Mt Zeil - NT's highest peak (The State 8)

Last year we'd tried to climb Mt Zeil, but with the summit cairn in sight, had to give up. We had hiked in from Redbank Gorge on a three day hike. This time we had permission from the NT Parks and the local pastoral station.

SUMMARY - Mt Zeil
State 8	Northern Territory's highest peak
Location	West MacDonnell Ranges, west of Alice Springs
Access	Glen Helen Station and West MacDonnell National Park
PERMISSION REQUIRED	Contact both: Gary Weir, Deputy Chief Ranger, West MacDonnell National Park Gary.Weir@nt.gov.au (08) 8951 8273 0405 603 152 Fax (08) 8951 8290 Ian Morton, Glen Helen Station - pastoral property (not to be confused with Glen Helen Resort) (08) 08 8956 8548 or (08) 8952 3063
Maps	1:50 000 topographic Special map - contact Rangers at West MacDonnell National Park to obtain. 1:250 000 SF53-13 Hermannsburg (this map is not sufficient alone, use in combination with 1:50 000 map available from rangers)
Time	4 hours up
Route	Follow long western spur
Start elevation	650m
Peak elevation	1531m

We drove the three hours in from Alice Springs, along the Tanami Track, Gary Junction Road (Papunya Road), then on station tracks through Glen Helen Station to the base of the western spur of Mt Zeil.

With the pre-dawn moon, we hiked across the plains to the base of the spur. As day broke, we climbed up to the plateau some 380 above the plains (at 1070m). There are various routes to choose from to access the grassy plateau. From here we tried following the official route provided by Parks NT, which is to skirt around the ridge peaks. We found this to be tricky: it was harder to navigate, psychologically harder, harder to walk on a constant side incline, and having to dodge obstacles such as patches of rocks or denser vegetation. Soon, we instead followed the ridge, it was much easier. It was easier to navigate, and the ridgeline was clearer of rocks and vegetation.

Reaching the summit in four hours, and whilst filling in the logbook, updated my Facebook status - yes, there was Telstra NextG coverage.

This summitting was my second attempt, I had tried last year to come in from Redbank Gorge as a three day trip, but did not quite reach the summit.

This was part of Ricky, Paul and my State 8 challenge - to hike the highest summit in each of Australia's eight states and territories. For all of us, this was Number Six, although we differ in which ones remain.

Thanks to my traveling companions, Ricky and Paul, and some of their photos are included below.

View photos on Google+.

View in full screen format PERMISSION IS REQUIRED, and highly recommended, to access and climb this peak. Detailed maps and advice will also be provided when permission is granted. Download GPX file of Mt Zeil climb - for use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit Download KML file of Mt Zeil climb - view in Google Earth

Stats	Mt Zeil
	Monday
	9/7/2012
	Up	Down
Distance	10.3km	10.1km
Start Time	6.08am	11.52am
End Time	11.04am	3.14pm
Moving Duration	3h17m	2h52m
Total Time	4h47m	3h22m
Moving Average	3.1km/h	3.5km/h
Overall Average	2.1m/h	3.0km/h

Dibber Dobber Dabber

Well no-one dibber dobbed, but we did finish off our three day trek hiking up Mt Dib and Mt Dab, and um, Dob, and a little of Deb. Leaving our campsite, we started our summit attempt on Mt Dab, until it became clear it was Deb, or at least not Dib or Dab. Progressing across the saddle to Mt Dab, then onto Mt Dib, which was most certainly Mt Dab... oops. Every time we reached a summmit we saw another, readjusting our minds to exactly which ones were Mt Dib and Mt Dab.

SUMMARY - Aroona Valley to Blinman Pools, return via Wild Dog Creek
Start	Aroona Valley Campsite
End	Aroona Valley Campsite
First Night	The Cascades
Second Night	Pigeon Bore
Time	3 days
Distance	57km

It wasn't the only navigational challenge we experienced, but our uncertainty added minimal distance to our three day trek. Navigation across the landscape is an element that makes a trek so good, opening up the possibilities of where we could go. Camping at The Cascades, a cross-country hike to Blinman Pools, hiking through the Wild Dog Creek canyon and summiting Mt Dib and Dab were the highlights of the weekend.



