman flax-lily and was quite pleasant. It was very warm and still and we had plenty of time to dry our clothes and bodies. The cloud cover steadily increased and with a predicted forecast of a late thunderstorm with rain we were watching the weather closely. Despite receiving a few drops of rain, Leigh predicted a fine day for tomorrow after we all were treated to a magnificent sunset, with the western sky at first red and then the clouds all over the sky picking up a red glow (red sky at night, shepherds' delight).

Campsite- Bivouac hut.
Distance walked - 5.25km.
Flower of the day - Common billy-button.

Saturday 12 January 2002. Staircase to Bogong.

Despite strong winds during the night, the morning dawned fine and still. We filled our bottles with water from the hut tank and although full of wrigglers the water was quite sweet to taste. We continued to head up the spur. The Staircase spur derives its name from its numerous "steps". Bivouac hut is on the seventh step and the gradient after the hut is a lot more gradual. The snow gums became more stunted the higher we went and very soon we burst out above the treeline. We were greeted with the alpine flowers and snow poles which we were to follow all the way to the Mt Loch carpark. Some of the snow poles were the older metal tubular type which moan or sing in the wind.

The wind was noticeable but not cold, whilst we kept moving. We headed up past the Gadsen, Welch, McCrae memorial cairn and the remains of the old Summit hut and we were soon on the summit ridge. We dropped our packs and made the short detour to the summit of Mt Bogong with its very impressive summit cairn. The views were superb and the smoke band from the NSW bushfires very obvious. We walked east and after a short descent we were at Hell Gap and it was here I first saw the myriads of shining green beetles on the vegetation. We saw them in many places on the High Plains.

We soon re-entered the snow gums and arrived at Cleve Cole hut. This hut is a substantial stone building and now boasts a new composting toilet (in reality a suite of 4 toilets). We next visited Howman falls-one of the hidden treasures of the area and then lunched at snow pole 1150 where Long spur meets the T spur. We were now on the AWT. It was then 600m down to the Big river and 700m up to Ropers hut. It was a long tiring hot day after departing Bivouac hut at 8am and arriving at Ropers at 6pm. The camping area is very spacious and nestled within snow gums. We were joined by a large group from Canberra and 2 individual parties. We still had plenty of time to get organised for dinner although the evening was a lot cooler than the day before.

Campsite-Ropers hut.
Distance walked - 14km.
Flower of the day - Derwent Speedwell.

Sunday 13 January 2002. Bogong High Plains.

Another fine morning dawned. The water from the hut tank was enriched with ferrous oxide which tainted the water. We were soon out of the protection of the snow gums and heading into a bitingly cold wind. Black caterpillars were common on the track. We rested at pole 740 on Watchbed creek and we were finally out of the wind. After a few pleasant detours through snow gum forest we joined the road along the aqueduct at Langford Gap. The snow poles in this area contain the new numbers and an older series which vary between poles by 200. What do these numbers mean? The poles are roughly 40m apart.

We saw many flame robins along this section of the AWT and a Pacific heron. We detoured to Wallaces hut built in 1889 and the oldest hut still standing on the Bogong High Plains. Numerous day trippers visited whilst we ate lunch. Just as we were getting ready to leave a group of 6 Scots arrived. They were all equipped with hip flasks and nesting cups. We were offered a whisky and enjoyed a delightful chat. We were soon on our way past the Rover Lodge - a lot grander than I remembered it and we arrived at Cope hut in the early afternoon.

We camped south of the hut near the top of the hill. There was a slight breeze when we erected the tents but the ground was relatively flat and the views were grand. A group from the Essendon Walking Club, ensconced in the hut, invited us for port and a chat after dinner.

Campsite-Cope hut.
Distance walked - 16km.
Flower of the day - Round-leaf mint-bush.

Monday 14 January 2002. Down to the Cobungra river and Up again.

The morning was warm, still and clear, with a beautiful sunrise and cloud filling the valley to the east. When we arrived at the Cope saddle hut, Mark became the 6th member of our club to complete the entire length of the AWT from Canberra to Walhalla. We climbed Mt Jim with its grand views and magnetic anomalies. Cattle were common from Wallaces hut onwards and after Mt Jim I saw piles of horse dung indicating that maybe feral horses were in the vicinity.

We started the descent into Cobungra Gap and climbed Basalt Temple with its jumble of basalt blocks. There was a healthy growth of Tall rice-flower on the summit and superb views of Mt Feathertop. We lunched at Dibbin hut and it was here that Alan became the 7th member of our Club to complete the AWT. I thought the area around the hut dirty and I was glad to move on. We were not one hundred percent certain that there was a water tank at Derrick hut so we headed up Swindlers Spur with 4L of water each. It was a slow plod. We stopped at pole 126 to visit the 2 old huts of the Quintet Mine and then headed up to Derrick hut. The hut was a lot more modern than I remembered and it was complete with an indoor water tank and a new Edelweiss (made of skies) emblem. We camped alongside the hut amongst numerous flowers including Sky lilies and Australian Carraway. We all had an Alan Spence shower (wine bladder full of water in a string bag hung from a tree) and prepared dinner in the clean and spacious hut.

Campsite-Derrick hut.
Distance walked - 16km.
Flower of the day - Victorian buttercup.

Tuesday 15 January 2002. Bon accord.

The cloud cover had increased significantly by morning. We soon had views of Hotham village which disturbed me initially but I soon got used to the buildings and after a while I thought they were pretty sympathetic to the landscape although any further development worries me. We got good views from Mt Loch and then crossed the Hotham road and headed up to our last peak. Mark calls it Roasted Pig (Hot ham).

There is a large stone and concrete cross on the summit with the ends pointing to the cardinal signs. Unfortunately the cross needs some repairs. The wind was very strong. Visibility was reduced and the air smelt strongly of smoke. Mt Tabletop, well known to those who participated in the Mayford trips was, however, clearly visible. We headed down to Diamatina hut and the Razorback ridge of Mt Feathertop. The Bon Accord spur leaves the Razorback after about 1km and heads initially east. It is a long descent but the spur ends just outside Harrietville and we were soon showering in the caravan park shower block. Hennie Spence had led a group to Mt Feathertop over the weekend and they had kindly moved our cars from Mountain creek to Harrietville.

Distance walked - 19.75km.
Flower of the day - Snow Aciphyll.

Highlights of the walk for me were the great company, the good weather, the wild flowers and the views.

Thank you Hennie for the excellent organisation and logistical arrangements and congratulations to Alan and Mark on completing the Australian Alps Walking Track.

Map

Bogong Alpine Area. Outdoor Leisure Map. VICMAP. Edition 2, reprinted September 1991.

Track Notes

Australian Alps Walking Track. Walhalla to Canberra. John Siseman. Pindari Publications. Third revised edition 1998.

BendiGO BUSHwalking and Outdoor Club