Five-minute read: Rudi Michelson was looking forward to a bit of High Country bushbashing but nothing like this...
Most bushwalkers know Victoria’s tallest mountain and the taxing yet very able climbs from the north via Eskdale or Staircase Spur. However, when I was a less experienced bushwalker my friend Paul and I decided to climb Mt Bogong twice in two days, going up Eskdale to the top and continuing south down Quartz Ridge.
At the bottom of Quartz Ridge we left the track to descend a smaller trackless spur to camp at the remote and tiny Survey Hut. Survey Hut is in the mountain depths at the confluence of Cairn Creek and Big River. To find the hut we had to leave the spur crest on the left side to try and find the confluence of creek and river below.
Ah, the joys of trackless bushwalking. We left the spur crest too early but kept descending as we knew we’d hit Cairn Creek, go downstream and we’d get to the hut. It was thick and slow going. I stepped onto a rotting log and fell through, collecting a splinter under my thumbnail the width of a match – subsequently excised with a small fountain of blood.
We eventually reached the creek, and to our dismay, it had steep slopes on each side with a low canopy of shrubs. We struggled through slippery, thigh-deep water crouching under the canopy. From early morning we had walked nearly 20km, climbed about 1400m elevation and descended. We were exhausted, anxious about the looming darkness and didn’t really know how much further we had to go. Eventually, to our delight, we came across the little old corrugated iron hut.
But the delight was momentary. Paul lost his footing at the confluence and his entire body and backpack went under water. We entered the hut to find both mattresses covered in a screen of rat droppings. Putting wet gear too close to the fire resulted in a boot catching on fire.
Trying to sleep we knew we still had to get out in the morning, starting with a mere 700m elevation of mostly trackless climb up the incongruously named Granny Spur.
Blessed with good weather the next morning, we first had to figure out how to start the walk. We crossed the river, squeezed through thick scrub and used all arms and legs for the extremely steep initial climb. The grade improved with a lot of scampering over large downed trees in the lower parts of Granny Spur. The walk was easy to navigate (stick to the spur crest) and got easier as we ascended through snow gums and then above the tree line.
We descended day two down the steep Staircase Spur and reached the car with stiff muscles and a bit of battering. As they say, it’s not an adventure unless something goes wrong.