Nigel Christmas Australian Alps Walking Track 2006

Nigel Christmas Australian Alps Walking Track Spring 2006 Walhalla to Tharwa

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Saturday 28^th October Day 28

Had a glorious sleep, woke a few times as I was too warm though. This was a nice change. When I had a look out the window, I was mildly shocked; it was snowing. I slept in and around 8am got up. A slow breakfast and eventually it looked like it was clearing, so I headed off. It took seventy minutes to walk from the bottom of the ski lift to Crackenback Peak. The lift is $26 return I was told. It was around 600 metres lift by the topographic map. The weather station at Crackenback Peak was -7.1°c and wind chill factor of -27°c. I wondered if I was stupid. I was quite warm in the gortex jacket on the way up and put more clothes on at Crackenback. It was the first time the jacket had been used in anger.

The walk to Mt Kosciuszko was quite easy from here, only around 200m rise in 6.5 km of metal boardwalks. Very windy on the summit, although I met an idiot wearing shorts up there.

I descended and went out of my way to Seaman’s Hut to have a comfortable, wind free lunch. I then cut back across to the main ridge on an old track. I have set up camp in a saddle just past Mt Twynam, the topographic states elevation pretty well just on 2000 metres. It is so bloody cold, it is ridiculous. It is 8.00pm and dinner is finished and I am in bed with all my clothes on. My writing is funny as hands are cold and pen is writing unnaturally as well. I will at least make Whites River Hut tomorrow if I don’t freeze overnight. I am pretty sure this is going to be a long unpleasant night; wind is starting to pick up now.

210 View from YHA hostel in Threadbo snowing and very cold.

211 View from YHA hostel in Threadbo looking towards Mt Crackenback.

212 Climbing to Mt Crackenback from Threadbo.

213 Mt Crackenback peak and chairlift peak ahead.

214 Looking towards Threadbo from Crackenback Peak.

215 The metal walking track from Mt Crackenback looking towards Mt Kosciuszko.

216 On the metal walking track towards Mt Kosciuszko -7°and -27° wind chill.

217 Cootapatamba lookout.

218 Mt Kosciuszko signage.

219 Mt Kosciuszko cairn having trouble standing due to roaring wind.

220 Looking from Mt Kosciuszko towards Main Range.

221 View from Mt Kosciuszko.

222 Albina Lake.

223 Mt Kosciuszko in distance Albina Lake on right.

224 Club Lake.

225 Club Lake.

226 Near Mt Twynam summit.

227 Mt Twynam summit.

Sunday 29^th October Day 29

Well the wind dropped off and the night was still and very cold. It took me a long time before I warmed up in the sleeping bag and then fell asleep. The one toilet break in the middle of the night was not pleasant. I have set up the tent perfectly on the east side of the saddle facing east. I am lying on my bed with the sun streaming in upon me but sheltered from the wind, with a priceless view. I am not going very far today so I am in no hurry. I am also feeling very lethargic after last night; at least there was no more snow. I eventually got going when it had warmed up enough to suit me. The clear sky and the sun was a blessing but, the wind was still freezing cold. I navigated the Main Range along past Mt Anderson, got a little confused around Mann Bluff but, was back on track when I identified Mt Tate, I climbed the latter. It had a trig point in a rock with a steel tripod; dual purpose. Consett Stephen Pass was next, it looks very indiscriminate and is not all that high. If you miss it bush walking it would be no big deal, but would mean another climb/fall. The Rolling Ground was also a bit of a fumble your way through. Every now and then I would find the track in the grass then lose it again. At least this gave me a good indication of location. The CMA (now LPI) map dated back to 1982 and seemed a little indistinct with topographic height lines and the peaks of granite. I eventually found and then checked I was on the right spur leading to Whites River Hut.

