The club has a weekend in the high country every year, and this year 40 keen walkers travelled to Falls Creek, staying in our favourite place, the Myrtleford Ski Club.
We gathered in the lounge of the Lodge at 6am on Friday, and enjoyed a few nibbles, a glass of wine, and a briefing about the weekend’s activities. Here’s the walks reports . . .
On Saturday’s Langford’s Gap to Kelly and Fitzgerald’s Huts Loop Walk a group of 16 took on this hard walk, with an anticipated distance of about 16km. Around half of the walk is level, and follows the Langford East Aqueduct. At about 2.5k we reached the picturesque covered bridge over the aqueduct, and took the opportunity to take the group photo at this well known venue.
Continuing on the aqueduct, we rock hopped over the stream at the Marum Point Track intersection, and stopped for a morning tea break in the shade. We regrouped at the junction with Kelly Track before heading uphill towards Kelly Hut. A short break was had at Kelly Hut, before heading in two groups on alternate routes to Fitzgerald Hut. The smaller of the two groups made the shorter choice for reaching Fitzgerald Hut. Lunch was enjoyed in the shade of the verandah, and some comfortable seating.
Following lunch, we returned to Kelly Track to head a little further uphill before reaching a plateau, and after a few kilometres reached the Marum Point Track, then Big River Fire Track to reach the Australian Alpine Walking Track. We took the AAWT starting with a gentle uphill before descending on a winding bush track through ‘nature’s garden’.
The wildflowers were past their best, but it was still a beautiful track to walk along. We reached the Langford East Aqueduct Road at the previously mentioned covered bridge, and enjoyed a break in its cool shade, and alongside the stream, before returning to our cars at Langford Gap.
Our walk turned out to be about 18k, so we were feeling a little more tired than anticipated following the walk.
[Jeanette]
Sunday’s walk to the Tawonga Huts and Mount Jaithmathang involved six walkers. The walk began with a drive out to Pretty Valley, and the car park located at the pondage. Today’s weather was for some rain due in the afternoon, which was a change to yesterday’s sunny skies.
Following the Fainter Firetrail, the Huts are about 4.5km away, and along the way we passed two Melbourne hikers returning overnight from the SEC hut. They mentioned a copperhead snake ahead of us near a drain, but it was nowhere to be seen once we arrived.
A memorial cairn to cattle man Ben Copper afforded a brief detour, and photo opportunity, before the final descent down to the Huts.
Upon arriving at the Huts it was time for the all-important morning tea. A magnificent grand tree is situated between the two huts, and impressed all of us. We were then suitably prepared for the climb to Mount Jaithmathang. It was a steady uphill workout most of the time, with the occasional easy level ground which was always welcome.
New club member Andrew found himself leading our group at some stage, unaware of the club rule that if you ever find yourself at the front of the group, the walks coordinator will ask you to lead a walk sometime in the future. It’s a little-known club rule.
Having ascended some 200m over two kilometres, our arrival at the summit top of almost 1850m was greeted with mother nature blowing a little more strongly. After a ten-minute stop here for photos, and admiring the views, most noticeably Mount Feathertop, it was decided that the Huts made the better lunch stop amid the ensuing threatening weather.
We returned the way we had come, with some of us curious about another trail marked on maps, but of which there was little physical evidence that it still existed. Sandi and Anne were perhaps prepared to try a bush bash of discovery, but were out-voted by the more sensible members of the group.
A little further along the trail I was stopped dead in my tracks by a black snake moving into the long grass near a small water crossing. After assuming it had disappeared further away, I made a quick dash, over the water, and a few steps ahead. while alerting the others.
Once back at the huts, a rather short lunch stop was taken before our return along the same track, all of us being eager to beat the inevitable bad weather. A few drops of rain here and there, and the sighting of the coming rain in another nearby valley, encouraged some brisk walking, where upon reaching the cars, the rain had now arrived. The hike to the huts is a very manageable easy-medium walk, and the hike to Mount Jaithmathang a worthy summit to reach. A total of 12.7km was recorded by my GPS.
[Michael Braendler]
Short Walk A : Sunday
A flurry of new short walkers joined our elite group for the final day of a great weekend of walks in the high plains. Fourteen members set off from the Wallace’s Hut car park, and on down to the iconic hut.
Wallace’s Hut was built in 1889 by the Wallace brothers, and is the oldest surviving High Country Hut in the Victorian Alps. Sadly, too early for morning tea, we continued on down to the aqueduct track, and watched trout as we continued south through magnificent bush with the Kosciusko peaks far in the distance.
Past Rover’s Hut we began the gently ascent up to the Cope Hut turn off, arriving at this classic hut for morning tea. Cope Hut was constructed in 1929 for the Ski Club of Victoria. It was one of the first huts designed specifically for ski touring.
The Victorian High Country Huts Association has completed restoration work in a manner which preserved its nature and original ambiance (Thanks Trevor).
We wound our way back to Wallace’s Hut, and its car park, via the Australian Alpine Walking Track, concluding our 7.5km walk just in time to miss the coming rain and wind.
Lots of bird life, and a few remaining flowers were the highlight of this part of the walk. It seems that various bakeries and coffee shops on the way home were well supported.
[Peter Brain]
Short Walk B: Sunday
There were eight walkers on the Langford East Aqueduct walk. There were delightful scenes of snow gum covered hills, trickling streams, still ponds reflecting a clear blue sky, and attractive everlasting flowers.
At the aqueduct bridge, a good morning tea spot, most of the group explored “nature’s garden”, crossing the bridge to climb a highly vegetated area usually noted for its display of alpine flowers.
It seems we were rather late in the season for the best of the flora, though the exploration was still enjoyed.
On return, it was decided to have lunch at Cope Hut, a short drive and walk away.
Cope is a carefully maintained 1929 shelter, built for early skiers of the time.
[Adrian Twitt]