Trip Report Mt.Baw Baw N.P. 27 & 28/2/21.Hidden huts and the AAWT

[Mister Tee on XC Skis]

Your correspondent in the field went to walk with the friends of Baw Baw group during the last weekend of summer 2020-21.
We visited the somewhat hidden Jan's hut , NBW hut and The Rover Hut. In addition to that we walked up the AAWT from Mt. Erica car park and camped near the Talbot hut ruins on Sat. night.
We bumped into @chriscross who was out for a day walk on 27/2/21.

 

[Mister Tee on XC Skis]

I drove up to camp at the East Tyers campsite on the AAWT on the Friday afternoon,26.2.21.
It is very soothing camping there.

 

[Mister Tee on XC Skis]

I was up at day break the next day and I was soon packed and ready to meet the other walkers at the junction of Thompson Valley Road and Hut road. I had trouble finding this place and went around in circles for 20 minutes at least. I would have been early but I was having trouble finding the place and it was discombobulating.
Eventually I found the place but the others had set off without the three walkers ( including yours truly ) who had struggled to locate the rendezvous point on time.
We found a detailed map under the wiper of a parked vehicle and powered off to locate the hut.

Thankfully we caught up with the group by walking up the locked logging road at a brisk pace.
Jan's hut is said to be tricky to find but we found it and I have now ticked it off my list.

The idea of using it for XC ski access (and a base )to the Baw Baw Plateau has been shelved after the President of the Friends of Baw Baw said to me that the route from Mustering Flat to Jan's hut is a hideously slow off track scrub bash.
It took him 6 hours to walk it !!!
:-0
Maybe @Ubiquitous Steve could see this route as a challenge in taming the wilderness with his Team Bears !?!

There is a stream near the hut that was flowing and a campsite just before you reach the old hut.
At present the final section of the walk has been tagged and taped.



Photos of the Jan's hut half day walk.

 

[The Bluff]

you accessed Jans from below or above...interested..


see your posts now...from below..thanks

 

[Mister Tee on XC Skis]

We then went to the Mt. Erica Car park in our cars for lunch and then walked up the AAWT to camp the night in the trees near The Talbot hut ruins.

 

[Mister Tee on XC Skis]

[/QUOTE]

you accessed Jans from below or above...interested..

We came in From Below. From Above coming in from Mustering Flat, that route had been scouted out by our walk leader just recently . He said it was an off track scrub bash and less than 1 km per hour type walking. It took him 6 hours!!

 

[Mister Tee on XC Skis]

We visited some memorial plaques before setting up camp in the snow gums ,situated above 1500 M. ASL ..
The temperature dropped to 4 degrees C. overnight. There was a full moon.

 

[Mister Tee on XC Skis]

Sunday at dawn , it was looking like a good day for walking .The whole area was full of campers !!!.After breakfast we went to visit the Talbot Peak trig. point as a warm up walk.


The main hike on 28/2/21
Involved scrub bashing down the mountain , off track from Mt. Erica and
locating NBW hut from above.
It was slow going to cover 3 kms or so in 3 hours. Some of that was quite steep, slippery and overgrown. There was NO TRACK.
It had been recently taped and tagged by our two navigators /Leaders.


The route from NBW hut to where it meets the AAWT near Mushroom rocks is marked with yellow tape but is also quite slow going too.
We ate lunch at Mushroom Rocks and went to visit the Scout hut.

 

[Mister Tee on XC Skis]

There were some nice spots along the off track route down to NBW hut with some interesting rocks, streams and vegetation.

 

[Mister Tee on XC Skis]

We found another memorial plaque at Mushroom Rocks and took a look at the locked Rovers' Ski hut. It looked well set up inside with bunk beds and a refrigerator.
I am not sure where the electricity comes from to power that appliance.


I saw an echidna!

 

[neilmny]

Ah the Baw Baws, home of the undamaged snow gum. Beautiful.

 

[Peterfinlayson]

Just thought that some may be interested to know that Jan’s Hut/Staggs Hut that I also knew as Little Boy’s Hut is currently being restored for DELWP by some contractors, one of whom is my step son. We walked in there a couple of times in the 90s and remember it as a dark, wet and cold spot that, frankly, held little interest other than a destination to aim for where we could have a big fire and drink lots of red wine. I do recall one of our group dislocating his shoulder breaking wood for the fire and we had to carry his gear out the next day.