When we reached the Cascades mid-afternoon on Saturday, it was clear, even without a vote, that no-one was keen to continue on that afternoon to Blinman Pools. The Cascades were beautiful, it was clear, flowing water, the first water we had seen in a creek. Even more amazing, just a few hundred metres upstream, the creek was dry. The source was a spring - the water was warm, and there was plenty of it. We enjoyed our early camp with a camp fire and salmon and soft cheese crackers. Following the previous night's late arrival by bus, and our day's 20km hike, we retired early, to our already icy tents.

Sunday morning was cold, very cold, minus three. In the cold we set off with our daypacks, armed with Kate's 1:33 333 map and landscape familiarity from a recent rogaine, crossing the countryside to Blinman Pools. There was plenty of water in the pools, a stark contrast to what I saw when I was last here in the drought during 2007 - no horizon pool back then. The large, deep pool was irrestible, Ros and I jumped in for a swim - maybe the wrong verb, it was very cold, an instant brain freeze, so we scrambled out pretty quick.

We returned to our now dry tents, grabbing our packs and trying our hand at some creek navigation, always difficult in the Flinders Ranges. We lunched in a creek bed, each of us with varying degrees of lunch envy, before walking through Wild Dog Creek and onto the Heysen Trail, wandering south to Pigeon Bore. We made it in late, just after sunset, just managing to set up our tents before seeking out our torches.

We joined two other ABW groups around the fire, sharing our last rations of alcohol and chocolate.

Early on Monday, five dedicated walkers of the 12 strong group tackled Dib and Dab. We were rewarded with spectacular views of the Heysen Range, Wilpena Pound, and the landscape east all the way to Patawarta, all soaked in the early morning sun.

Maybe some more photos to come soon...

View in full screen format Download GPX file - for use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit Download KML file - view in Google Earth

Stats	Aroona Valley to Blinman Pools and return via Wild Dog Creek
	Saturday	Sunday	Sunday	Monday
	09/06/2012	10/06/2012	10/06/2012	11/06/2012
	Aroona Valley campsite to the Cascades	The Cascades to Blinman Pools and return	The Cascades to Pigeon Bore	Pigeon Bore to Mt Dib and Mt Dab, return to Pigeon Bore then to Aroona Valley campsite
Distance	19.9km	8.33km	18.93km (total 27.26km Sun)	9.51km
Start Time	8.43am	8.08am	11.33am	10.04am
End Time	2.37pm	10.45am	5.33pm	11.05am
Moving Duration	4h04m	2h0m	4h19m	2h31m
Stationary Duration	1h34m	1h01m	2h09m	36m
Moving Average	4.9km/h		4.4km/h	3.8km/h
Overall Average	3.4km/h		3.1km/h	3.1km/h
Oodometer	19.9km	28.23km	47.2km	56.9km

TRACK NOTES - Aroona Valley to Blinman Pools and return via Wild Dog Creek

Download larger version of track notes

Mt Crawford Forest

A wander through Mt Crawford Forest with the under 40s group from Adelaide Bushwalkers. Hot potatoes on the campfire and warm mushie bananas with infused chocolate, Kate set a high benchmark for our first hike.

SUMMARY - Mt Crawford with ABW u40s group
Start	Hale Conservation Park
End	Lucky Hit Farm
Time	2 days
Distance	27km

Oh, it's true, she cheated with the potatoes and bananas. No-one, well no sane person, would carry 12 potatoes and 12 bananas in their pack into the campsite of the first night for our two day hike. She smuggled them there with her car, caching them away behind a tree. We all approved of her cunning though, smart move.

There were 12 in our group, after the usual formalities of the car shuffle, we hiked our way through the southern end of Hale Conservation Park, somewhere I have never quite seen due to a too-deep river crossing last time I was there. A bit of scrub, a deep valley, a snack and rest on a ridgetop spur looking over the rolling farmland and forest - all very nice. Some of Warren Conservation Park - great scrub and views - then some country laneways, and eerie forest (forest is always good eerie, as the wind gently blows through the pine needles.) It's true, some of the intruders amongst us complained when bits of trail were overgrown, that every plant in Australia was sharp, overly pointy and liable to kill by a slow death of infection or annoyance (who can argue), but we all managed with it.

