Day 12.5
Finishing all the chores there was not much to do but keep warm behind a heated window. Nice and cozy in Asgaard, just a pity no other hikers (or anyone) to share a yarn with. Had to get rugged up for dinner. Braving the 200m stroll about the same time I would normally be reaching for the sleeping bag.
Day 13
Awoke to a winter wonderland, which sounds great on paper but not when you're meant to be hiking. Cold slushy snow-ish rain. Fun. It did look pretty though.
Wind was pretty high as well with a "Feels Like" temperature of about -12°c (10°f) and it was set to last the entire day. All things considered Kingo and I thought another day, looking out from heated windows, probably wasn't a bad idea... As our first 2 days our weren't massive we could combine them instead.
The windy and slushy conditions lasted all day, so it was probably the right call. Zero days don't have a lot going on, when all your chores are done and there isn't any other hikers to shoot the breeze with. Still. The 200m walk to The Genny for lunch and dinner was cold enough, all rugged up, so heated spaces are coveted.
Day 14
Weather was looking /much/ better today. Still quite a bit of snow around, but not in a cloud/actively snowing, even a little sunshine. Temps were warmer and wind was slightly less. So Andrew and his parents picked me up just before 8 (driving up from Omeo) to take me the ~2km back to the track.
Got started in some warmer layers but had to strip them off not too long after getting moving and climbing a few small hills. Plenty of slushy ice/snow on the ground but the trail follows Hotham Ski Resort management roads for a while so feet staying dry.
A few km on we turn off onto single track, which was more of a single stream. Snow melt flowing down the narrow path making it hard to avoid... So much for my dry socks... A few km later and we reached Derrick Hut for smoko. Two other hikers (out for a few days) were still packing up after spending the night. Their tent was leaking, which is why they were in the hut. Looking out the window the past 2 days even without a leaky tent, a hut with a warm fire sounds like a good idea...
From there is was down into a valley with the very scenic Dibbins Hut. An old log cabin... maybe in need of a bit of love and care. Mud from the gaps in the logs falling out, a few planks missing from the door... Even with a fire it would be a drafty. Great location though.
From there it was up the other side of the valley and onto the Bogong high plains. Navigation was pretty easy today, just follow the snow poles. We started at 1 this morning and will apparently reach over 1200 before they turn off and we keep going.
The high plains just seemed to stretch on. Really beautiful walking, but the poles were like one of those ever expanding hallways in a horror movie. The more you walked, the further the poles seemed to stretch off into the distance. It didn't help that half the time the track was very water logged.
Still on the high plains the track got a little drier and we reached Cope Hut. It's only 500m from a parking lot and there was a trio already there when we arrived. We went to setup tents at the camping nearby and killed some time before dinner.
We decided in the hut out of the wind was a good idea, but without getting the fire going the hut inside was still pretty cold, wind or no wind. Better out of it though I guess. With sun setting, and no sign of wind stopping, I quickly brushed my teeth then hopped straight into my sleeping bag.
Day 15
Awoke at sunrise to a murder of Crows "CAWing" being only 500m from parking must mean there is often a meal nearby for them. It was a very cold night a bit exposed to the wind, managing to sneak under the skirt of the tent. Frost lined the path on the way to the drop toilet.
Back into my warm sleeping bag to eat breakfast, too cold to be outside the tent. Soon enough it was time to get rolling. A lot of frost already melted, but still plenty to see.
Fairly easy trail this morning single footpad until just past Wallace Hut. From there it was a very gentle downward slope on a management track for the Snowy Hydro Aquaduct. Well maintained and nice flowing crystal clear creek alongside.
Soon we met a junction and started heading upstream. Though if it wasn't for the water trickling by the opposite direction I don't think I would have even noticed the climb.
We then turned off over a short bridge and got a bit of real climbing back in, up to more peatland area. Big open high plains expanse. Still following the snow poles from yesterday. Spectacular views. Warmer day, with mostly sunny sky above us, but the wind still had me wearing my rain jacket for a bit of protection from the cold.
We reached a junction, AAWT to the right, Bogong (Vic Highest peak) loop off to the left. Saving a massive 9km of AAWT we took the left fork, adding a paltry extra 23km... It's about the same distance as doing Bogong as an out/back side trip from the other end of the detour.
Soon after we met a few hikers doing the Bogong loop. The pair doing it over two days might even see us again at the summit tomorrow. From the high plains we weren't that far off the height of Bogong... But a huge valley, with Big River at the bottom was in our way (no matter which direction we took...)
Our day was starting to draw on so we made camp at the bottom of the valley on Big River. Smaller site but more than enough room for two and great water available. Completely protected from the wind, but a bit close to the creek so cool air might settle here overnight.
Day 16
Waking up to a pretty dewey campsite. A little cool overnight but ok in my bag. I must have stirred a bit in the morning though as I brushed the side of my tent with my sleeping bag so it got a little damp.
As we camped at the river the first task was a creek crossing. A few heading the other way talked about how it was pretty deep... it made it about 1/3rd up my shin... Anything below knee deep is golden. It was very cold though...
Luckily straight after the river it was onto climbing. Fairly gentle as all things go for the AAWT at first. About 1.5km later we turn up Quartz Ridge to kick up the elevation gain a little. I must be starting to get my trail legs/lungs because it didn't feel as bad as earlier similar climbing.
