Hammock camping on mt feathertop

[icefest]

No exposure up to the hut. The traverse around the peak can be a bit more interesting in snow, but that should all be gone by now. In summer it's a walk in the park.

There is no actual climbing at any point on the walk, but there is one bit where you'll need to wade the river (the bridge was washed away last winter).

It is a hard walk though, and you will not find any water on the actual ascent.

[paidal_chalne_vala]

The NW spur is a mother trucker. If you are super fit, good at navigation , bushbashing down or up very steep slopes that are slippery and punishing on the legs, and a masochist then maybe this is your kind of thing. Otherwise stick with the Bungalow spur. Parks Vic. only have the money to maintain one track PROPERLY and the gradient on the Bungalow spur is much kinder to all life forms.

[MacMan]

The NW Spur is a sustained climb with the most arduous bit being about 3km. I did it in August this year with a mate and found it heavy going. I was carrying 14kg or so and recovering from a cold. Through a silly oversight we realised that we were short on water a couple of km in. Being so steep we decided not to turn back to the river to top up, and split what we had to make a dash for the snowline. I chose to eat way less than I normally would due to lack of water and it smashed me. I was fine the next day doing the summit and going down the other side. I guess a fit, determined 12 yo could romp it in, but one with no experience and a volatile demeanour would have a rough time.

[JohnR]

I actually ended up doing the NW Spur with my 10 yo daughter a month ago. I would not rate it as hard.

The Wall is obviously the steepest section however the track tends to zig zag up this part, so the gradient is not that extreme.

As to the track we found it easy to follow although it gets a bit sketchy near the top. In the end we just followed the gps straight to the MUMC hut as scrub was not that bad once over The Wall.

Overall I'd rate Queens Spur up to Mt Buggery as much harder. Also Helicopter Spur from or down to the Upper Howqua is a lot tougher than NW Spur.

I suppose this should be a new topic 'hardest track walks in Vic'.

Cheers,
John

[MacMan]

To add to mine and John's comments, the track is poorly defined in places but not terribly difficult to follow - it is, after all, a spur line. Probably the best rule of thumb is that if you find you're not walking uphill for more than 50 continuous metres after the wooden footbridge, you're definitely not on the track

Well done to your daughter JohnR.