After several failed attempts to hike at Falls Creek (thwarted by lockdowns and bad weather) it was with great satisfaction that last weekend I got to tick off a long held aim of mine and complete a 55.5 km circuit (60.82km according to my tracking) up and over Mt. Bongong.
Starting from the Healthy Spur carpark my route took me over Spion Kopje, the Grey Hills track, up the Grantite Spur to the summit of Bogong and then back to the start via the T-Spur and Big River. Usually, this walk is viewed as a 4-5 day circuit. I had just 2.3 days to complete it in. Given the terrain, this made for a challenging few days!
I started off from the Healthly Spur carpark at 3pm on a Friday afternoon. Immediately, I was taken with the expansive high plains scenery and the remote feeling of the track. There was also lots of fauna to see, ranging from birds and lizards to multiple insects and signs of larger mammals.
The Healthy Spur Track is mostly gentle walking as it makes it way to the junction with the Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT), where it broadens into a wide gravel track, suitable for 4WD vehicles.
At this point the track angles (slightly) upwards and climbs around the base of Mt. Nelse. Low clouds and mist was rolling over at times, lending a surreal atmosphere to the view when it started to obscure the sun as it lowered in the sky.
Shortly, I reached the Spion Kopje firetrail and turned left towards the setting sun. The walk top the summit of Spion Kopje was easy, following a well defined and only slightly undulating track - for which I was grateful as I eventually arrived at my site for the night about an hour after sunset.
It was a brilliantly clear night and after setting up my tent (the Tarptent Notch Li is beautifully easy to set up even in the dark and on the scrubby terrain at the summit) and dinner of a tuna wrap and a protein bar I enjoyed some sumptuous stargazing before settling in for the night.
The morning was cool with sporadic clouds in the sky. I also observed a number of runners on the Spion Kopje firetrail and wondered what they were involved in.
A major advantage of the tent being made of dyneema fabric was being able to simply wipe the walls dry and not experience the condensation being absorbed into the material and the subsequent sag of wet sil-nylon. It led to a much quicker pack up than usual and after some Poptarts for breakfast, I was back on the trail.
I retraced my steps slightly to the junction of the fire trail with the Grey Hills track and set out on the first really challenging part of the hike. Initially, finding he trail was an issue due to recent scrub growth, but aiming towards an obvious outcrop and keeping Mt. Bogong in front of me lead me in the right direction.
The trail afforded me a spectacular view of Whiterock Falls.
The Grey Hills track was a mixture of flat grassy peaks and some very steep ascents and descents, with the trail often filled with granite chunks that demanded careful placement of my feet to avoid twisting an ankle! I had to focus on my footfalls and balance looking at the spectacular scenery and the growing bulk of Mt. Bogong before me.
I found that no photos really showed quite how steep the path was in places, but the rocky condition of the trail showed up well!
The skeletal remain of gum trees from the 2003 bushfires were a stark reminder of the sometimes brutal forces that shape this land.
The final descent towards the Bogong Creek saddle was nasty, with several places where the scrub completely obscured the trail and produced some swearing from me! Progress became very slow as I negotiated these sections and also gingerly descended some extremly steep areas of the trail and tried to not step on the multiple loose rocks on the path.
It was with great relief that I reached the Bogong Creek saddle and took a well deserved rest on the flat plain there and ate my lunch. There were a lot of wasps buzzing low to the ground, but they paid no interest to me or my belongings.
Then I had to then tackle the 6km climb up the Quartz Ridge to the summit of Mt. Bogong.
I filled up my water at the stream at the base of Granite Spur and headed up. Almost immediately the path lived up to the "steep" label on the map and I took frequent breaks as I ascended - aided by courteously and gratefully stepping aside for the descending people who were participating in the 2022 Alpine Challenge race that weekend.
The views from the trail across the alps were spectacular from a number of turns in the trail,
but really came into their own when I finally rose above the tree line and reached the Quartz Gap.
It was here that I also got my first clear view across to the top of Bogong, with the summit cairn silhouetted against the late afternoon sky.
My route then took me around the base of the Hooker Plateau and up the final, gentle, slopes to the summit. By the time I arrived the sun was setting and a cool wind was bringing waves of mist across the summit area, making for a spectacular sunset vista.
A number of people arrived at the summit shortly after I did, so I continued on and watched the sunset from further down the path with the summit cairn clearly in view.
I had initially planned to descend to Cleve Cole hut for the night, but the mist thickened, a chill wind picked up and I was feeling rather tired so I decided to camp at Hells Gap and quickly set up my tent and boiled water for a hot dinner,
before gratefully crawling into my sleeping bag, warming up and dropping off. Even the clearing mist, a clear sky and the constellation of Orion looming large over the summit of Bogong couldn't keep me awake!
I did wake before sunrise and was treated to this amazing view of Venus and Jupiter.
The next morning dawned clear and cold, with frost patches on the ground the condensation on the south side of my tent frozen. Sunrise was directly outside my tent door and I enjoyed the warmth it gave as it rose and I ate my breakfast.
Hell Gap was a terrific place to wake up with clear mountain views across the alps in all directions and a direct line of sight to the summit of Bogong.
After packing up I made my way towards Cleve Cole hut. The views in all directions were stunning, including this fantastic view of Mt. Bogong.
The walk along the ridge line under the clear blue morning skies with the birds tweeting loudly and wheeling in the sky overhead was one of the highlights of the hike.
All too soon I found myself descending back into the tree line as I neared Cleve Cole Hut. There was a maintenance crew cutting much appreciated logs for the hut fire for the approaching winter.
I took avail of the facilities at the Hut, then braced myself for what I knew from the map would be a steep descent down to the Big River crossing.
The T-Spur was mostly an enjoyable walk through snow gums and some open areas, populated my the buzzing of insects and the call of birds,
before I hit the final, very steep descent to the crossing. I was thankful for my walking poles as they saved me from several slips on the wet gum leaves that littered the paths and often obscured loose rocks.
Upon reaching the river I changed into my water shoes to make the crossing, refilled my water bottles and carefully made the crossing using the chain provided. The river flow wasn't very high and I made the crossing easily, with my feet appreciating the cold water, refreshing them after the long hike in my walking shoes.
Upon reaching the other side the trail is yet another very steep uphill slog on the Duane Spur towards Ropers Hut. As always, there were some lovely flat(ter) sections and spectacular views, but after the descent to the river and this ascent I was beginning to feel it in my legs and mostly put my head down and focused on slowly and consistently moving forward.
A lot of walkers choose to stop for a final night at Ropers hut, but due to some commitments I had I needed to press on back to my start point.
Fortunately the trails from here back to Healthy Spur carpark are gentle and wide and provided a very pleasant end to the walk as they traverse some open plains and provide far reaching views to the surrounding countryside - views I was keen to see as they had been often obscured by mist when I first traversed them on my way to Spion Kopje.
It was another day of finishing my walk as the sun set and the final km's back along the Healthy Spur were in the golden light of the setting sun, and finally in the dark - thank goodness I have good night vision!
I arrived back at my car about 6.30pm and cleaned up, changed and downed my usual celebratory can of Mother (sugarless) before starting the long drive home. Feeling immensely satisfied not only with the walk, but with the fact that I had been able to complete it in the time I had (with a 30km final day) and meet the challenge I had set myself.
Falls Creek had proved to be a fantastic base for hiking and I will certainly be back to try out some of the numerous other trails available. 😊
