28 September 2010 Circumnavigation of Mt Gudgenby (including border marker hunting)
Map: Yaouk 1:25000
Getting There
This walk was organised and led by me as an irregular CBC Tuesday walk:
Tuesday 28 September - Circumnavigation of Mt Gudgenby (including border marker hunting) - L/R,ptX. From Yankee Hat car park, fire trails and footpads via Gudgenby Saddle to Sams Creek fire trail. Off track W and NW of Mt Gudgenby to hunt border markers N to S82 below 'The Fortress'. Return to the N Gudgenby saddle and down to Bogong Creek. Follow it down to the open plain and back. Around 21km and 800m climb. Map:Yaouk. Leader: John Evans - jevans@pcug.org.au, (h) 6288 7235. Transport: ~$10 per person.
4 of us braved an early start and drove to the Yankee Hat car park.
Further Information
Alternative return is the way we came in, making the total trip distance 23km.
Photographs
Access all primary pics here. All thumbnails in the walk report are active - click for a larger picture.
Walk
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| Track overview | Track a | Track b |
An excellent day with grand views and lots of scrub. 15 border markers found (M83, I83, H83, G83, F83, E83, D83, C83, B83, A83, Z82, Y82, X82, W82, U82). 1 possible blaze found. 1 Mile marker found (49M). 4 border markers revisited (N83, L83, K83, J83). 3 border markers not found (V82, T82, S82). 1 Mile marker not found (48M).
Walking by 7.10am and made Gudgenby Saddle at 8.45am (6.7km in 1hr35mins), double blue tapes on Sams Creek fire trail at 9.06am (7.8km in 1hr56mins) and morning tea on N83 just off Sams Creek fire trail at 9.38am (9.9km in 2hrs28mins). This time, instead of a higher route, came down the drainage line from Gudgenby saddle to cross Naas Creek. Nice views up to Mt Gudgenby on a perfect Spring day.
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| Mt Gudgenby from the SW on Sams Creek Fire Trail |
From here, we had a perfect run up through the light growth to pick up the markers I missed on 12-13 Jul 10. K83 is a lovely quartz lockspit. At J83 by 10.10am.
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| Morning tea on N83 (revisited) | M83 | M83 uncovered | L83 (revisited) |
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| K83 (revisited) | K83 uncovered (revisited) | 49 Mile | J83 (revisited) |
Another successful run up the border, finding all markers to A83. The going became a bit steeper and the regrowth a bit denser. By the time we got to B83 and A83, we were on granite slabs. B83 was a lovely spike in cleft of rock, covered by a small lockspit. A83 was quite photogenic, with the N end of Mt Gudgenby as a backdrop. The 1.3km from I83 to A83 took just under 1hr, a product of hunting and photographing, the terrain and the vegetation.
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| I83 | Probable I83 blaze | H83 | H83 uncovered |
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| G83 | F83 | E83 | E83 uncovered |
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| D83 | C83 uncovered | C83 | B83 | B83 uncovered | A83 |
The 2003 fire must have raced through this saddle area between 'The Fortress' (1730+m feature) and Mt Gudgenby, as the tree tops were burnt grey and the regrowth thick.
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| 1 Ken in the scrub near A83 |
Some fine granite slabs as we progressed. X82 was a fine example of a concrete cylinder.
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| Z82 | Y82 | X82 | X82 uncovered |
Huge views at this point. Mt Gudgenby close by, Sentry Box Mountain and Sentry Box Rock to the SW, Yaouk Peak, the white line of the snow covered Main Range in the distance and the 1760+m feature to the E of Mt Scabby.
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| Mt Gudgenby from the North at X82 | 2 View S thru SW from X82 - Gudgenby, Sentry Box and Rock, Yaouk, Main Range, W Scabby Range |
W82 was another cement cylinder, this one firmly attached to the granite. V82 and the 48 Mile maker could not be found.
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| W82 uncovered | W82 |
The spur was quite narrow here and with just a few steps into the ACT, there were fine views across the low point in the Yankee Hat ridge to the Gudgenby grasslands.
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| View across the Yankee Hat ridge to the Gudgenby grasslands from near U82 |
We spent some time searching for U82 and I'd claimed just a possible before I moved on, but Ken persisted at the site and found the 1" pipe to provide a certain bag.
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| U82 | U82 uncovered |
But that was the last for the day. T82 and S82 could not be found, even though their original descriptions (spike in concrete and cement cylinder) indicated that they should be on granite. But no luck.
Lunch was enjoyed, again with huge views.
We left at 12.40pm, heading SE to a saddle, then generally E and SE down to meet Bogong Creek. Some fairly rough going and the route fell 500m over 2.6km. We followed Bogong Creek, keeping above it on its SW bank. A total of 5.2km in 2hrs 25mins from lunch to the old roll of fence netting where we join the fire trails at the head of the Bogong swamp.
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| 3 View to Bogong Creek from 1300m contour |
The route back, paralleling the Old Boboyan Road, was gentler on the feet. We met a family heading in to camp for the night.
Thanks for your company Eric G, Ken W and Roger E.
Distance: 21.3km Climb: 700m. Time: 7.10am - 3.50pm (7hrs 40mins), with 35mins of stops.
Grading: L/R,ptX; H(14)
I'm known for my conservative views and now for my ultra conservative estimation. Sorry, this was not 11hrs walking and VH(15). Apologies to those who may have been starters with a more accurate description.
KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: Circumnavigation of Mt Gudgenby
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This page last updated 22Aug22