We camped overnight on the Heysen Trail's Scotts Camp. A nice shelter with water tank, fancy pants toilet (no pants required?), a sweet pine-needled forest floor for a soft mattress beneath the tents, and a nicely set up picnic table and circle of stones for a campfire.

We put the campfire to good use, as the wind came and went, and soft rain fell. The usual alcohol rations were pooled and divied up - no cheating there, it was all carried in. Some served at outside temperature (what's room temperature when you are camping?) and some warmed up, nice work Mark! I barely needed to eat my dinner with baked potatoes from the coals, and our cheese snacks - thanks for supplying the dual use cheese platter board hut-maintaining-people!

We sat around laughing, poking fun at each other and talking the shit, as one-by-one people slid off to their tents, as weary hikers are wont to do. A couple of newbies in our midst - new to hiking in Australia anyway - won the peoples' choice award for both lunch and dinner: fresh salad baguettes, steak on the campfire coals and freshly cooked vegies (who's jealous?).

Sunday morning, after a bit of rousing, we trundled out down the lane, following roads and fire tracks through forest, farmland and into the very nice Cromer Conservation Park. Yes, there were more fence crossings then promised, but it did not dimish from Kate's perfectly scored walk leading.

Not many photos for this one...

View in full screen format Download GPX file - for use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit Download KML file - view in Google Earth

Mawson Plateau traverse

A remote wilderness area in the Northern Flinders Ranges, the Mawson Plateau is almost untouched by people and their activities. There are no roads or tracks, no buildings or fences, and unlike much of the Northern Flinders Ranges, no history of mining.

Mawson Plateau, Northern Flinders Ranges

SUMMARY - Mawson Plateau traverse
Start	Mt Shanahan - northern tip of plateau where Granite Creek meets Hamilton Creek. Dropped off by heli-charter from Arkaroola.
End	Arkaroola
Time	6 days
Distance	90km
Mountain Ranges	Mawson Plateau and broader Northern Flinders Ranges
Topographic maps	1:250 000 scale Frome SH54-10; 1:50 000 scale Yudnamutana 6737-1; 1:50 000 scale Wooltana 6737-2
Pastoral Stations	Mt Freeling Station; Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary

La Nina, one of the weather phenomenons that so drastically affect Australia's weather patterns, brought the gift - as she is wont to do - of a huge downpour of rain to the deserts back in early March. Over five days 247mm fell at Arkaroola. It brought the rain we needed to make this hike possible. There are no rain gauges on the Mawson Plateau, which is a couple days walk north of Arkaroola Village, but it is thought that rainfall on the plateau is similar to the Gammon Ranges, both being of higher elevation than Arkaroola Village, so more rain falls.

Almost all the dirt roads across outback SA were closed in the days after the March deluge, and many had to be graded to be reopened. This kept grader operators busy, so the runway at Moolowatana Station, the first station and servicable runway north of the Mawson Plateau, was still damaged. So like last year, we had to charter a helicopter to drop us out. More expensive, but being able to drop us almost anywhere it saved us two days walking in from Moolowatana Station.

The plateau spans an area seven kilometres wide and 30 kilometres long. The area is littered with large areas of exposed granite, capturing water in numerous rockholes. Granite Creek and its many tributaries drain the plateau, flowing to the north to meet Hamilton Creek before making their way out to Lake Callabonna - one of the many large salt lakes that form a horseshoe around the Northern Flinders Ranges. Its highest point is Freeling Heights, a bluff on the south-western corner of the plateau. Originally the plateau was named Freeling Heights, but was later renamed in honour of Douglas Mawson.

