Bogong Loop the 2nd time, 8/9/10/11/ November

[Camminata]

After completing this loop 4 years ago with a good mate, we thought its time to do it again as its a great route and my fav in the Bogongs.


Day 1- Mountain Creek to Bogong Creek saddle 15

We headed off from inner north of Melbourne around 10am a later start than usual, arriving at the mountain creek car park around 2ish and only one other car there we knew we had most the mountains to ourselves , bonus of going midweek and also post long weekend.
headed up the fire road and started the ascent up the staircase, was a touch warm and sweaty going but we made good progress and were up on the summit in approx 4 and half hours just on sundown, the temperature was dropping fast so was time to layer up. made our way over the plateau and as night fell we were navigating down Quartz Ridge by headlamp, to the west we were treated to a amazing lightning storm in the distance, every few seconds the sky would light up we stopped for a few minutes to take it all in.
Was getting on 9:30pm we decided to stop at the next flat saddle to call it a night and fall an hour short of making it to Bogong Creek saddle, after dinner we bunkered in our tents looking forward to a good nights sleep, having checked the forecasts prior and radar looked the storms were either Side of us and would miss us, by 11 it started raining and a storm hit us with thunder over our heads it was a scary and sleepless night , with every lit sky I would wait for the thunder and brace myself , on top of this I had a small leak of water dripping thru the fly zipper landing my head (time for a new tent) not much sleep was had.

Day 2 - Grey Hills to Ropers Hut

After both having a rough nights sleep the mood and morale was sour ,my mates tent was leaking also and was up all night too, thought was only me having a crap night.
We walked an hour down to the saddle stocking up on water we headed up the Grey Hills , was around 11:30 am ...
Its a tough slog the terrain here is by far the roughest on this route but the views are also great, the first half up the Mt Arthur 4 years ago we lost the trail and bashed our way thru thick bush , lucky this time it was clear! ... was around 5:30pm finally making it to Spion Kopje the last climb over Crows Nest zapped the last of my energy and was a slow walk to Ropers Hut we arrived just after sundown. A green curry with vegetables went down a treat , with the place to ourselves i was too lazy to set up a tent and decided to sleep in the Hut
Had a good nights sleep apart from the mice making a racket but they soon too went to sleep.

Day 3- Ropers to Michell Hut

Waking up refreshed we headed down Duane spur to big river , we were looking forward to having a dip in the river the sun was out and was warming up... after an hour down the river sipping on coffee and beautiful dip we headed up T Spur aiming to reach Michell Hut on Eskadale Spur to have a short easier walk back to cars next day, the last time we attempted this we bailed somewhere near the Rock Saddle on the open plains towards Bogong summit , as we got caught out in a storm having been drenched with cold wind and rain we retreated back to Cleve Cole (was early March '19) this time was clear blue skies and a slight breeze we stopped at the rock saddle for a tea and snack.
Was around 6pm we got to Michell Hut all happy we made it to camp in daylight with plenty of time to relax.

Day 4- Michell Hut to Mountain Creek.

Not much to report but the road bash back to the car is effing! tedious, last time we hitched a ride back from the bottom of Eskdale Spur.
Its a great loop maybe next time we will do it reverse.

[Baeng72]

Nice one!
And at a sensible pace too!
I love thunderstorms, but might be a different attitude if the only protection is a bit of 20d silnylon.
Where is that photo with the water and stepping stones taken?
This looks great, but the Dwayne Spur/ T Spur combo is too fresh in my mind to contemplate having a go in the near future.
I’ve only done the walk from Mountain Creek to Eskdale trailhead once, at start of hike and it didn’t bother me, but I can imagine on day 4 it’s be in the ‘I’m over this’ basket.

