Easy 2 day walk Mt Beauty / Bogong area?

[ErichFromm]

I have a few days off in a week or so and wanted to get out and do a walk for the first time in months. Plan was to hit the gym and get in shape but that didn't happen, so now looking for an "easy" walk so that it stays enjoyable and not become tortuous...

A bit bored of the drive up to Licola and beyond, as well as Harrietville, so was thinking more Mt Bogong way as I haven't been there before. Would've been nice to do the staircase but not sure I'd be up to it given my fitness levels.

Going through Glenn van der Kniif's alps book I found a nice option: Mt Nelse and the Eastern Plans but have to cross it off as the Bogong High Plains road is still closed.

Any options I should think of? Ideally it would be a circuit, but at this point can't be picky....

[neilmny]

If you are looking for something close to home with great views and some good steep hills to get you heart going the Mountaineer Creek walk at Eildon National Park would do the trick.
http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets ... don-NP.pdf
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19251&p=256220&hilit=mountaineer+Creek#p256220

From another thread -

Just thought I’d report back on the Blowhard Circuit walk at Lake Eildon I did with my 9 year old son about seven weeks ago. We camped overnight at Mountaineers Creek which was a lovely open spot right next to the lake with tank water & a long drop.

The first day certainly involved a lot of ups & downs but Mountaineers Creek Track itself when it branches off from the main track is very steep & it was a bit of a slog in the last hour to the camp site. The first day followed quite a bit of vehicle track & even a short section of road but the second day was much more scenic (& flat) as it hugged the lakeside.

Mental note for next walk to check DSE website before going as it looked like there’d been very recent burn-off in a large area bordering the track. We saw a few kangaroos but no humans! I’d say we walked about 4.5 hours on the first day & 3.5 hours on the second day – probably just the right distance for my son. A good introduction to an overnight walk.

My wife and I did this walk last weekend (Friday/Saturday) we didn't see another soul until back at Coller Bay on the Saturday. It was her first overnighter and the verdict is .... there will be more....woo hoo!
I've done it twice now and it's a good "local" fix if your desperate to get out doors for a quick overnighter.
I can give you more info and a few tips on how to make it a better, more challanging walk if it takes your fancy Eric.

[peregrinator]

http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=19428&p=258628&hilit=trappers+gap#p258628

Duration was roughly six hours. Eskdale is certainly easier than Staircase. Camp at Michell Hut?

[ErichFromm]

Thanks for the suggestions. I knew you wouldn't let me down. Now I have options

And it's always good to find options for future reference .....

[ErichFromm]

I can give you more info and a few tips on how to make it a better, more challanging walk if it takes your fancy Eric.

Leaning toward this walk now neilmy (mainly as reconnaissance for possible future walks with my son). My only concern is it might be a little too "civilised" like walking through picnic grounds. I've never been to Lake Eildon before (usually just go through to Mansfield and the alpine areas). Where do you park for the mountaineer walk?

[neilmny]

I can give you more info and a few tips on how to make it a better, more challanging walk if it takes your fancy Eric.

Leaning toward this walk now neilmy (mainly as reconnaissance for possible future walks with my son). My only concern is it might be a little too "civilised" like walking through picnic grounds. I've never been to Lake Eildon before (usually just go through to Mansfield and the alpine areas). Where do you park for the mountaineer walk?

Where you park your car at Coller Bay is civilised Eric but the rest of the way outward to Mountaineer Creek Camp isn't. The tracks are maintenance vehicle tracks.
You can park at Merlot Lookout or Wallaby Bay but we parked at Devil Cove for our walk last week.

Mountaineer Creek is a walk in or boat in only camp.

The 3 parking spots are shown on this PDF together with the circuit we walked of about 23km.
The cyan line from Devil Cove shows the way we went last week.

Mountaineer Ck Circuit.pdf

Mountaineer Ck. Circuit

(1.18 MiB) Downloaded 496 times

[ErichFromm]

Awesome - thanks neilmny. Looks like I've got my walk sorted - looking forward to checking out a new place too....

[peregrinator]

Neilmny, did you hear much boat traffic out on the lake?

[neilmny]

Neilmny, did you hear much boat traffic out on the lake?