The plateau is largely untouched, it's quite hard to find any sign of human impact. There are no roads or tracks, no buildings or fences, quite possibly no weeds (I've heard tell, I'm no expert), and little impact from feral animals, even goats (which are rampant in the Gammon Ranges to the south.) We found a couple of stardropper stakes in a clearing on our way up to Freeling Heights, marking the site of a government photo survey of vegetation. On stardroppers, one of the waterholes on upper Granite Creek is called Star Dropper Waterhole, so named after the single stardropper there that marks a corner boundary of the Arkaroola and Mount Freeling pastoral leases. We knew of this waterhole, we had seen photos, but did not know its exact location as the pastoral lease boundaries are not usually shown on the topographic maps. We did, unbeknownst to us at the time, see the waterhole on our return from the summit of Freeling Heights. In the back corner of a photo of the waterhole the star dropper can clearly be seen!

A single old track makes a small incursion on the plateau just south west of Mt Shanahan, an old mining track, the type such as litters the Northern Flinders Ranges. Without maintenance these tracks suffer from washaways and soon become undriveable. This one stretched a few hundred metres onto the plateau. It's unusual to hike in the Flinders Ranges somewhere that no 4WD could possibly travel, or has ever travelled.

There were are few other signs of human impact. Behind a rock above the Tee Junction Waterhole, one of the few permanent waterholes on the plateau (after decent rains it is thought to last ten years or so) we found an emergency cache of food and essential items. You know the essential things one might need: coffee, chocolate, cigarettes, toilet paper. From the logbook it seems to have been first placed there by Reg Sprigg in 1987, and has been well stocked since, very little was out of date. As the permanent waterhole, and one of the few named ones, it is a popular spot with hikers to camp at. That said, there were few entries in the logbook, but that may be due to hikers, such as us, not knowing the cache was there; we stumbled upon it on our second night there.

A couple of old stone cairns built by surveyors mark summits, there is one on Mt Shanahan, a summit which seems remarkably insignificant, and on Freeling Heights. Towering drystone structures, they never cease to amaze me in how well the surveryors of old constructed them. The Freeling Heights one, like all good summit cairns, is complete with a logbook of sorts, in this case loose paper in an old jar. Of all the notes in there, and there were not many - it seems there was only one, sometimes two, visits each year. Some year had no visits. Tafe was a common visiting party - the outdoor education course - they also featured quite well in the cache at Tee Junction Waterhole. Up at the Freeling Heights summit there were several cleared campsites, perhaps most clearly noticable by the large slabs of stone that had been carefully positioned to form chairs and even side tables.

The March rains filled all the rockholes, even after seeing so many waterholes we did not grow tired of them. It's hard to imagine what hiking here might look like in drier times. The waterholes were often an obstruction, a few times we had to scramble around them, many times over and around them. There were upsides to this though, by lunchtime on the first day we were already swimming in a vast waterhole. Every day on the plateau featured a good swim.

On our second day we decided to leave Granite Creek, with its many obstructing waterholes. We followed a spurline for two kilometres up to the escarpment edge, from here we had dramatic views over the eastern plains and Lake Frome. Following the escarpment to the south west, the escarpment grew increasingly dramatic. We crossed back across the plateau, which was no easy navigation task, to Granite Creek and its rockholes.

The views from Freeling Heights were also dramatic, we had a very clear day, one of the clearest I have seen up there. We could easily see Mt Painter, which we climbed in 2011, and further south Benbonyathe Hill (2010), Mt McKinlay, Patawarta Hill (2009) - 110km away - and Rawnsley Bluff on Wilpena Pound - 180km away.

On the fourth day we hiked to the escarpment, dropping off 400 metres in elevation down a long spur line to a creek. From here we followed it downstream to the hot springs at Paralana. The days were all hot, and most sunny, and we often sought out the shade of trees, no matter how small. A Paralana Hot Springs we sat in the cool reeds beside the hot flowing spring water. It was here we saw our first people since leaving Arkaroola, a couple visiting the springs in their 4WD. An offer of a cold beer would have been nice. Alas, unrefreshed we hiked on in the hot sun.

We camped beside a waterhole every night, and it was only one night where we forewent a swim, in that case to preserve the water from contamination for drinking. Our last night was possibly the best swim, in Bararranna Waterhole. Here the creek was flowing and the waterhole large, it reminded me of some of the rocky vegetationless gorge waterholes in the Kimberley, it was enormous.