[paidal_chalne_vala]

The photo with the creek and stepping stones looks a lot like Camp Creek Valley on Mt. Bogong , near the turn off to Howman's falls. The track from there goes up to Cleve Cole hut.
@Baeng72
You have yet to walk up Long Spur to reach Cleve Cole hut. You will encounter Camp creek valley on Mt. Bogong
should you walk that route. The Mt. Wills to Mt. Bogong trek is 20 kms one way Mt. Wills summit hut to Cleve Cole hut.
Allow 12 hours one way !

[Baeng72]

Ha! That would explain it. I did that after dark in thick fog. I remember crossing a stream and stones vaguely but was focused on not going *&%$#! up and getting to camp.

[Camminata]

The photo with the creek and stepping stones looks a lot like Camp Creek Valley on Mt. Bogong , near the turn off to Howman's falls. The track from there goes up to Cleve Cole hut.
@Baeng72
You have yet to walk up Long Spur to reach Cleve Cole hut. You will encounter Camp creek valley on Mt. Bogong
should you walk that route. The Mt. Wills to Mt. Bogong trek is 20 kms one way Mt. Wills summit hut to Cleve Cole hut.
Allow 12 hours one way !

Yeah second pic somewhere around there before Howman turnoff

[Camminata]

Nice one!
And at a sensible pace too!
I love thunderstorms, but might be a different attitude if the only protection is a bit of 20d silnylon.
Where is that photo with the water and stepping stones taken?
This looks great, but the Dwayne Spur/ T Spur combo is too fresh in my mind to contemplate having a go in the near future.
I’ve only done the walk from Mountain Creek to Eskdale trailhead once, at start of hike and it didn’t bother me, but I can imagine on day 4 it’s be in the ‘I’m over this’ basket.

Thanks mate

T spur is a walk in the park after grinding out the Grey Hills day before IMO

[paidal_chalne_vala]

I too find the Grey Hills to be a little taxing. The Tee Spur is just a steady grind up hill.

[Camminata]

I too find the Grey Hills to be a little taxing. The Tee Spur is just a steady grind up hill.

its steady but also terrain is not rough under foot.

[Baeng72]

I too find the Grey Hills to be a little taxing. The Tee Spur is just a steady grind up hill.

Well, I'm glad I didn't go via the Grey Hills then.
T Spur is not what I'd call steady, steep at the bottom, OK in the middle, steep at top.
I've still got a bit of fitness to gain then to be able to dismiss Dwayne/T Spur combo as a walk in the park.
I reckon a loop Watchbed Creek, then Big River Firetrail, camp at Helipad, then Grey Hills to Watchbed creek would be possible in a weekend.
Another loop within my ability I suspect would be Staircase, Granite Spur, Big River firetrail and camp at Ropers, then Dwayne-T Spur slog starting about 5am so I miss the heat, and hobble down Eskdale/Mountain Creek road, that could be a weekend, though be better if first day finished at Big River campsite.
Anyway, got my eye on checking out Mt. Howitt area again in the near future while there's still water.

[paidal_chalne_vala]

You mean the Quartz Ridge. Granite Flat spur access comes up from the Hollow way Logging road. It is a good way to approach Mt. Bogong.
Why not camp at Cairn Creek hut ? . You know you want to !
Speaking of the Buller/ Howitt area ,I am going up Mt. McDonald's North Spur soon. I hope the weather stays mild.

Walkers can access The Grey Hills/ Mt. Arthur and the Quartz Ridge/ Cairn Creek Hut trails
via the Bogong Creek tram way which leads up to the Big River firetrail and
Bogong Creek saddle. Parking is near The Clover Arboretum on the Falls Creek - BHP road.
I have walked all of these routes so I am not just making stuff up.

[Baeng72]

You mean the Quartz Ridge. Granite Flat spur access comes up from the Hollow way Logging road. It is a good way to approach Mt. Bogong.
Why not camp at Cairn Creek hut ? . You know you want to !
Speaking of the Buller/ Howitt area ,I am going up Mt. McDonald's North Spur soon. I hope the weather stays mild.

