Bushwalk Australia

Just enjoying a cold day in front of the fire looking at maps. The trip I am looking at is from Lake Rowallan - Mount Rogoona - Junction Lake - Mountains of Jupiter - Mount Spurling - Mount Ida - Narcissus. I have looked at this several times before and thought it would be a great trip. Has anyone attempted this and what where the major difficulties? I am particularly interested in the descent off the range to Ida, any unmarked tracks and any recommended camping spots along the way.
I am thinking of 3 or 4 days for this trip.
Thanks.

doogs wrote:Just enjoying a cold day in front of the fire looking at maps. The trip I am looking at is from Lake Rowallan - Mount Rogoona - Junction Lake - Mountains of Jupiter - Mount Spurling - Mount Ida - Narcissus. I have looked at this several times before and thought it would be a great trip. Has anyone attempted this and what where the major difficulties? I am particularly interested in the descent off the range to Ida, any unmarked tracks and any recommended camping spots along the way.
I am thinking of 3 or 4 days for this trip.
Thanks.

The Traveller's Range area around Spurling/MoJ is superb, some of the best camping you'll see. Suprling itself is a beautiful little peak. The drop down to Ida is pretty slippery and not easy going, but if you're done much off track you'll be fine. The river that runs down the gulley could pose an issue, we had to descend along it for several hundred metres before we could find a place to cross.

As far as Ida goes, we found some cairns on the near side, but they lead us astray. There is a route up it, but it's from the lakeside.

There are no unmarked tracks in the area. I've come off the Travellers twice, but up the plateau from Ida, above Narcissus hut. The first time we came down through a plethora of big fallen trees on a steep slope and the going was very hard (they were often at chest level, but too low to crawl under, so we had to heave over them only to have a fairly long drop on the lower side...). We arrived too close to Narcissus that time and had to battle through thickish tea tree to the river which required wading and was deepish and cold (we got sick of walking along it).

The second time (late last year) we descended further up the range/plateau off an obvious western bulge on the plateau. The going was much easier than the first time, through open forest most of the way, except for a little scrub near the top. We basically popped out right on the OLT, a little way from the PV junction if I recall correctly.

I'm sure if you ask nicely ILUV will have a GPS route.

Thanks Ollster, I thought the descent from the range might be tricky! PeterJ has good track notes for Ida on his webpage so if/when I go I will follow his notes. I am not hugely experience off track having only done off track day trips, this trip looks like it would be a good introduction to multiday off track trips. I hoped camping around Spurling would be good as I hear its east face is quite picturesque.
PS Happy 100th birthday, hope you get a letter from the Queen.

doogs wrote:PS Happy 100th birthday, hope you get a letter from the Queen.

Cheers. I'll be having asprin and cough syrup for lunch today!

A few photos from our Travellers trip last year here doogs:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5117&p=61496&hilit=ida#p61496

I went back & did Mt Ida from the lake side a few months ago, it was much easier that way.
Having said that our attempted route to Mt Ida was through some spectacularly remote country, probably rarely if ever trampled by humans, so that was a nice consolation prize & a great day out

ollster wrote:

doogs wrote:PS Happy 100th birthday, hope you get a letter from the Queen.

Cheers. I'll be having asprin and cough syrup for lunch today!

Am I missing something here??

ILUVSWTAS wrote:

ollster wrote:

doogs wrote:PS Happy 100th birthday, hope you get a letter from the Queen.

Cheers. I'll be having asprin and cough syrup for lunch today!

Am I missing something here??

without trying to make you look stupid. On the home page there's a list of birthdays, and today it seems Ollster has reached a commendable milestone for which I wished to congratulate him.

ILUVSWTAS wrote:Am I missing something here??

Lookin' pretty damn good for my age, I am!

Ahhh yes I see now!!

I think he means his physical age......

ILUVSWTAS wrote:Ahhh yes I see now!!

I think he means his physical age......

Mentally I'm a precocious and cynical 11 year old.

ollster wrote:Mentally I'm a ... 11 year old.

Just a normal bloke, then.

no NNW men do get older...I'd say 12, that when they figure out what their willy is really for and then all maturity stops. I know I've got a house full of 12 yr olds of varying ages and they all laugh at the same silly jokes.

Happy belated birthday Ollster.

that when they figure out what their willy is really for and then all maturity stops

Hahahahah.

Sounds like a freakin awesome trip doogs, I'm jealous.