On the sixth day we sidled into Arkaroola, and showers, cool drinks, food and chairs. Ah the things you miss hey.

View in full screen format Download GPX file - for use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit Download KML file - view in Google Earth

TRACK NOTES - Mawson Plateau traverse
Download larger version of track notes
Label	Location	Grid Ref	Time	Note
Sunday 15/04/12
Start	NE of Mt Shanahan	GR 559 770	8.20am drop-off (15min flight from Arkaroola)	on hill NE of where Granite Creek meets Hamilton Creek. Hike along Granite Creek.
1	waterhole on Granite Creek	GR 542 747	12.01/1.05pm	Lunch + swim
2	Break	GR 535 731	2.05pm
3	Turn around - too far	GR 533 726	2.50pm	Gorge narrowing, gorge exit missed
4/Campsite	Campsite day 1	GR 535 731	3.10pm. Day's hike was 9.2km/6hr walk	Camp beside creek on sandy area beside large shallow waterhole
Monday 16/04/12
4	Campsite day 1	GR 535 731	7am	Leave camp, hike up spur to escarpment (5)
5	Escarpment	GR 547 717	7.56am	Follow escarpment to pt 7
6	Break	GR 538 700	8.50/9.18am
7	Leave escarpment edge	GR 520 686	10.35/10.55am	Begin to cross plateau from escarpment edge back to Granite Creek
8	Break	GR 513 682	11.45/11.57am
9	Lunch at head of creek	GR 505 282	12.25/12.55pm
10	Rockholes on Granite Creek	GR 498 681	1.19pm	Lots of rockholes here, continue up creek to point 11
11/Campsite day 2	Tee Junction Waterhole	GR 489 678	2.15pm. Day's hike was 13km & 7h15m	Explored further to tee junction, waterhole a few hundred metres downstream from junction.
Tuesday 17/04/12
11/Campsite day 2	Tee Junction Waterhole	GR 489 678	6.50am	Leave camp with daypacks for hike up to Freeling Heights summit and return to camp here again
12		GR	8.36am	Proceed up southern arm of Granite Creek, contour around to more open flatter area to west. Yes got a little sidetracked turning too far north when cross-country.
13	Clearing	GR 458 665	8.50am	Break in open clearing. Proceed across clearing, then following creek lines to vicinity of 449 655. Proceed up spur to flatter ridge near summit
14	Freeling Heights summit	GR 448 643	10.30/11.10am	Summmit marked by stone surveyors cairn in SW corner of ridge. Numerous campsites near summit, some shady.
15	Clearing	GR 457 664	12.35pm	Lunch. Follow creek lines across clearing and open country. Easiest way is to continue following creeks into major Granite Creek. Last 1.5km into Tee Junction difficult due to waterholes.
11/Campsite day 2 & 3	Tee Junction Waterhole	GR 489 678	2.15pm. Day's hike 16.9km, 5.5hr moving, 7.5hr total	Camp here again for a second night.
Wednesday 18/04/12
11/Campsite day 2 & 3	Tee Junction Waterhole	GR 489 678	7.10am	Leave camp. Proceed up SW branch of Granite Creek to waterfall
12 (oops duplicated)	Waterfall	GR 479 667	8.07am	Contour around hills beside creek, hills clearer than creek here
13 (oops duplicated)	Break, clearing and stand of trees	GR 473 655	9.09/9.27am	Clearing in creek
13 (oops duplicated again)	Escarpment edge	GR 473 650	9.50am	Proceed down long spurline
14 (oops duplicated)	Start of steep spur	GR 478 642	10.28am	Continue down spur, this section is very steep
15 (oops duplicated)	Hot Springs/Paralana Creek	GR 484 630	11.40am/12.20pm	Lunch in creek at base of long spur. Proceed downstream along creek to Paralana Hot Springs.
16	Paralana Hot Springs	GR 499 607	1.45/2.15pm
17	Exit Yudnamatana Creek	GR 483 588	3pm	Proceed up Nicolls Spring Creek, go right at major creek junction after a narrow gorge
18/Campsite day 4	Camp north of Nicholls Spring	GR 482 578	4pm. Day's hike was 17km, 5.5hr moving, 9h overall	Camped beside two-step waterfall, pools of water under each, pink granite rock
Thursday 19/04/12
18/Campsite day 4	Camp north of Nicholls Spring	GR 482 578	7.07am	Proceed up creek
19	Nicholls Spring	GR 477 573		Marginal spring, spent sometime verifying location
20			8am	Spring found, returned to packs, continue following creekline up
21	Head of creek		8.45am	Break. Proceed up to saddle and ridge, skirt around 450m peak, proceed down long spur to East Painter Creek
22	East Painter Creek	GR 457 5444	10.30/10.45am	Break. Follow East Painter Creek downstream to East Painter Bore and tank.
23	Old Mine Track			An easier start to tackling Humanity Seat? No, doubt it, track not long enough.
24			11.30am
25	East Painter bore	GR 479 521	12.00/12.40pm	Bore and tank. Creek enters plains here. Proceed along 4WD track to Paralana Hot Springs road, south past Lady Buxton Mine for 1.25km, turn south-west along an Arkaroola 4WD track past White Ants Mine
26	Top of hill	GR 469 492	1.40pm	A real bastard this track. Why didn't we navigate around it? Continued down track.
27	Creek/Road T-junction		2.20pm	Take south track to Bararranna Waterhole
28/Campsite day 5	Bararranna Waterhole	GR 457 479	3pm. Day's hike was 19km, 5.5hr moving, 7.5hr overall.	Very large waterhole in gorge. Two waterholes at present. Carpark at end of road, but road looks out of service since March rains.
Friday 20/04/12
28/Campsite day 5	Bararranna Waterhole	GR 457 479	6.50am	Leave camp, proceed along track back to Arkaroola, track follows creek
29	Echo Camp Waterhole	GR 429 497	8.10am
30	Arkaroola Bore		9am	Break
31	Arkaroola (reception)	GR 400 455	10.15am. Day's hike was 14km, 3h moving, 3.5h overall