I'm useless, not sure why I keep calling Quartz Ridge, Granite Spur. Clearly an idiot, but as I mentioned, Granite is mostly quartz, so.....maybe that's stuck in my head?
Granite is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase.
I'll get it right one day. (I probably won't).
Cairn Creek Hut would be nice on a loop from Watchbed Creek, or maybe Camp Creek Gap-Eskdale-T Spur-Dwayne Spur, Big River Firetrail-Cairn Creek Hut, then next day Quartz Ridge, and back to Camp Creek Gap, followed by interrment or cremation.

Mt. McDonald seems interesting too! I want to climb the Bluff from Fridge gap at some stage and camp at Lovicks or something like that, though might only get to Bluff Hut.
But I'm thinking out to Mt. Spec or something at the moment, subject to change.

[Baeng72]

Walkers can access The Grey Hills/ Mt. Arthur and the Quartz Ridge/ Cairn Creek Hut trails
via the Bogong Creek tram way which leads up to the Big River firetrail and
Bogong Creek saddle. Parking is near The Clover Arboretum on the Falls Creek - BHP road.
I have walked all of these routes so I am not just making stuff up.

Missed this bit...
I'll check that out. As long as parking isn't in Bogong Village.

[Camminata]

You mean the Quartz Ridge. Granite Flat spur access comes up from the Hollow way Logging road. It is a good way to approach Mt. Bogong.
Why not camp at Cairn Creek hut ? . You know you want to !
Speaking of the Buller/ Howitt area ,I am going up Mt. McDonald's North Spur soon. I hope the weather stays mild.

I'm useless, not sure why I keep calling Quartz Ridge, Granite Spur. Clearly an idiot, but as I mentioned, Granite is mostly quartz, so.....maybe that's stuck in my head?
Granite is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase.
I'll get it right one day. (I probably won't).
Cairn Creek Hut would be nice on a loop from Watchbed Creek, or maybe Camp Creek Gap-Eskdale-T Spur-Dwayne Spur, Big River Firetrail-Cairn Creek Hut, then next day Quartz Ridge, and back to Camp Creek Gap, followed by interrment or cremation.

Mt. McDonald seems interesting too! I want to climb the Bluff from Fridge gap at some stage and camp at Lovicks or something like that, though might only get to Bluff Hut.
But I'm thinking out to Mt. Spec or something at the moment, subject to change.

Say DWAYNE one more time and ill........

[paidal_chalne_vala]

Don't camp at Lovicks hut in green season. There are too many 4 x 4 enthusiasts there IMHO plus all the horsey people too. Rev Rev, Giddy up !The same can be said about the Bluff hut.
Parking at Clover arboretum is easy and has nothing to do with Bogong Village.

[Baeng72]

Say DWAYNE one more time and ill........

Well, as I've freely admitted, I'm an idiot.

[Baeng72]

Walkers can access The Grey Hills/ Mt. Arthur and the Quartz Ridge/ Cairn Creek Hut trails
via the Bogong Creek tram way which leads up to the Big River firetrail and
Bogong Creek saddle. Parking is near The Clover Arboretum on the Falls Creek - BHP road.
I have walked all of these routes so I am not just making stuff up.

I stumbled across a post of yours on Ski.com which mentions the tramway, and a pretty sketchy looking pipe crossing along that route, and it also seems a long way to get to BHP/Mt. Bogong.
Although, there doesn't appear to be a short-way to get to the Helipad and it's probably good for that, save the sketchy pipe crossing that I'd fall off.
Come white-season, the idea of driving up to Howmans Gap and walking from there seems interesting, but they'd probably mandate chains, those nanny-staters you rail against, I guess.
Anyway, I've polluted this thread sufficiently.

