22 June 2010 Yankee Hat South
Maps: Rendezvous Creek and Yaouk 1:25000
Getting There
This walk was organised and led by me as an irregular CBC Tuesday walk:
Tuesday 22 June - Yankee Hats- M/R,ptX. Up Yankee Hat South using the SE spur. Down to the saddle between them and up Yankee Hat North (the real Yankee Hat). Return via its SE spur and the indigenous rock art. Very scrubby regrowth. Around 12km and 650m climb. Maps: Rendezvous Creek and Yaouk. Leader: John Evans - jevans@pcug.org.au, (h) 6288 7235. Transport: ~$12 per person.
5 of us met at Kambah and drove to the Yankee Hat car park. A wedge-tailed eagle rose from the side of the road at one point and there were plenty of kangaroos.
Further Information
Per kind favour of Max S - this is Max's walk and the last time he tried to get me there on 25 Aug 09 I conked out.
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 | Profile of route up Yankee Hat South |
No hats, Yankee or otherwise, in view as we set off. Our heads were in beanies for a while and theirs in cloud. Down the Old Boboyan Road and W onto an old logging track to the site of the bridge, marked on the first edition Yaouk map only. No sign of it today (the logs in the photo are relatively young), but I think I've seen dressed timbers down in the water on previous inspections.
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| Site of the old bridge over Bogong Creek (1st edn Yaouk 1-25000 map) |
Back on the old fire trail, it took us S a bit, then W across the causeway. We left it at the right-angled turn from W to N and headed up the grassy slope into the trees. From leaving the fire trail to morning tea at the 1300m contour was just under 1km (990m), with a climb of 280m from the 1020m contour. It took 50mins. We finally got our heads above the valley fog into a lovely sunny day. The vegetation was quite dense, but worse was to come. A 15min pause for morning tea. A nice view at 1350m over Bogong Creek to Mt Gudgenby, 'The Fortress' and around to the spur we were climbing. From here, Max asked if we could go a little right, to try to pick up the slabs which have an easterly view from the spur.
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| Above the valley mist on the initial climb to Yankee Hat South | View from morning tea - Sentry Box Mountain and Rock | View W-NW from 1350m contour on climb to Yankee Hat South |
This we did, pushing through the beginning of giant pick-up-sticks (fallen saplings) where you could be walking along them a metre or more above the ground - until they broke and one crashed back to earth. Pretty slow and tiring. The SE spur, of course, will have the dampest, most vigorous vegetation, so there are easier routes to the top (but not as interesting). Anyway, 480m and 100m climb (in 1hr!) after morning tea, we reached the E facing slabs. The low fog had cleared and there was an excellent view down to the car park, further N to the grasslands at the mouth of Middle Creek and S along the length of Bogong Creek. Well worth the effort.
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| 1 Climbing through regrowth and pick-up-sticks at 1390m contour to Yankee Hat South | View E from granite slab on climb to Yankee Hat South | View E from granite slab on climb to Yankee Hat South |
After taking our fill we continued up the spur through granite and scrub to the first of the open slabs with a W view. A pause to take in Mt Gudgenby, appreciate the knolls we'd climbed through behind us and, a little further on, views to 'The Fortress'.
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| Granite at 1430m contour on climb to Yankee Hat South | Mt Gudgenby from slab with view W at 1440m contour on climb to Yankee Hat South | View back down the ridge to knolls from 1440m contour on climb to Yankee Hat South | 'The Fortress' from 1470m contour on climb to Yankee Hat South |
Continued slow going, the 590m and 100m climb from 1400m to 1500m contour taking 55mins. More excellent views from these second W facing slabs.
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| View back down the spur from 1500m contour on climb to Yankee Hat South | Mt Gudgenby from 1500m contour on climb to Yankee Hat South | 2 Mt Gudgenby from 1500m contour on climb to Yankee Hat South | View back down the spur from 1500m contour on climb to Yankee Hat South |
A further 300m on and 40m up in 25mins, the going began to level out, but also became very scrubby. So we retreated a few metres to a W view and had lunch. 10mins after getting back to it, we came to an open slab which I claimed to be Yankee Hat South. Stephen unkindly pointed out the little rise at its edge.
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| 3 Yankee Hat South |
Here's a comparison of the regrowth in the area:
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| Yankee Hat South 29 Aug 06 | Yankee Hat South 22 Jun 10 |
Over the last hour or so, the weather had begun to close in and as it was now after 1pm and we were a little weary, I decided we'd leave Yankee Hat North for another day. So we battled N then NE through the dense regrowth on YHS, heading initially towards the saddle between the two then curving away to the SE down the drainage line running from the saddle. Certainly better going as we came down, but it did seem a long way. Finally gained the fire trail above Bogong Creek at 3pm.
From here, 2.4km along management tracks to the Yankee Hat indigenous rock art and a look around there. 2.9km in 35mins back along the Yankee Hat Walking Track to the car.
A scrubby, pick-up-sticks, steep little walk. Thanks for your company Hanna K, Max S, Stas M and Stephen M.
Distance: 14.2km Climb: 600m. Time: 8.35am - 4.10pm (7hrs 35mins), with 45mins of stops.
Grading: L/R,ptX; H(12)
KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: Yankee Hat South
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This page last updated 19Aug22