Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

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Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby ggorgeman » Mon 25 Oct, 2021 11:58 am

Squeezed in an overnighter last Fri/Sat that was primarily the Northern Grampians' Mt Stapylton Loop with an extension at the southern end of the loop to the Coppermine Camp for the overnight stay. Return leg back saw the continuation of the loop, back to Zero on Sat morning.

Arrived at Mt Zero Carpark Friday morning and did the Zero summit first, which was magnificent in it's own right. The perspective that you get re the rest of the walk is fantastic. Then back down to hit the main trail. Once up and over Flat Rock, we had decided to take the "left hander" at the start of the loop, thereby tracking clockwise. What a fantastic walk through some stunning country. Quite a variety of landscape, some sandy stringybark scrub country and plenty of rocky elevation and features. Peak of the spring wildflower season too, so the vivid colour that was prevalent was brilliant.

Plenty of the content online and in the guidebooks leaving no doubt that this loop is highly regarded, and it didn't disappoint. A little bit of free climbing to get up those last 40m to the actual summit of Stapylton was well worth it. Getting there, the Taipan Wall amphitheatre was breath-taking. From the summit we continued the loop SSE with the intention of following the trail and avoiding the right-hander that continues the actual Stapylton Loop, in order to press on through sandy scrub country to Coppermine. In doing so, we encountered a new section of trail that will form part of the GPT through to Coppermine. Thus, the sections of 4wd track that we'd planned weren't necessary. This section of GPT pops out onto Coppermine Track about 300m north of the campsite. The new GPT trail to Barigar continues across Coppermine Track here, so we did approx 1km out/back to check this out. Then back to Coppermine Camp for the night. A couple of car campers were also present but it was quiet.

Day 2 involved a few kms of Coppermine and Pohlners Track before reconnection to the actual Stapylton Loop and heading back to Mt Zero. Pretty much mostly level or downhill apart from up/over Flat Rock. From Coppermine back to Zero was only about 2.5 hours.

For an overnighter, I'd rate it 10/10. Stunning country and conditions. Plenty of options if wanting to avoid Coppermine Camp itself for the overnight stay, but the water supply there and longdrop are handy. It does seem that these re-equipped sites are situated (with GPT in mind?) so as to involve water sources (tanks) that are assured of being full all year round?

Gear taken: BA FlyCreek1 tent, GoLite Pinnacle pack, MD Airlite mat, lightweight down bag. Expecting several running creeks and the likelihood of a tank (with water) meant it wasn't necessary to load up with excess water, which was good. All gear performed well. Pack weight (incl nearly 2 litres water) approx 15kg.
Attachments
IMG_1328.jpg
View from Mt Zero summit back to Mt Stapylton and Flat Rock
IMG_1335.jpg
Yes, it's called Bird Rock
IMG_1342.jpg
Mt Zero as seen from Mt Stapylton summit
IMG_1361.jpg
Trail heading SE, having passed Mt Stapylton
IMG_1365.jpg
Coppermine Camp
IMG_1373.jpg
IMG_1375.jpg
Taipan Wall from SW section of the loop
Route sat map_2.jpg
IMG_1363.jpg
BA FlyCreek UL1 set up
Last edited by ggorgeman on Mon 25 Oct, 2021 2:08 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby CraigVIC » Mon 25 Oct, 2021 12:30 pm

Great report, thanks ggorgeman
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby EGM » Wed 27 Oct, 2021 5:28 pm

Great report. It's put something in that area to the top of my list for sure.

Would you do anything differently if you were to do it again? Would you camp at the same spot?
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby Eremophila » Wed 27 Oct, 2021 8:36 pm

Wow, added to my list too.

What were your distances?
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby ggorgeman » Thu 28 Oct, 2021 7:38 am

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Last edited by ggorgeman on Thu 28 Oct, 2021 8:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby bigkev » Thu 28 Oct, 2021 7:56 am

Great report ggorgeman, it's a great area to explore.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby ggorgeman » Thu 28 Oct, 2021 8:47 am

Eremophila wrote:Wow, added to my list too.

What were your distances?


Total 15.5kms although not quite sure of individual segments, a quick look at Alltrails (Mt Stapylton Loop) gives some breakdown. The 15.5kms included approx 1.5km 'extra' as we explored a GPT trail a bit. Majority of hard work and more distance covered on Day 1. Only took 2.5 hours to get back to start on Day 2.

We only encountered 2 other walkers for the entire loop, but with Melbourne coming out of lockdown and weather getting better it will be busier. Still, mid-week outside of hols would still be pretty quiet I'd think.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby ggorgeman » Thu 28 Oct, 2021 8:56 am

EGM wrote:Great report. It's put something in that area to the top of my list for sure.

Would you do anything differently if you were to do it again? Would you camp at the same spot?