[paidal_chalne_vala]

You are not allowed to park at Howman's gap according to your own wishes during the ski season.
Just take the bus up to Falls Creek from Tawonga south.
Chains were being fitted to ALL CARS at the Fainters Falls Car park
in late June 2023( only 4 WD and AWD were excepted).
That is a long way down the BHP road.
Other ways to reach the general area include
The BIG RIVER fire trail starting from the BHP road.At present that
route is blocked by a land slip and Parks Vic. are waiting for the Dept. of name changes & /
or AGL to bring a Bulldozer to clear the route.
The Bogong Creek Tramway is a good walk and route up to Bogong Creek Saddle. Allow a day to reach Bogong Creek saddle.

Anyway I enjoyed reading the trip report and will be back up in that area next month.

[ggorgeman]

Thanks for the report, very interesting (and entertaining). Will add that loop to the gonna-one-day list.
Cheers

[Camminata]

You are not allowed to park at Howman's gap according to your own wishes during the ski season.
Just take the bus up to Falls Creek from Tawonga south.
Chains were being fitted to ALL CARS at the Fainters Falls Car park
in late June 2023( only 4 WD and AWD were excepted).
That is a long way down the BHP road.
Other ways to reach the general area include
The BIG RIVER fire trail starting from the BHP road.At present that
route is blocked by a land slip and Parks Vic. are waiting for the Dept. of name changes & /
or AGL to bring a Bulldozer to clear the route.
The Bogong Creek Tramway is a good walk and route up to Bogong Creek Saddle. Allow a day to reach Bogong Creek saddle.

Anyway I enjoyed reading the trip report and will be back up in that area next month.

Will try get to Cairn Creek Hut next time if time allows.

[Camminata]

Thanks for the report, very interesting (and entertaining). Will add that loop to the gonna-one-day list.
Cheers

Cheers

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

You are not allowed to park at Howman's gap according to your own wishes during the ski season.
Just take the bus up to Falls Creek from Tawonga south.
Chains were being fitted to ALL CARS at the Fainters Falls Car park
in late June 2023( only 4 WD and AWD were excepted).
That is a long way down the BHP road.
Other ways to reach the general area include
The BIG RIVER fire trail starting from the BHP road.At present that
route is blocked by a land slip and Parks Vic. are waiting for the Dept. of name changes & /
or AGL to bring a Bulldozer to clear the route.
The Bogong Creek Tramway is a good walk and route up to Bogong Creek Saddle. Allow a day to reach Bogong Creek saddle.

Anyway I enjoyed reading the trip report and will be back up in that area next month.

Another alternative... Only a few hours to bogong ck saddle if you go in from bogong village via black possum spur? Track is a bit rough though between the fire trail and the top of mt arthur, but manageable... was maybe 2 to 3 hours in the opposite direction (memory is a bit hazy as i was coming out on the last day off a 7 day walk.... had started from bogong village a week earlier heading west towards bogong jack and came all the way around via jaitmathangs/feathertop/hotham/BHP and bogong) so maybe would allow 3 to 4 going in to bogong ck saddle as it's predominantly uphill?

Sent from my SM-S906E using Tapatalk

[paidal_chalne_vala]

AFAIK Bogong village is entirely a NO GO ZONE due to the landslip repair/ construction works on the Bogong High Plains road.
The Cable track down to the Junction picnic ground( near the Bogong Village tennis courts) did look open when I drove past on the BHP road , not long ago. From the Junction picnic ground you cross the bridge over the creek and start the brutally steep ascent to Mt. Arthur's summit via the Mt. Arthur fire trail and Black Possum spur track.
I have walked down that route and I have filed it under " NEVER AGAIN".
Type 7 fun writ large !.

[eggs]

Bit of a side question? What is the road like up to Granite Flat gate [The Hollow Way?]
Thinking of trying that approach soon.

[Xplora]

Bit of a side question? What is the road like up to Granite Flat gate [The Hollow Way?]
Thinking of trying that approach soon.