Mt Bogong, #5 of the State 8

A 700-metre ascent from a humid, fern-filled valley onto an alpine summit could not be more of a contrast. Mt Bogong, Victoria’s highest peak at 1968 metres, lies in the Victiorian Alps near the 50s town of Mt Beauty.

Mt Bogong, the High Country, Victoria

The final of three blog entries for a week spent around Canberra doing three of the State 8 peaks - the highest mountains in each of Australia's eight states and territories.

SUMMARY - Mt Bogong hike
Start	Mountain Creek Picnic Area
End	Mt Bogong summit, re-trace steps to Mountain Creek Picnic Area
Time	3h15m up, 2h30m down
Distance	7km each way
Elevation gain	1370m
Topographic maps	1:30 000 scale, T8324-1-3-S

The alpine environment of Mt Bogong was quite different from the alpine environment of Mt Kosciuszko. Bogong has quite a lot of prominence, how much it rises above country around it. So the alpine area around the summit is small, contrasting with the large alpine area that surrounds the rather indistinct Kosciuszko.

Mt Bogong was the third peak on the week’s list of the State 8 summits – the highest peak in each of Australia’s eight states and territories.

Starting from Mountain Creek Picnic Area, we hiked up the aptly named Staircase Spur. The most direct route, so the steepest, with a few short sections that taper off the constant ascent. We hiked up in the warm, humid afternoon to the halfway point, Bivouac Hut. The noisy school kids didn’t put us off for long, we set up our tents in the large clearing beside the hut – the hut itself is quite small and designed for emergency use. It does have a wood heater though, and a water tank. We did try and look further afield for some tent spots, but being on a steep spur halfway up a mountain meant there were limited camping options, so we settled down with the teenagers instead. Lightning rolled around us the sun set, but we sat outside cooking dinner as the rain spared us.

The following morning, with the summit shrouded in mist, we set off again to the top. Conditions changed as we got higher, we walked past the treeline into the cool breeze, and then into the mist. Nearing the summit paths led off to the right, but in the mist it may have been certain death, so we continued along the snow poles to the ridge, then walked the short distance to the summit. Marked by a large stone cairn which provided us with shelter from the strong, cold winds, Vicki did her little summit jig. We were thankful we had brought along extra clothes, not needed back near the hut but a life-saver up here. A small blue spot emerged through the clouds in the sky above us, but we soon gave up on waiting for any clearing of the weather, and instead started heading back down.

