Day 8 or the Trip Home

Pictures Day 8 or the Trip Home
Funny about that sleep thing, another poor night, fitful sleep and woke too early when I did get to sleep.
Finally emerged at 5.30AM, dressed and staggered up to the kitchen Hilary was there already so an earlier than planned start looked good.
The promised snow from 3.00Am hadn't materialised, however the rain had.
Breakfast done, the cars packed we headed off down the hill.
Slow trip in the rain and with all the bends, to Mount Beauty.
After that quicker though my in car navigation really had the irrits today.
You'd think it would take you back the way you came, but no, we appeared to hoot all around the countryside, passing through places that I'd never heard of much less visit.
It finally settled on the Murray Valley Highway, until it speared off the highway taking what turned out to be the hypotenuse of the triangle.
It was not until I got to Ouyen that I really felt confident we were really heading to Adelaide.
It was a long trip, with stops in Swan Hill for coffee (ordinary and too hot) and a variety of wee stops, the last  at Loomaroo.
I should mention we fuelled up at Ouyen and I had the dubious pleasure of a famous Ouyen Vanilla Slice. It was pretty good though the pink icing had glued itself to the Gladwrap making delicate eating impossible, especially driving!
Finally it was down the freeway and back to civilisation as we know it.
Peak hour. Bugger.
Thanks to ARPA, the walk leaders and Chris Bushell in particualr for a great week of walking.
As some once said "I'll be back!"

Day 7 Mount Jim

Pictures Day 7 Mount Jim
Better nights sleep except woke early and the clock had gone out so couldn't see how much longer i had in the sack. By the time I found my glasses and looked at my watch, I was awake and there was to be more sleep.

Ben Cooper's Cairn

Once again beaten to the kitchen by just about everyone.
Warmer according to the thermometre, but the wind blowing 40% chance of rain today, so we took the 60% chance of no rain option.
Today Mount Jim and Youngs Hut out the back of Falls Creek.
Short drive to the start at the Pretty Valley Pondage, that feeds the Mount McKay power house.
It's then a steady climb up the Fainter Fire Track towards Mount Niggerhead. We go past a cairn for Ben Cooper, a stockman who worked the Bogong High Plains for 56 years.
We then bus bash until we reach the Bogong-Hotham Pole Line. It's then on to the open Bogong High Plain again, with views of Mount Cope and Mount Jim, just, through the low cloud.
It's blowing from the west and freezing. I am wearing a long sleeve icebreaker, a short sleeve icebreaker and a vest and I'm still cold.
Thankfully it's not raining.
Mount Jim is just off the AAWT, and we need to bush bash to the summit. It's even colder up there and we are just under the low cloud. Morning tea is in a little nook, out of the wind, and quite pleasant.
We then descent off Jim back onto the AAWT, then leave it as it heads off to Mount Hotham and we continue on down Young's Spur towards Young's Hut.

Lunch on Young's Spur

The plain is undulating and we come across a herd of brumbies that eye us suspiciously.
we also meet a group of young backpackers, who also eye us suspiciously.
It's then into the tree line of snow gums, and we descend in search of Young's Hut. After some time Ian, our leader, feels we have gone too far, and it's time to stop, so we do and lunch.
We return the way we came, back up the spur, back onto the AAWT and so on.
By this time the cloud has lifted, and the views increased immeasurably, the wind did not abate and it remained cold.
Funny just how much your nose runs when there's a cold wind.
The final descent down to the cars was welcome. I was done with the cold wind and the nose thing.
As we walked past the end of the dam illustrated how cold it could be as the wind rushed over the water surface.

Mt McKay again, with no cloud

This called for a coffee, which we duly had on our return to Falls Creek at the Alta Coffee house, however whilst flavoursome, NOT hot enough.
Back up the hill to the Schuss and we have new arrivals, Di and Ron Capel who are here for the next group of walkers.
There is much discussion of future walks, best way to go, which way to do the hills etc.

It's also time to get some packing done for an early departure in the morning.
All the dirty stuff packed into one bag, the clean stuff in another, the wet boots from today on their own, the towel is of course wet from the shower. Hope that's dry by the morning.
Hilary, Cliff and Eve's stuff starts rolling up to the front door, for loading in the car.
We are back to the BBQ tonight to finish up the left over meat. Most of the pantry is now depleted.
Dinner has a certain vitality, which has not been terribly present previous evenings.
I think it's because most of us manage to eat together, at the one table.
The plot of the walk plus more pictures, click on the link below
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1413362&code=4da672f757bdb5daf703b57c0f558348

Day 6 Mount Nelse and couple of huts

Pictures Day 6 Mount Nelse
Slept poorly again, unable to go off to sleep, and when i did woke frequently, the iPhone clock glaring at me malevolently when I opened my eyes.
At 6.40AM, I gave up and had a shower and got ready for the day.

Heading up the Heathy Spur Track

Most walkers up and bustling about, as usual. The day looked pretty good, certainly no rain clouds to be seen, though the outside temperature was at a daunting 3.1C and outside the wind was COLD.
We got away at the regulation 8.00AM and our start point was quite close, just near the dam wall of the Rocky Valley Storage.
Out of the cars and it was brisk, to say the least, of bloody cold to say a bit more.
It was up the Heathy Spur Track which is a steady pull until reaching the flatter Bogong Plains. After about an hour we hit the Australian Alpine Walking Trail, the AAWT.

Edmondson's Hut

Our objective, Mount Nelse is to the north, the AAWT looping around its side. A short way along the AAWT the turn off to Edmondson's Hut takes us west and after a short walk we enter a very pretty copse of trees, that houses the hut. Like most of the Alpine Huts, it is small, spartan and looking just a little unloved. Above the fireplace is a sign "Save Edmondsons".  Like many of the huts it also sports someones wacky sense of humour, sporting an electric light with a pull cord.
Morning tea is in the hut and out of the wind.
Refueling over, it's back a long the track a short way, then bash our way up the hill to rejoin the AAWT for the final assault on Mount Nelse. The turn-off is soon reached and it's an easy stroll to the trig and cairn.
It's at this point Cliff realises he has misplaced his mobile phone. A quick call to Chris, who was just reaching the hut with the B walkers, as we left, to look for the phone, to no avail. No where to be seen.
Consequently, Cliff headed off alone, back along the way he came to see if he could locate it.
We headed off Mount Nelse, to get to Johnston's Hut some short walk away.
Johnston's Hut looked pretty neat and had a great outlook, to the dunny. The dunny mind you, had stable doors, so you could sit and gaze out.

Lunch Tree

It was then a short hard hill back to the AAWT where we came across a grinning Cliff. He had returned to the hut, was unable to find his phone so had a cup of tea, a couple of smokes and retraced the steps he had taken from the hut. Two paces into the aforementioned bush bash, right beside his foot was the phone. What luck?
The walk then continued south along the AAWT, where we had lunch under a huge old snowgum. Great place, however the wind made a long stay unlikely and after a relatively brief lunch we moved off.
This bought us down the hill through a very attractive area of old snowgum forest, eventually spitting us out at a covered bridge crossing the Langford East Aqueduct, which then contoured us back to our cars at Langford Gap.
An early finish meant a bit of sitting around. More Harry Potter and some preparation for tea.
Spag boll again, very good and some nice Annies Lane Shiraz complimented a good meal.
Click on the link below for the route of todays walk.
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1412227&code=019f272149564aa4960d532743ea3b6a