Last week the only boat we heard was one that came buzzing into the Mountain Creek inlet to fish around 6:30 on Saturday morning.
We heard more aircraft than boats, at around 19000ft. in that area from memory, so not loud and it was very still that night.
The boat hoons we heard were right back at Coller Bay (Fraser Park) but that was midday or so Saturday.
The water is down to about 60% so that tends to keep the water skis aout in the main lake.

It's a nice spot.

Mountaineer Ck.jpg (157.23 KiB) Viewed 16646 times

[vicrev]

Good on ya Neil ,got the hots to do this one,sounds & looks good....

[sim1oz]

Neilmy, nice camp setup with chairs and leg stretching pole conveniently located I have added this one to our list as well.

Finally bought some packrafts. Would it be nice walking in and paddling on the lake near the camp site? Only done rivers so far. If it gets windy we could try some sailing....

[neilmny]

Neilmy, nice camp setup with chairs and leg stretching pole conveniently located I have added this one to our list as well.

Finally bought some packrafts. Would it be nice walking in and paddling on the lake near the camp site? Only done rivers so far. If it gets windy we could try some sailing....

A paddle on the lake would be very pleasant. We've paddled (pedaled) in there in our tandem Hobie Outfitter and it was a very nice day tour.
The stretching "pole" was handy and served as a bit of a breeze blocker that evening. When the lake is full (chockers) that stretching pole would be very close to the waters edge.
As for the chairs, I keep thinking I really need to reduce my pack weight but there's no way the chair is being left behind

Don't forget to visit Stones Outstation which is off the Aird Inlet track. It is a very pretty spot specially at this time of year.

Stones Outstation

Stones outstation.jpg (227.62 KiB) Viewed 16547 times

[neilmny]

I should add that this country is quite dry and you should take enough water with you.
There is a tank at the long drop dunnies and the water in it is nice and clear and it was full and had no odour when we were there (11th and 12th Sept)
We did not drink it but would have filtered it with our Sawyer Squeeze Mini if we had needed more water. Definitely purify it by some means before drinking.
The lake can be subject to blue green algae but a look at the Goulburn Murray Waters web site to check the current state of the water is worth while.
http://www.g-mwater.com.au/bluegreenalgae-alert/
Boiling water with BGA kills the algae but in turn releases a higher concentration of the toxin.

[north-north-west]

You can also go up the 107 Track from Mittagundi. Easy short day to Fitzgerald Hut, which is close enough to other tracks to get in further and explore more. Closed roads not a problem.

[ErichFromm]

Thanks Neilmny for the suggestion of this walk. I got back yesterday (left Sunday so missed all the more recent comment) - used your map, though really didn't need it given how clearly marked the road/track is.

A nice little walk. Didn't see anyone the whole way. Was actually nice not having to rush to meet my km target as I normally do.

And what's with all the dead wombats on the side of the road? I counted 9 from Marysville turnoff to Eildon....!

One point though: the Mountaineer Creek campsite area near the water line was dug up with 4wd burnouts, a tonne of broken glass (I had to leave my boots on even though it was quite warm) and a few spent shotgun shells. Clearly the site is accessible by vehicle (and not from the park direction). I followed the road north of the site and it ends in a locked fence and private property. Anyone know what this property is? I found it rather upsetting thinking there is one person who either comes onto the park to vandalise the environment, or allows others to do so (by unlocking the gate). The road to this private property is very well worn (more than the park roads) so clearly there is a lot of traffic.....

[neilmny]

We noticed some quite old tracks below the high waterline when we were there Eric.
It's a real pity that someone has gotten into there and ripped it up.
My guess is the track leads to a residence up on Skyline Road. Some of the houses up there
are weekenders for the "rich and famous" and sounds like some weekend warrior has gotten
into the National Park from there.

Did you go to Stones Outstation at all?

[ErichFromm]

The outstation was lovely. Very green and lush. A bit of a graveyard though, lots of bones around....

[neilmny]

..........And what's with all the dead wombats on the side of the road? I counted 9 from Marysville turnoff to Eildon....!

Log Trucks

[Travis22]

Glad to see you got out Erich. Did you use your hammock or a tent? Would love to see some photos from the trip.

Travis.