Finishing back at the cars Mountain Creek Picnic Area, we sniffed out a dozen tents that appeared, absent of people and cars, before enjoying a swim in the freezing waters of the creek.

View in full screen format Download GPX file - for use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit Download KML file - view in Google Earth

TRACK NOTES - Mt Bogong
Download larger version of track notes
Label	Grid Ref	Location	Note
1	225 383	Mountain Creek Picnic Area, carpark	lawned area beside creek, picnic tables, carpark, toilet
2	242 383	Base of Staircase Spur	30 mins from carpark
3	263 368	Bivouac Hut	Small hut with stove, water tank, nice toilet, camping area. 1h30m from base of spur (1), 2h from carpark (1). 4km from carpark (1).
4		Treeline
5		Memorial
6		Ridge junction	Turn west for summmit, east for Eskdale Point
7	273 347	Mt Bogong summit	Marked by cairn, 1h15m from Bivouac Hut (3), 2h45m from base of spur (2), 3h15m from carpark (1). 7.1km from carpark (1).

Mt Kosciuszko, #4 of the State 8

Mt Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak at 2228 metres, sits in the midst of an alpine area. The summit itself is not particularly prominent, the walk in from Charlottes Pass is a gentle steady ascent. It is along an old road, closed in the 60s, which led close to the summit.

Mt Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales

The second of three blog entries for a week spent around Canberra doing three of the State 8 peaks - the highest mountains in each of Australia's eight states and territories.

SUMMARY - Mt Kosciuszko hike
Start	Charlottes Pass, end of Mt Kosciusko Road from Jindabyne
End	Mt Kosciusko summit, re-trace steps to Charlottes Pass
Summit Walk
Time	1h45m one-way
Distance	9km each way
Elevation gain	390m
Mt Townsend from Main Range Track
Time	1h one-way
Distance	2.5km each way
Elevation gain	100m
Main Range Track
Time	2h45m one-way
Distance	12.7km each way
Elevation gain	390m
Topographic maps	1:25 000 scale, Perisher Valley 8525-2S

The summit is visible from Charlottes Pass, but can be difficult to identify. Charlottes Pass is at the end of the bitumen road, not surprisingly it is Australia’s highest town. Town might be a bit too much to attribute to it, it is a ski resort with a collection of ski lodges. We were able to stay in one lodge, the Pygmy Possum Lodge, with our keen alpine hiker lodge host, Ziggy.

Following the dirt road to the summit from Charlottes Pass, we crossed the infamous Snowy River, a mere few hundred metres from the headwaters. Passing an old stone hut, Seamans Hut, we got our first definitive glimpse of the summit of Kosciuszko.

After an obligatory stop at Australia’s highest toilet, located at the track junction with the ridge Boardwalk that comes from the ski-lift at Thredbo, and where the road used to end at a carpark, we continued on the short distance to the summit.

In the sun Vicki and Shea did a jig (oops no sound), and we sheltered on the leeward side of the summit cairn to eat lunch.

From here the easy hiking ended. We returned to Charlottes Pass via the Main Range Track, diverting off track to the summit of Mt Townsend. It wasn’t really off-track, a foot track marked by stone cairns led from the Main Range Track to the summit. Mt Townsend used to be called Mt Kosciuszko, and Mt Kosciuszko called Mt Townsend. After being named surveys revealed that the now-named Mt Kosciuszko was higher than the previously named Mt Kosciuszko (Mt Townsend), so instead of re-educating people as to the name of the Australia’s peak, they simply swapped the names.

A short cut back from the summit of Mt Townsend to the Main Range Track saw us skirt around Muellers Peak with views of Albion Lake. Back on the Main Range Track we were triumphantly welcomed into the Blue Lake Junction by Vicki and Jack, who had gone ahead and waited for us. Rather exhausted, we plodded on down the valley, crossing the cold waters of the Snowy again, and up the other side to Charlottes Pass.