I had a look around the hut for a while, filled out the log book and headed for the Schlink Hilton. I decided against going up the Gargarton and the Kerries ridge, because I was over the scenery. The Schlink Hilton was an old Snowy Mountain Hut with bunk beds and mattresses and a combustion wood heater: no running water though. I had a lazy afternoon here and a warm night.

228 Morning of the coldest night on the AAWT, camped at saddle below Mt Anton 2000m elevation.

229 Mt Tate tribrach on summit.

230 Guthega Power Station from Mt Tate summit.

231 Looking south from Mt Tate.

232 View from Mt Tate summit.

233 Whites River Hut; finally off the Rolling Ground.

234 Schlink Pass.

235 Schlink Hilton and a comfortable night on a mattress for a change.

Monday 30^th October Day 30

I have too much food and only 80km to the next food drop and about fifteen days before I have to be at work, so I am taking it relaxing and slow. I left late and meandered along to Valentines Hut and read through the log book. I had missed John and Monica Chapman and John Siseman as they had passed there the day before and headed to the Kerries staying at Mawsons Hut that night. That was unfortunate as John Chapman had helped me a lot with his emails that helped to answer any of my questions in a very thorough way. It would have also been interesting to meet his wife and the author of “Australian Alps Walking Track: Walhalla to Camberra”, John Siseman. The official AAWT was down the road whereas John Siseman’s scenic route is the one I didn’t take.

Valentine Hut is beautiful, painted and has a new “whopper” stove installed; would be nice and warm. I left Valentine Hut and followed Valentine Creek downstream to Valentine Falls. I left the pack after crossing the aforementioned creek and had a quick swim and clothes wash and rinse. When I say quick I mean it, very cold indeed and I was out of water in under two minutes. After this I crossed Geehi River and then followed Back Flat Creek basically up to Grey Mare Hut. Nice hut but, has big open chimney that blow flies fly down. They then fly around the hut; distracting but at least they don’t follow or sit on you. I will stay here the night.

The site is in the old gold mining area with many relics around it. The main items are a steam engine and a disassembled crushing plant and foundation. There is a nice stream down the mining valley above the hut as well. It actually exits from the mineshaft tunnel; flooding being the reason the mine closed originally in 1903. Two more attempts in 1934 1949 ensued.

I plan to climb Mt Jagungal tomorrow (2061 metres) and camp somewhere down the road from there; maybe on a river or at Mackey’s Hut.

236 Weather station near start of Valentine Fire Trail.

237 Valentine Hut.

238 Valentine Creek below Valentine Hut.

239 Valentine Creek below Valentine Hut.

240 Beside Valentine falls looking down Valentine Creek and Geehi River junction.

241 Valentine Falls.

242 Valentine Falls I had a wash or dip here very cold indeed.

243 Valentine Falls.

244 Grey Mare Mine; part of stamping battery.

245 Grey Mare Mine; part of stamping battery.

246 Grey Mare Mine; part of stamping battery.

247 Grey Mare Part Machinery and massive flywheel.

248 Grey Mare Dissasembled parts stamping battery.

249 Grey Mare stamping battery foundations.

250 Grey Mare Hut.

251 Grey Mare Old steam engine.

252 View from Grey Mare Hut.

Tuesday 31^st October Day 31

I had a pretty average night sleep in Greymare hut as I hadn’t put enough clothes on and didn’t want to get any colder looking for thermals.

I started off with full intentions to climb Mt Jagungal and go on to Mackay’s Hut. Although the scenery was just so boring, trudging along a freshly graded fire trail undulating up and down with a few creeks to ford, I ended up going further along.

I stopped for lunch at Mackays’s Hut to get away from the 100-150 flies on me and my backpack and then pushed on to Happy’s Hut. The day was seriously like walking along a gravel road in Dookie with the flies swarming all around and irritating the hell out of you (with a head net on). It has definitely been the most boring walking on the AAWT so far, the next worse was from Barry Saddle to Mt Selwyn where it was burnt out.

