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Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Tue 30 Oct, 2018 7:56 am

Bounced off the trail a few days ago after 15 days of solo wandering East to West (Yass to Albury)... a fairly quiet journey, great sunny weather, not a single other hiker encountered.
I was typically 4 days or so between speaking to another human. :)

This somewhat derided long walk has some fantastic sections of single-track trail, most notably through Bago State Forest and also a fair amount of road bashing, even though that didn't really bother me- it was the long sections skirting the pine plantations around Blowering Dam that grinded the most.

I was inspired by the historical aspect of the journey and the hardships endured by Mr Hume & Mr Hovell but found the multitude of interpretive signage relating to the former mining history boring as bat@#$%, historical junk can't really compare with mountain vistas and clear running streams I reckon.

Still, along with the lush farm land encountered it is an accurate representation of modern day New South Wales and what the physical condition of the land is these days. I enjoyed it all immensely and especially the friendly trail towns of Tumut & Tumbarumba where I resupplied in the local supermarkets.

Resources: I utilised the John Daly guidebook notes. Slightly out of date but mostly solid info. The official maps were helpful too.

Signage: Very good. The trail was clear of obstructions for the most part, markers everywhere. Only one section South of Samuel Bollard campsite where a landowner has recently ripped up stiles and markers whilst installing new fencing caused a bit of excitement.

Water: Some shelters had water tanks attached, otherwise numerous creeks provided. I filtered with a Sawyer at all times. There is a heck of alot of blackberry in some parts of the valleys so accessing the water courses isn't always straight forward.

Camping: I plopped the tent up wherever I finished at the end of the day. Sometimes it was at a shelter. Other days it was on a flat bit of ground near the trail. No one was around to care what I did.

Footwear: I walked in a mixture of Bedrock sandals on the flat dry stuff and Topo MT2 trail runners on the bumpy terrain.

Fauna: A few snakes, loads of Brumbies, deer, fantastic birdlife, foxes, wild dogs (not a threat), hundreds of wombats and roos...

Logistics: The boat crossing at Burrinjuck Waters is likely to be the only potential roadblock if the weather is iffy, I advised my estimated arrival date then ended up rocking up a day early and Dean the boat man scooted me across straight away.

I called a taxi to scoop me up and get me into Tumut, a local dropped me back the next day.

In Tumbarumba I paid the operators of the caravan park where I stayed for a lift both ways to and from the Henry Angle Trackhead.


All up a varied and worthwhile fortnight of walking. Easy join-the-dots-navigation and much appreciated solitude.

Any questions, ask away. Blog post: http://www.safarihiker.com/
Last edited by safari on Mon 05 Nov, 2018 10:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Tue 30 Oct, 2018 11:10 am

Thanks for the info mate.

I bought a little information wallet thingy years ago with intention of doing this walk but never got around to it. Now the missus is getting interested in bushwalking without the bush bashing this could be a good option??

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Mon 05 Nov, 2018 10:28 pm

Ha ha! Absolutely as long as you know what you are getting into and enjoy a variety of landscapes (open farmland, lush forest, plantation forest and waterways)...can't go wrong. :-)

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Tue 06 Nov, 2018 4:10 am

A track I’ve always been keen to do. Looks like you had some pretty solid days.


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Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Mon 12 Nov, 2018 11:57 am

thanks for your posts. Such summations and updates are very helpful

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Sat 16 Mar, 2019 8:50 pm

Good summary, thanks for taking the time to write it up.
I have just sat down to browse your blog now, looks like some great reading.

I also have an interest in a trail that is not seen as a 'real' bushwalk, I would like to tick off sections of the BNT over time. I love the bush, but as much as that, I just like walking. My only concern with roadwalks isn't the road walking itself but rather my own personal security- although I am probably more at risk walking to the carpark after work late at night at the hospital I work at. I can deal with some fire trails and road walks if that is what needs to happen to connect all the dots of the bigger picture walk.

Anyway, long way to say cheers for the report!

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Mon 25 Mar, 2019 7:22 am

Thanks for the write up- very helpful. Looks like lots of 30 days for you- what was the longest days and would you say it was relatively easy to do those km or were there some challenging days?
Also - the wild dogs- freaks me out. Where abouts did you encounter them and how did you handle the interaction?
Thank you
Nathan

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Fri 29 Mar, 2019 3:59 pm

Hi there. We will be walking the Hume and Hovell track soon, from end to end. I have read the official Hume and Hovell news site for updates about the track but would appreciate any other current condition information about the track condition we should be aware of, if anyone has walked it recently.
Also, we are wondering whether the Hume and Hovell camp site at Blowering Dam is actually accessible by car (it is not clear from maps whether there is a locked gate before there).
thanks

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Tue 02 Apr, 2019 1:33 pm

Ms_Mudd wrote:Good summary, thanks for taking the time to write it up.
I have just sat down to browse your blog now, looks like some great reading.

I also have an interest in a trail that is not seen as a 'real' bushwalk, I would like to tick off sections of the BNT over time. I love the bush, but as much as that, I just like walking. My only concern with roadwalks isn't the road walking itself but rather my own personal security- although I am probably more at risk walking to the carpark after work late at night at the hospital I work at. I can deal with some fire trails and road walks if that is what needs to happen to connect all the dots of the bigger picture walk.

Anyway, long way to say cheers for the report!


Totally agree regarding roadwalking being a hazard rather than just a drudge and bore- sadly there are some crazies out there that seem happy to mow hikers and cyclists down like skittles.

And I appreciate your kind words and encouragement, thanking you!

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Tue 02 Apr, 2019 1:55 pm

solohiker wrote:Thanks for the write up- very helpful. Looks like lots of 30 days for you- what was the longest days and would you say it was relatively easy to do those km or were there some challenging days?
Also - the wild dogs- freaks me out. Where abouts did you encounter them and how did you handle the interaction?
Thank you
Nathan


Longest days; physically day 11 from the Horse Creek campsite to bombing out at 9pm in a random spot in Woomargama National Park wrecked me. A fair bit of up & down, some asphalt road walking, and getting lost for over 2 hours due to an unsigned detour (it was advised online via the official HHWT website though) tested me. :D

I found the mileage overall enough to send me off to a deep sleep every night and get the tent up before dark. I don't hike particularly fast, just consistent with a light pack weight. Everyone's different I guess but I think there are some hard steep pinches on the trail and plenty of opportunities to bash out the flat easy sections quite quickly if you are inclined.

Wild dogs- I read a fair bit about them beforehand and also sighted a few in the dense forests, thinking near Buddong Falls- but they always ran away from me and apart from hearing sporadic howling at night I forgot they were around. The occasional large male brumby tailing me and snorting and getting a bit worked up was far more visceral although probably not a threat.

Cheers for the interest Nathan!

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Wed 01 May, 2019 1:54 pm

Any views on which is the best direction to walk i.e. Yass to Albury or Albury to Yass? Thanks

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Wed 01 May, 2019 6:09 pm

We went northbound, but mainly because we have rels in CBR. Took 31.5 days from Woomargama.

Cheers
Roger

Re: Hume & Hovell Track Oct 2018

Thu 02 May, 2019 4:10 pm

I went southbound because I'm from Vic, did my food drops on the way, left the car at Yass, caught the Vline bus from Albury back to Yass. 12 Days to walk to Albury, 3.5hrs on the bus back to Yass!! After walking it, couldn't see much difference in walking from either end, depends on your logistics.
Cheers
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