I think I expected more Quartz at Quartz Knob, but there were some cool veins in the granite rocks. More up and as soon as we were out of the tree line the cold wind hit us. Very little places to hide until we reached the peak of My Bogong, highest mointain in Vic. An impressive rock cairn provided a modicum of shelter.
Bit of cloud about but a view off in one diresction, which happened to be where we were heading. Along the ridge and exposed to the cold wind for a while yet.
It felt like a very long time before we started dropping down back under the tree line. Instantaneous relief from the wind as soon as we did. It wasn't too much further to Cleve Cole Hut and our camp for the night. Very fancy hut maintained by the Bogong Alpine Club.
Lot of features shut off only for members use, but a nice wood stove and good walls to block the wind. A few people doing the Bogong loop so lots of company for dinner. Eight in total enjoying the warmth of the hut for our meal before all retreating to our tents to sleep.
Day 17
Seemed like a brilliant start to the day from in the tent. I could see the orange glow of the sun shining on it. That was short lived, cloud closed in again and I think my tent was wetter by the time I had finished breakfast and was ready to pack up.
There isn't much else to do but roll up a wet tent and get going. We were quick to reach the turnoff for a side trip down to Howmans Falls. Looked like great falls from the top, but with the way they carved into the rock we couldn't see all of it from our vantage points.
Back to the track and it was only another short stint until we left the Bogong loop to rejoin the AAWT. Immediate difference in track definition, but still a fairly easy to follow footpad. Soon it was back to fallen trees and steep ascent/descent as we made our way over the Long Spur track. We even managed some (short lived) blue skies and views.
The Long Spur eventually turned into a seldom used 4WD track making the walking pretty easy and quick before joining a more substantial forestry road for a while. Then we turned off onto a foot track straight up the side of Mt Wills, 300m climb in just 1.5km. Which was only half way up. Thankfully the rest was a bit more gentle.
We found the fairly nice hut, with a main room and 2 bedrooms (some wooden bunks) and got the fire going. Tents still wet from the morning and cloud getting thicker by the minute we made the call to stay in the hut. When I went outside to relieve myself before bed I could barely see 5m through the cloud... I'll enjoy being out of the wind tonight.
Day 18
Hut stayed a little warmer overnight but not wanting to deal with hot coals we put the last piece of wood on around 7pm. So by morning it was just 9°c inside. Better than a few degrees cooler outside and in the wind.. Though we actually had some blue sky... Off in the distance.
The trail kicked off along the various summits of Mt Wills, passing some cool granite boulders. It was still a little windy and I was wearing my gloves, so a bit hard to take lots of pictures.
The third peak held a Trig Point and also marked the start of some of our descent. Bigger day today, 27km with almost 2000m descent... The AAWT also managed to sneak in 800 odd meters of ascent in this stretch.
The single foot track eventually morphed into a 4WD track before putting us out onto Omeo Highway. Andrews parents are still in the area so they met us there with some trail magic. Fresh fruit and an amazing ham and salad roll, which I wolfed down immediately. Gatorade to rehydrate and then we were ready to be off again.
Before we started off again we met a brother waiting for his sister to finish her final section hike to complete the track. As we were chatting she arrived, with her husband who was hiking this section with her, so we were able to offer our congratulations as we set off.
Lots more descent into Gil Creek, a fairly clear track with the odd blow down to navigate around and some very steep sections. Gil Creek has a small tent pad, probably a tight squeeze for 2 tents but great water. We had a quick stop but it's a little damp and leeches were about.
A large tree had fallen onto the track at the crossing. So wet feet then pushing up the steep bank on the other side, through ferns, to rejoin the track. Which wasn't much easier than the ferns. Conner, who was at Mt Wills last night, described the entire stretch as 'clear'.
Clear to follow... I guess. But overgrown with scrub. It didn't help that this is where they squeezed more than half of that 800m of climb. Including a 0.5km stretch with ~150m climb. Very steep, pushing against scrub. Unable to effectivly use trekking poles as they kept getting caught up. I stopped a few times to admire the pretty mushrooms.
After the climb it was a lot more of the down. Mostly back on forestry roads, steep and loose gravel meant careful steps. Down down down down to Four Mile Creek. Then continuing on up and down, for what seemed like a very very long 5km, to eventually reach our camp at Taylors Crossing. Cool bridge.
A pair of 4WDs turned up not long after us and setup on the opposite side of the river. Before anything else (any tents, swags or awnings) they got a huge fire going. It looked very warm... The sun was soon behind a hill and with the temperature dropping we quickly ate dinner and then headed for our sleeping bags.
Day 19
A planned short day today, only 10km with just under 500m climbing. Started out along a dirt road with cattle farms either side. Nice lush green grass this time of year, cattle must love it. A bit of the climb to begin but relativly gentle and flat meant we cruised along at just over 5kph, so the first 6km fell quickly.
After that it was off onto a single track and up a hill. Followed by a rather sloped trail along the side of the hill heading down. Hard walking as the slant of the trail made it difficult. The descent was very gradual so it took a long time to reach the creek. Great clear flow, but only another 2km to Benambra-Corryong Road where we had food drops to collect. A bit of a steep slog out of the creek but it quickly turned into a pleasant track with nice soft grass underfoot.
Andrews parents, Trevor and Barbara, met us once again with some fantastic fresh food and kept us company for a while to whitle away the afternoon. They were also able to take our food drop buckets away saving the return collection (which is a fair trip from Brisbane.....)
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