It really seems like when the Alpine Walking Track was lengthened from Walhalla to Cowombat Flat so it went all the way to Tharwa and became the AAWT they didn’t put much thought in to it. It just seems to follow fire trail or road full stop. It is only John Siseman’s variations that have added interest so far.

Anyway, I have walked 36-37km today and got a lot of boredom out of the way. It is 19.5km to 4 Mile Hut or 27.5km to Kiandra where the next food drop is. I am likely to only go to 4 Mile Hut. I only have 148km to go, it is not far now, and it definitely doesn’t seem far.

It is 7.15pm and I will start dinner shortly and be in bed around dark.

The view from Happy’s Hut veranda is nice once the flies dissipated for the day. There is also a comfortable fold up chair here.

253 Boring country on Grey Mare fire trail.

254 View of Mt Jagungal along Grey Mare fire trail.

255 Grey Mare fire trail at McKechnies Creek crossing.

256 On trail to Happys Hut which is visible in distance.

257 Near Happys Hut looking back towards Happy Jacks Plain and Mt Jagungal.

Wednesday 1^st November

Well I had a visitor last night, a Mr Nastius Ratius. Not long after lying down he made his appearance and ran around. He found something and then fell on the floor and started munching away. He was not worried about the light shining around so I had to remedy the situation. Everything was hanging from the ceiling already but for empty plastic packaging and some instant soup foil/paper wrappers; that is what he was eating. So I burnt all this (as I had forgotten to earlier) and went back to bed. Sure enough he re-appeared and finding no more accessible food buggered off for the night. I read in the hut log book one person was kept up half the night with it or another trying to get into his tent.

I ate breakfast and sat on the verandah for as long as the flies were not there. I then packed and left. I cut from Happy’s Hut back to the fire trail and continued along. Interesting points today were Mt Tabletop, 9 Mile diggings, 4 Mile diggings and 4 Mile Hut. At 9 Mile diggings a bloody lot of dirt has been moved in the search for gold, sluicing played a big part in this. At 4 Mile diggings the whole bed of the creek is basically mullock heaps. There are also water races on both sides of the creek.

The hut is quite nice and small; I had lunch there and decided to stay the night as I really didn’t want to walk 40 km today. Tomorrow I will pick up the food drop (pack will be ridiculously big), have a good look around Kiandra and then move on to Witses Hut or maybe the Murrumbidgee River. Looking forward to Blue Waterholes, Coolemon Caves area.

258 Tabletop Mountain.

259 Between Tabletop Mountain and 9 Mile Diggings Mt Jagungal in distance.

260 Between Tabletop Mtn and 9 Mile Diggings Bloody flies necessitate the net.

261 Nine Mile Diggings. The ditch is mined area and missing dirt.

262 Nine Mile Diggings; rape and pillage of the landscape.

263 Inside Four Mile Hut.

264 Looking North along Four Mile Creek at Hut.

265 Looking South along Four Mile Creek at Hut.

266 Four Mile Hut.

Thursday 2^nd November Day 33

Had a nice sleep in the 4 Mile Hut; it was overcast so it was a warm night. The walk into Kiandra was quite pleasant. I had a bit of a look around Pollocks Gully and the information trail that shows various buildings etc. The food drop was intact and naturally uncomfortable to carry. I made my way to the old courthouse before opening it and re-organising the pack.

The damage done by the mines to the landscape is very stark, like at 9 Mile diggings there is a lot of hillside missing.

It started to rain after I left Kiandra but not before I had lunch on top of the Great Dividing Range. It is not very high or dramatic here unlike down in Victoria.

When I reached Witses Hut there were 12 riders from Reynella (horse trail riding company) there for lunch in the shelter of the hut. I talked with many of them and even enjoyed some fresh pineapple, fruit cake, a chicken sandwich with mayonnaise and a cup of tea. It was a shock to the taste buds. They all left and I kept the fire going and read most of the afternoon. The rain pretty well continued right into the evening. It was good not having to get the tent or the other gear wet.