Salaam. Your correspondent in the field has returned from an insane and epic solo bushwalking trip in the Victorian Alps.
Having been long curious about Paling spur and the access it offers to The Bogong High Plains ( BHP) from The Dinner Plain side of the Cobungra river I went off to do some exploring.
Initially I was also drawn to visit McNamara's hut ( Dinner Plain/ Young's Top) as well as revisit Young's Hut.
I shall get to those matters soon.
I drove up on Friday and stopped at PV in Mt. Beauty and had a chat with a PV wallah. He told me PV have marked Dungey's track with orange arrows from Cobungra Gap to the junction with the Brandy Creek Fire trail.He also said that PV will be doing some work to the Young's hut 4 x 4 access track to McNamara's hut.
He told me that it could be possible to get the Tee Mobile(RAV4 Toyota AWD with off road tyres ) up to McNamara's hut from Anglers' Rest via Callaghan's road and McCoy's track. I had a chain saw and extra bar oil and 2 stroke fuel in the car boot so what could go wrong ?
So off I went. I stopped to check out the mystery hut near the Langford Gap Quarry on the BHP. It was locked but confirmed my suspicions that it does exist and that I was not hallucinating that I saw a hut when walking along the AAWT Aqua duct in the area a couple of green seasons back.
The chappie at PV in Mt. Beauty said that hut is known as Maddison's hut and the Maddison family keep the key. I think they are a cattle farming family from the local area.
That allowed me to get out and walk from the Langford Gap hut to stretch my legs.
I went over the BHP and down to Anglers' Rest. I headed up Callaghan's road onto what seemed to be private farmland. The dirt road was fine up to that point. When I reached McCoy's track it became a 4 x 4 track and climbed steeply up the hillside. I had to open and close 3 gates that keep the cows up there on the straight and narrow.
After the third cattle gate ( I think it was ) , I got out and walked the very steep and deeply rutted up hill track ahead of me. I said to myself I might be able to get up that track but coming down without low range gears, esp. if it rains would be stupid and foolhardy. Getting yourself into a place is only half of the equation in off road driving.
So I turned back . The PV chappie in Mt. Beauty warned me about the colourful Mrs. McCoy and her farm near McCoy's track , there are some real characters out there in East Gippsland!. Fortunately I did not have to explain myself to her and I headed to JB Plain via Omeo to camp for the night.
It was getting late and I had been driving all day.
I had enough fuel to get back to Myrtleford after the hike so I was not too concerned that Omeo 's petrol stations were closed and were only taking 24 hour automated payments by cards only.
JB Plain was as pleasant as ever and I found a spot to camp near a picnic table. I visited the hut and filled in the log book.
I was off to sleep in my tent at dusk in readiness for what transpired to be a huge day on foot.
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A photograph or two of Maddison's hut on the BHP.
Having been long curious about Paling spur and the access it offers to The Bogong High Plains ( BHP) from The Dinner Plain side of the Cobungra river I went off to do some exploring.
Initially I was also drawn to visit McNamara's hut ( Dinner Plain/ Young's Top) as well as revisit Young's Hut.
I shall get to those matters soon.
I drove up on Friday and stopped at PV in Mt. Beauty and had a chat with a PV wallah. He told me PV have marked Dungey's track with orange arrows from Cobungra Gap to the junction with the Brandy Creek Fire trail.He also said that PV will be doing some work to the Young's hut 4 x 4 access track to McNamara's hut.
He told me that it could be possible to get the Tee Mobile(RAV4 Toyota AWD with off road tyres ) up to McNamara's hut from Anglers' Rest via Callaghan's road and McCoy's track. I had a chain saw and extra bar oil and 2 stroke fuel in the car boot so what could go wrong ?
So off I went. I stopped to check out the mystery hut near the Langford Gap Quarry on the BHP. It was locked but confirmed my suspicions that it does exist and that I was not hallucinating that I saw a hut when walking along the AAWT Aqua duct in the area a couple of green seasons back.
The chappie at PV in Mt. Beauty said that hut is known as Maddison's hut and the Maddison family keep the key. I think they are a cattle farming family from the local area.
That allowed me to get out and walk from the Langford Gap hut to stretch my legs.
I went over the BHP and down to Anglers' Rest. I headed up Callaghan's road onto what seemed to be private farmland. The dirt road was fine up to that point. When I reached McCoy's track it became a 4 x 4 track and climbed steeply up the hillside. I had to open and close 3 gates that keep the cows up there on the straight and narrow.
After the third cattle gate ( I think it was ) , I got out and walked the very steep and deeply rutted up hill track ahead of me. I said to myself I might be able to get up that track but coming down without low range gears, esp. if it rains would be stupid and foolhardy. Getting yourself into a place is only half of the equation in off road driving.
So I turned back . The PV chappie in Mt. Beauty warned me about the colourful Mrs. McCoy and her farm near McCoy's track , there are some real characters out there in East Gippsland!. Fortunately I did not have to explain myself to her and I headed to JB Plain via Omeo to camp for the night.
It was getting late and I had been driving all day.
I had enough fuel to get back to Myrtleford after the hike so I was not too concerned that Omeo 's petrol stations were closed and were only taking 24 hour automated payments by cards only.
JB Plain was as pleasant as ever and I found a spot to camp near a picnic table. I visited the hut and filled in the log book.
I was off to sleep in my tent at dusk in readiness for what transpired to be a huge day on foot.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
A photograph or two of Maddison's hut on the BHP.