Last I drove through it was fine. Been some work around there recently. I take it you mean coming from Tawonga side and not Mitta Mitta.

[Camminata]

Extended detail report....





After completing this loop 5 years ago with a good mate, we thought its time to revisit ,as its a great route and our favourite in the Bogongs.


Day 1- Mountain Creek to Bogong Creek saddle. 15 kms

We headed off from inner north of Melbourne around 10am a later start than usual, was certainly a buzz of excitement as we hadn’t hiked together for a good 2 years & every time we go away seems to always turn into an epic.

After a lunch in Myrtleford we drove the last 1 half hours to Mountain Creek car park arriving a bit after 2 pm, only 1 other car was here so we knew we had the mountains to ourselves , bonus of going midweek and post long weekend.
We headed up the firetrail to the Staircase Spur trailhead, after signing the intentions log book we started the steep walk up was approx 3pm.
Now 1 thing to note here is my hike companion Spira is a Masterchef in the wilderness for this trip we decided to share our dinners , making my backpack weight a lot heavier than normal but more on this later.
We dropped packs and refuel of water at the Bivouc Hut which sits at 1450 meters ASL was warm and sweaty but we were making good progress just the final stretch now lay ahead to the summit , after 4 and half hours we were on top of summit cairn and on sundown, the temperature had dropped a lot so was time to layer up and head to intended camp spot at Bogong Creek saddle , as night fell we navigated down Quartz Ridge by headlamp, to the west we were treated to an amazing lightning storm in the distance, every few seconds the sky would light up, we stopped for a few minutes to take it all in.
Was getting on 9:30pm and decided to stop at the next flat open area to camp and fall an hour short of making it to Bogong Creek saddle.
After pitching our tents we started dinner, on the menu was rice with broccolini , tuna, anchovies and snake bean… fantastic as we were hungry!
After dinner we retreated to our tents and looking forward to a good nights sleep “weather gods had other ideas!”.
We checked the forecasts & radar prior and knew we had storms to the west and north east of us looked to be missing us.
Approx 11:30 pm started to rain then a storm hit us with thunder and lightning which felt with every crack of thunder would shake my body from the inside it was terrifying!! with every lit sky I would brace myself waiting for the thunder, to add the seam tape on the fly was leaking water into my tent directly on my head causing anxiety for most the night , I ended up using my rain jacket on top of my pillow and slipping my head under the jacket to stop the drip on my head “Chinese torture method!” My sleep bag was also getting a little wet at the foot end because I was pressed against the inner of tent to the fly sheet .
Was a sleepless night the rain subsided a bit after 4am.
Prior to the rain arriving and the storm , bug light insects invaded my tent and would be buzzing in my face driving me crazy, one actually flew deep into my ear driving me more insane for a good ten minutes , luckily it flew out.

Day 2: Ropers Hut Via The Grey Hills - 16kms

After both having a rough night with little to no sleep the mood & morale was sour, Spira’s tent also had a leak and was up all night too, I thought was just me having a bad night, after exchanging stories of the night, we walked an hour down to the saddle stocking up on water and started the ascent on the Grey Hills to Mt Arthur was 11:30am
Terrain on this part of the route is very rough under foot, the first 3 km up to Mt Arthur 5 years ago we lost the trail and bashed our way thru thick scrub, lucky this time it was clear!
Once pass Mt Arthur its all undulating to with the odd steep pinch along the way.
Spira was match fit having just walking the Larapinta trail he stormed ahead, I was certainly feeling it as am not used to carrying 19kg of gourmet foods including cans of coconut cream, tuna sweet potatoes..etc….LOL.
My left shoulder had a sharp needle pain aswell as lower back slowing me right down, the last push off the Grey Hills involves climbing up Crows Nest and then onto the firetrail Spion Kopje.
My energy reserves were zapped as we got onto the firetrail around 5:30pm.
We headed for Ropers Hut , my slow pace meant Spira offering to take a couple of kilos off me hopefully relieving the weight and pain on my shoulders which felt I was carrying a bus, had a headache also , I dragged my feet at snail pace the 5 kms on Slpion Kopje to the junction.
My mind wanted to walk but my legs didn’t want to walk no more.
Spira was well ahead and as fading light come and temperature dropping I had vision that he was already at the Hut and when I arrive the fire would be lit and green curry ready for when I limp thru the door
Just a pipe dream, finally making it to the junction we walked the final 3 km into camp by headlamp arriving 8:30 pm, by this stage I gave myself a 10% chance of continuing on tomorrow and started to think of escape plan to abort the hike I was toasted. Spira was also feeling it after 11 hours on our feet.
After another yummy dinner of vegetable green curry we retreated to bed, I was too lazy to setup and a tent and having the place to ourselves I decide to sleep in the hut, had a good nights sleep part from the mice making a racket but they soon too went to sleep.

