WBB to Mt Clear – (clockwise from top left) Walking Long Flat | Top Flats | Sam Abouds dunny | Fording the Naas Creek | Horse Gully Hut | Mt Clear trig

Saturday 15 August: Worn Boot Bash – L/M. This year the route is a circuit: Mt Clear camp ground to Long Flat – Mt Clear – Left Hand Creek – Horse Gully Hut – camp ground. Leaders: Jenny & Rob H.

5 of us drove in 1 vehicle to the Naas Creek Fire Trail car park.

Further Information

A few geocaches along the way.

The Canberra Bushwalking Club‘s Worn Boot Bash has a fine 14 year history to date. Check out the annual WBBs.

Summary

Distance: 36.2km | Climb: 1200m | Time: 7.15am-4.40pm (9hrs 25mins), including 50 mins of breaks | Grading: L/E; H(13)

Photographs

Photographs are available, where you can start a large sized slideshow.

Waypoint and Track Files

Download the .gpx file. (Right click, Save Link As…, Save – if you want to use it.)
Download the .kml file.

Track Notes

A relatively mild morning, with cloud keeping the minimum just above 0ºC. Not a breath of breeze. The sun made feeble attempts to appear around midday, then shone more as the afternoon progressed.

If you have to walk fire trail, this was certainly the best weather and the best season to do so. Reasonably soft on our feet and the cool temperature ideal for walking.

We shook out along the Naas Valley FT, then turned right onto the Long Flat FT. We passed Potters Chimney over the other side of Back or Grassy Creek, then walked the zig-zags up onto the flatter section of the Long Flat FT. A quick call in at Sam Aboud’s dunny to collect the WP2 clues for GC1W6K9 Tour de South Namadgi. Down over the Long Flat Creek ford and up to the northern junction of the old and new Long Flat FTs. Here we turned left and walked the beautiful Long Flat. A quick call in at the northern end to visit some drop log fencing. At the southern end of the Flat we turned onto the Mt Clear FT and at 9.30am pulled of the track for morning tea.

On the FT again, we continued to climb to the north, then lost height as it looped down to the west. Quite pretty on both sides of the FT at Top Flats. A little false lead as I attempted to follow the old map-marked route at the bend in the Mt Clear FT, but back on track on the new alignment. We ran into a few patches of snow here, and a few more as we climbed from the south towards Mt Clear. At one point a tree with a fairly obvious blaze shield caught my eye, so I took a photograph. On checking at night, it’s the U37 blaze. I’d not recorded this before. Further on, we visited some drop log fencing just in off the FT.

At last the climb was over and Marmaduke Rothschild and JohnnyBoyACT held up the party as we searched for and eventually found GCT6WF A CLEAR Loop. There was another cache with it, GA4121 There once was a frog. We signed that log too. On later investigation, this is a Geocaching Australia cache.

We then began the severe 4km descent down the north side of Mt Clear, dropping around 600m. A big and fresh wombat hole in the side of the FT. The cachers out front pressed on to find and log GC16F0G Frosty Hollow, but the 12.30pm stop suited Rob’s plans and we had lunch nearby.

After lunch we walked the signposted Left Hand Creek FT (it looks like the Mt Clear FT on the map). The crest of the Clear Range here is 350m above; thank goodness the FT flanks the range. Ran into 4 ginornous wild pigs. Past the junction with the Upper Left Hand Creek FT which goes steeply up to the border. We turned west and down to Horse Gully Hut.

Here we met 3 guys coming in to stay at the hut overnight. I like the simplicity of some of their rations – 1 bottle per bloke per night.

Turning south onto the Naas Valley FT we were a mere 10km from the car. Rob kindly allowed we cachers to go ahead to Demandering Hut and he waited for us. Quite a wait it was, as embarrassing as it is to admit, we couldn’t find the difficulty 1 GC3YZPX Demanding Ride. It was last found on 15 Nov 14; but there has been a significant amount of new activity associated with the hut and particularly relevant if we interpreted the hint correctly. So we’ll swallow our pride and post it as a DNF.

Back on the FT, a quick find and log of GC2BZH8 Clear to Caloola: Dinosaur Head Rock.

Then a stomp back to the car, involving 3 fords of Naas Creek. At the second, Robert found a nearby log, but the last required a wet feet crossing. Plenty of kangas out feeding. Photographed the old yards site and the opposite John Brayshaws 2 huts site.

I was out front and walking as hard as I could, as I had a quick visit to Potters Chimney in mind. So much so that I missed a wedge-tailed eagle rising very close to me. Dropping the car keys, pack and poles at the intersection of the Naas Valley FT and the track that goes towards the fire-fighting dam and beyond, I hurried down to Potters Chimney and gathered the clues at WP1 for GC1W6K9 Tour de South Namadgi. Back to the car. This foray added 1.8km to the WBB distance.

GC1W123 In the Clear was found and logged.

I used my walking poles for the entire trip (except for the short foray to Potters Chimney) and my physio taped my knee on Thursday. No problemo!

An excellent round, thanks Jenny and Rob and all. Keeping the Worn Boot Bash tradition alive.

Timings
From To Distance Time
 Start  Sam Abouds dunny  5.7  1hr 10mins
 Sam Abouds dunny  Morning tea  4.5 1hr 5mins
 Morning tea  Mt Clear 5.8 1hr 30mins
  Mt Clear  Lunch  4.3 1hr 15mins
 Lunch  Horse Gully Hut 5.1 1hr 5mins
 Horse Gully Hut  Finish  10.8 2hrs 30mins
Track Maps

Track overview

Track 1

Track 2

Track 3

Track 4

Track 5

Track 6

Profile

Party

5 walkers – Roger E, Jenny and Rob H (leaders), Robert M, me.