Hi All,
A brief summary of a recent trip, adding this to the old topic to ensure that all information is contained in one spot.
- Moonlight Ridge Track - Walk Overview
Day 1The walk overview image generally what we encountered over the course of the walk. The very start of the track is all flat until you get to the Mystery Cave sign. This was where we spotted the first snake, warming up on the loose gravel remanent of the mine. It’s not long after the sign that you start the steep climbing through the forest, the track briefly levels out which is a nice spot for a breather as you meander through a few different ecotones and step over some decent sized fallen trees, footholds included. This is probably the last remaining spot to camp, if you wanted a sheltered spot but doesn’t get you far if you’re going to Pigsty Ponds.
Another similar climb gets you up to the plateau and into the remnants of the early 2012 bushfire damaged scrub (from reading other posts). The track here starts to give way, due in part to the fire's destruction of scrub and also the flat topography of this section, leading to various meandering tracks throughout with no clear single track. You come across a few Tarns here which in the later October, after a dry winter, still held enough water to refill if needed. The path generally gets worse and worse until you get to what we affectionately called Maximum Bog around where the Moonlight Creek would flow, no doubt due to the creek, which was running at the time. This section generally is slow going given the bog but makes for easy walking given the previous uphill. Most of the path here is indistinguishable with multiple boggy paths all heading in the generally similar direction, if you are lucky enough you might spot a few wooden posts with arrows pointing in the right direction, many of them are charred or missing arrows.
- Moonlight Ridge Track - lesser bog
By this stage, it’s probably only another hour of trekking before you hit what is the last uphill section on your way to camp. This is also where the bush bashing begins or more rhythmically the bush push, by which I mean you while you have a definitive track it’s overgrown and you’ve got to push through. Small sections of steps and boardwalks litter through this section before you find yourself on at the top, which glorious views to the East and the extent of the bushfire damage.
- Moonlight Ridge Track - halfway up Hill 1 clearly showing extent of fire damage
From the summit of Hill 1, it’s relatively easy hiking as you’ve done the bulk of the vertical gradient along with the track being rocky and simple. There are a couple more Tarns here, some were empty others held a little, and in the peak of summer, I’d think they would be dry.
- Moonlight Ridge Track - looking towards Hill 2
- Moonlight Ridge Track - Fan out
The track undulates around the remaining Hills before you get a glimpse of Pigsty Pond. A few interesting spots along the way reintroduce you to bog and bush bashing but nothing by now you aren’t well versed in.
Getting on top of Hill 3 you start to get views of the Mt Perouse and Pindars Peak in the distance, weather dependent, along with the first glimpse of Pigsty Ponds, giving you your final destination in sight.
- Moonlight Ridge Track - Mount Perouse
The gentle decline takes you into Pigsty Ponds where the choice of the campsite is largely dependent on the wind condition and the following day’s activities. There were a few spots to camp near the end of the track with clearly visible white rocks, providing relatively flat and dry camping. We met a few fellow hikers and they showed us where they were camping near Reservoir Lakes, another 15min walk away. We decided to pitch down there as it was arguably the best spot and the wind was forecast to pick up to nearly 100km/h where Maxwell Ridge, we thought, would provide the greatest shelter from the Westerly.
Day 2The following day we’d planned to hit up Pindars Peak and Mt Perouse. We began the journey from Pigsty Ponds up to the junction towards Pindars, only to find the delayed wind had picked up and while we weren’t on a ridgeline yet we decided against going any further, given how windy and wild it had become.
Thus the remainder of the day was spent at camp reading and relaxing. The spot near Reservoir Lakes amongst the trees was excellent, the wind howled yet we barely felt the tent move.
We had heard that the other hikers that they’d done Pindars and Perouse the previous day, saying it took them 10 hours to do scale both and the closer you got to Pindars the thicker the bush bashing became.
Day 3The third day gave us better luck. The wind had died down significantly and we tried out luck with Mount Perouse before returning to the car. The journey up is relatively straight forward the only hairy part is the junction to Mt Perouse. There aren’t any clearly marked signs saying Pindars or Perouse the only thing to guide you, which we missed the first time, is a mound of rocks depicting a junction stacked on the ground, keep your eyes peeled. Once heading in the right direction it’s easy-going, follow the rock mounds and a gentle constant incline.
The return and subsequent trek back to the car was just a retrace. This time easier and quicker given the lack of gradient change came at the end rather than the start.
- Moonlight Ridge Track - Mount Perouse Views, looking south
GeneralEchoing others 2 days seems like the bare minimum for Pigsty Ponds, 1 day in, 1 day out. While we managed to get up to Perouse and back out in “2” walking days, we had taken a break day in between given the weather and needed a day to recover after the trek up and back on the last day.
Giving yourself 3 days allows for some adventuring beyond and further afield, along with enjoying the place.
While I’m sure the fittest of us could go to Pindars and back in 1 day, you’d probably take another day to recover.