The following day, eager for a rest of sorts, we did a half-day hike from Charlottes Pass, off track up to Blue Lake, past Hedley Tarn, and then returning via the Main Range Track. Our tired legs and foggy summits put us off climbing to the summit of Little Twynam and Mt Twynam.

View in full screen format Download GPX file - for use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit Download KML file - view in Google Earth

Bimberi Peak, #3 of the State 8

Returning back from the summit of Bimberi Peak, carefully following the narrow track marked by stone cairns, we heard voices off to the right in the forest. Mmm… strange, we thought we’d be alone on this hike.

Bimberi Peak, Australian Capital Territory

The first of three blog entries for a week spent around Canberra doing three of the State 8 peaks - the highest mountains in each of Australia's eight states and territories.

SUMMARY - Bimberi Peak hike
Start	Locked gate on Pocket Saddle Road, 34.5km from bitumen highway
End	Bimberi Peak summit, re-trace steps to gate on Pocket Saddle Road
Time	3.5 hours each way
Distance	11km each way
Elevation gain	680m
Topographic maps	1:25 000 scale, two maps, Rules Point 8626-4S and Rendezvous Creek 8626-1S

Having set them straight on the ascent, to follow the stone cairns – "the what?", the piles of stones - we met another two parties ascending. It was a long weekend, but having camped out overnight at Oldfields Hut had given us a head start on other hiking parties.

The previous day we had driven the 35 kilometre Tantangara Road to the Tantangara Dam wall, crossing the Murrumbidgee River on a low timber bridge, then proceeding along Pocket Saddle Road. We had had conflicting advice about this dirt road, particularly Pocket Saddle Road past the timber bridge, was it suitable for a 2WD, or was a 4WD necessary. We had six people in our hiking party, so had hired two cars. To edge our bets, we hired an AWD and 2WD sedan. In the fortnight prior to our hike, a huge weather front had dropped 388mm of rain here, although nothing of significance in the five days prior. The road was fine. There was the occasional pool of water, but as the two roads follow the ridges creek crossings are minimal. The few creek crossings there were were culverted beneath the road.

We hiked an hour into Oldfields Hut, an old three-roomed cattlemans hut from the 1930s. We camped beside the hut, there is a large verandah, water tank and toilet. The following morning we continued along the fire trail to Murrays Gap. Water was flowing in the creeks, but again in each instance the creek was culverted beneath the road, otherwise there would have been some cold creek crossings.

The road reaches into the cleared and swampy saddle, the border between NSW and the ACT. From here we followed the stone-cairn marked track up the ridge, along the border, through the tree line to the summit. A survey trig point marks the summit. In what, at first, seemed like an ingenious logbook container, a double capped PVC sewer pipe bolted to the concrete footing of the trig, the contained logbooks was somewhat soggy and mouldy. Leaving some blank papers in a new sealed plastic bag, having signed our merry hearts away, this was after all peak number three in the State 8 - the highest summit in each of Australia’s states and territories.

We returned back to the car that afternoon. Simon, Shea and myself enjoyed a refreshing swim in a creek near the car, much to the mocking cries of the crew from the AWD who preferred to fester with their smelly gear in their vehicle. Not a problem, all in our car washed, as we journeyed down to Jindabyne to camp in a swampy caravan park beside a flooded Lake Jindabyne.

View in full screen format Download GPX file - for use as a navigational aid in a GPS unit Download KML file - view in Google Earth

TRACK NOTES - Bimberi Peak hike
Download larger version of track notes
Label	Grid Ref	Location	Note
1	588 504	Locked Gate	34.5km along dirt roads, first Tantangara Road then Pocket Saddle Road. Leave car here.
2		Fire Track t-junction	Follow east track
3	620 523	Oldfields Hut	1 hour from gate (1)
4		Murrays Gap	Proceed to middle of swamp clearing at top of saddle, beside double sign saying 'Namadgi National Park' & 'Murrays Gap'. 1h15m from Oldfields Hut (3).
5		Bimberi Peak	Follow stone cairn marked foot track along ridge to Bimberi Peak summut. 1h15m from Murrays Gap (4). 3.5 hours from gate (1)