Gee, hard to really pinpoint anything I'd do differently. It was terrific on all counts. My only thought is that Coppermine Camp is vehicle-accessible via Pohlners Track and Coppermine Track so there's potential for the 4wd crew to be there, and just numbers of other campers generally. There's an adjoining clearing which is where I set up, but any noise carries easily. It would be very easy to find a dispersed location to set up in the general area, although I'm not sure that's legal :wink:
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby EGM » Sat 30 Oct, 2021 2:12 pm

I was planning on doing it tomorrow night but the 4x4 campsites are all booked up so it might be a bit busy/noisy. I'll put an update in it we end up going.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby ggorgeman » Sat 30 Oct, 2021 5:54 pm

The Coppermine Group camp is nearby, only about 400m south down the track. Large cleared area and isn’t drive-right-up-to. A little bit of walking to get to the where you want to set up. That could be worth a try. And a few areas clear enough near Coppermine Camp to set up slightly away from 4wd’ers. Hope it works for you!
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby EGM » Thu 04 Nov, 2021 11:56 am

So we made a late start leaving from Melbourne on Sunday and beginning the walk about 4:30 pm.

We followed mostly the same route as mentioned above. The first 750m are probably the hardest of the whole walk and stiff legs from the car made the climb less than enjoyable.
There were plenty of climbers around but they were pretty much the only people we saw the whole time.

We went up Stapylton and then continued the loop but we only followed about half of the new GPT path opting to walk a fire road that was marked on our 2014 SV map then road bashed to camp (although they are marked as 4x4 tracks they are just gravel roads and most cars could drive them).

The 4x4 Coppermine camp is fairly small and although fully booked it was quiet.
The group site has one toilet and water tank in the same set up although the tank was bone dry which was odd seeings as there has been so much rain.
The GPT pops out almost exactly half way inbetween the camps, about 400m to each. There is a sealed plastic water tank where the GPT crosses the road which was full and where we filled up.

The walking on the second day was fairly easy and quick until the descent to the carpark.

We had clear skies throughout with it being hot during the day and cold overnight, getting down to about 3.
It was very dry and dusty, we didn't come across any running water but we also weren't looking.

Total distance was 15.8 km and I took note of distance between turns if anyone is interested. The first day took about 3:45 and the second was 1:45.

It was a great trip to get back into it post lockdown, our first since May.

Thank you to ggorgeman for the inspiration and advice.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby ggorgeman » Mon 08 Nov, 2021 11:01 am

Great report, glad to hear it went well. It is a lovely loop for an overnighter with plenty of flexibility to vary it depending on need. Will be interesting to see the effect that the opening of GPT has on traffic there.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby AndyCJ » Fri 07 Oct, 2022 10:46 pm

This post is a bit old, but this loop looks awesome!

Does anyone who has done this have a gpx for it?
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby EGM » Sat 08 Oct, 2022 12:30 pm

When I did it I just had screenshots of online maps and photos of my topo map of the area. And that was before the GPT was open so some of it wasn't signposted but I still had no trouble.

I did record the walk on my watch but now the GPT I'd open I don't think there's any point where you would need a GPS route, a map will suffice.

FYI I don't think you're really meant to camp where we did.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby AndyCJ » Sun 09 Oct, 2022 6:58 pm

Cool, thanks! I've been looking at making a route with Gaia so I'm sure it'll be fine. I do actually know the area from years ago climbing so I'm sure it'll be good.

I'm thinking for the camping that I'll book Copper Mine...but if it's *&%$#! with 4WD dudes then we'll just head off into the bush. There's lots of good spots there and back down towards the old Stapleton camp. I've got some pretty stealth gear if it comes down to that.

Thanks for letting me know.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby CraigVIC » Mon 10 Oct, 2022 3:26 am

As long as you are not within one kilometer of the Stapylton camp you can camp anywhere in the area around Copermine quite openly. This will change, but not for another year.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby Biggles » Mon 10 Oct, 2022 4:32 pm

AndyCJ wrote:Cool, thanks! I've been looking at making a route with Gaia so I'm sure it'll be fine. I do actually know the area from years ago climbing so I'm sure it'll be good.

I'm thinking for the camping that I'll book Copper Mine...but if it's *&%$#! with 4WD dudes then we'll just head off into the bush. There's lots of good spots there and back down towards the old Stapleton camp. I've got some pretty stealth gear if it comes down to that.

Thanks for letting me know.



You can be assured of the 4WD clans Coppermine. I have not and will not camp there for just that reason. Others still are the bogans with music turned up off the scale, raucous singing, drinking, swearing and carrying on. Good luck!
“Is é comhrá faoin aimsir an tearmann deiridh ag an duine gan samhlaíocht.”
—Oscar Wilde, 1890.
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Re: Mt Stapylton loop plus (incl some GPT)

Postby AndyCJ » Mon 10 Oct, 2022 9:13 pm

Yeah, now that I've done a bit of looking, and checking Gaia for routes I'm thinking I'll push to Barigar and check out one of the GPT sites. Do the loop over two days, plus that'll add elevation which is good too.

I'm too old for loud music and drinking in the bush....although come to think of it I never liked that to start off with!!
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