by Baeng72 » Wed 01 Sep, 2021 11:48 am
Hi Ethan,
A lot depends on the fitness of your group (you're only as fast as your slowest hiker if you stick together).
6 Days may be plenty for a group of fit people with walking 3-5 hours a day and lots of time to relax and soak in the sights.
Are you looking to cover a lot of distance, or kick back and enjoy?
There's several routes from Harrietville up onto Feathertop. Bungalow Spur goes straight to Fed. Hut and is a sustained but manageable climb.
There's Bon Accord Spur, which I've not done, but I think it's manageable. But leaves you close to Mt. Hotham and so you'd have to change direction to get to Fed. Hut/Feathertop via the Razorback (might be useful if you want to do a loop).
There's less tracked spurs like Champion Spur/NW Spur, but only for self-loathing types.
To get from Feathertop/Fed Hut to the Bogong High Plains, there's two common routes:
The scenic alpine view/pleasant way (depending on your definition of pleasant), along the Razorback to Diamantina Hut/Mt. Hotham, then through the resort (road walk or over Hotham) to Mt. Lock Carpark, along Mt Loch track then onto Derrick Hut, then descending Swindler's Spur to Dibbins Hut. From there, as steepish but short climb after Cobungra Gap to the Bogong High Plains to wards Pole 333 and onto Cope Hut.
This route has the advantage of a Pole line you can follow from Mt Lock carpark all the way to Langford Gap near Falls creek.
For less scenic/more challenging route, start along the Razorback, then down the Diamantina Spur (may required some scrambling/knee breaking), along the West Kiewa logging track. Near Blair's Hut, you can ascend via Weston's Spur (pass Weston's Hut and start of a Pole Line) to the Bogong High Plains on to Pole 333 and then to Cope Hut. Or continue on logging Track past Red Robbin mine battery to Cobungra Gap (near Dibbins if you need to camp) and climb up to Bogong High Plains towards Pole 333....
A side trip if you find you have time might be to Mt. Jaitmathang/Fainters. Turn off from Pole 333 (or if coming from Westons, you don't need to go all the way to Pole 333, you'll see the Pole lines converging and know where to go).
I'm sure I've missed heaps and I haven't yet gotten past Pole 333 and onto Falls creek on foot. (I have driven up to Wallace's hut once and looked around).