Lake eildon: mountaineer creek with kids

[ebanna]

Hi, I would really appreciate some help planning a walk I've seen mentioned on this forum. We would like to do the blowhard spur walk, camping overnight and then returning via the lake shore, with our 3 kids, aged 9,7 and 6. They've done overnight hikes a few times, mainly at the prom. We will have to do it over 2 days, in a couple of weeks. I've seen this walk described as ' hard ' and have not been able to get an idea of elevation change or actual distances. Could I get some information about the length and difficulty of this walk, including what the track is like, is it well marked/ difficult walking?

Thank you in advance!

[surly 17]

Hi there I've done this walk a few times more so in spring or autumn, I normally park at wallaby bay then walk blowhard spur from merlo track it's steep from the start but doesn't last too long the views getting better all the time. You soon reach the top of blowhard spur from there you can go on to high camp which undulates a fair bit the tracks are wide and easy to follow with signage. You can then keep following blowhard track onto skyline road then onto station creek track or drop down the spur to meet the aird inlet track. I would get a map I use vicmap eildon sheet 8023-n . Time I would allow the day so you can take your time there are steep bits but in short bursts hope this helps .

[neilmny]

Hi ebbana, it is possibly a fairly hard walk for the kids particularly the youger 2.
Attached is a PDF of the loop profile starting at Merlo lookout on the lake, up the Blowhard and on as described by surly.
The climb up Blowhard is hard, a bit over 1km for about 240m.
The second climb is sharp as can be seen in the profile.
The peak and dip and peak in the middle are the ascent/descents of the second ridge with Mountain Creek in the middle of the two.
As you can see the return along the lake is an easy up and down gradient.

The lake is quite low so there is no water side at Mountain Creek at the moment. probably 2 or 3 hundred metres to the waters edge.
There is a long drop and water tank but at this time of year I wouldn't rely on the tank as it is fairly dry country.
The walk is a favourite of mine because it is not far away but personally, I probably wouldn't do it at the moment with lake so low.

Blowhard Mtn Ck Wallaby Loop.pdf

(435.78 KiB) Downloaded 655 times

[ebanna]

Thank you very much. The elevation data makes the walk look pretty tough. Can I also ask if there's a creek at the campsite we could use for water if the tank is dry? And what do you think of the idea my husband had of just walking in and out via the lakeside, to avoid all the climbing?

[neilmny]

Hi ebanna,
The creek (Mountaineer Creek) is intermittent and there are homes up on Skyline Road above this area so it is not really suitable for drinking water.
I have used water from the lake after boiling it. The issue here is that the lake is subject to blue green algae blooms from time to time. Boiling water with BGA in it actually increases the level
of toxin from the BGA. You can check if BGA is present on the Murray Goulburn Water web site. http://www.g-mwater.com.au/bluegreenalgae-alert/
I'd recomend taking all the water you need. I/we generally carry 3 litres each, have agood drink before leaving the car and leave some back at the car for when we return.

Walking around the lake track from Wallaby Bay would be fine but you would still have to climb the second ridge as there is no track around from Aird Inlet to Mountaineer Creek.
Your distance each way would be around 13km. It might be possible to do the section from Aird Inlet along the lake shore (about 3km) but it is very rocky (loose shale) and quite steep on the North side.

Despite all this stuff I've heaped on you, it is a really nice walk and well worth doing. With the kids in tow I just want you to know what your in for.
What ever you do don't miss out on seeing Stones Outstation. Just no toilet and the same issues with water. It's a beautiful spot and there is evidence that folks have unofficially camped there.

[ebanna]

Thank you so much for all the information. We have decided we will save this walk for spring, when there will hopefully be more water around, and also for a time when we can spend two nights there to make the long walk more worthwhile.

[neilmny]

Hi ebanna, sent you a PM.