Day 3- Ropers Hut to Michell Hut 14 kms

Surprisingly waking up refreshed free of painful shoulders and lower back I was good to push on!
We headed down Duane Spur to Big river , the sun was out blue skies and was warming up , we spent an hour down at the river having a refreshing dip and snacks with coffee
We made the stiff climb up the T Spur, our aim for today was to reach Michell Hut on Eskdale Spur giving us a shorter walk back to car next day.
The last time we attempted this we bailed somewhere near the Rock Saddle on the exposed plains towards Bogong summit as we got caught out in a storm been drenched with cold wind and rain we retreated back to Cleve Cole Hut (was early March 19’)
This time was clear blues skies and gentle breeze we stopped at the Rock saddle for tea and a snack , todays walking was relaxed having no rush we were excited to be arriving to camp well before sundown and plenty of time to relax , was around 6 pm arriving at the hut.
Dinner was spaghetti alla puttanesca , all meals cooked from scratch “Cheers Masterchef Spira!” was a nice evening with nice sunset , was in bed by sundown and drifted off by 9:30pm.

Day 4- Michell Hut to Mountain Creek 12 kms

Having slept a good 9 hours we had a lazy morning over breakfast and Macedonian style coffee , we headed down Eskdale Spur in another stunning day sunshine blue skies.
The walk back to the car involved 7 km of road bash from the bottom of Eskdale Spur. Not much to report really but its really tedious boring walk, last time we managed to hitch a ride back to the car, but having the whole mountain range to ourselves not a soul in sight.
A dip in the river and lunch was enjoyed before heading back to Melbourne , we decided it was a better ending than previous time of walking this loop and more of an epic.
Next time we will attempt it reverse in another 4 to 5 years time!.
The end………

[paidal_chalne_vala]

A good trip report. Look at One Planet back packs for better comfortable ergonomic load carrying and their tents are good too. All made in Melbourne AFAIK.

[Camminata]

A good trip report. Look at One Planet back packs for better comfortable ergonomic load carrying and their tents are good too. All made in Melbourne AFAIK.

I use a One Planet backpack Tarkine 85 litre , purchased at the Little Bourke st store few years ago. the extra weight didn't agree with me.

[paidal_chalne_vala]

I have a Tarkine Pack too. The Toolangi model is lighter but has fewer attachment points for winter ski touring gear such as snow shovel,bow saw etc. etc..
I might get the Toolangi pack for green season hiking.

[Camminata]

I have a Tarkine Pack too. The Toolangi model is lighter but has fewer attachment points for winter ski touring gear such as snow shovel,bow saw etc. etc..
I might get the Toolangi pack for green season hiking.

You just brought the one planet yeah I vaguely remember a trip report to the prom to test it out ??? they are great packs smart design having the water bottle pockets close to body

my hike companion on this trip also uses one.

[eggs]

I was not aware you could get to Granite Flat via Tawonga? Are Mountain Creek Rd and Camp Creek road accessible?