Walkweb

“The great feature of the mountain is the north-east flank, steeply descending in a wild confusion of crags and outcrops and runs of scree that repel exploration; the south face, too, is defended by a line of cliffs and only westwards is there a slope of easy gradient”

Wainwright’s Favourite Lakeland Mountains

Another day in the Lakes marred by rather poor weather – not much rain, but not much of a view either due to a very low cloud base, although the sun came out for long enough to give me a bit of sunburn! Notwithstanding this, an enjoyable walk that would be even better on a clear day.

We parked by the south of the narrow road that leads south from Braithwaite, just after a junction with Stoneycroft and took the path westwards along sleet Hause and over Causey Pike, climbing steadily to reach Sail and then across The Scar to Eel Head (Crag Hill on the OS maps).

From the summit you could return the same way, but we decided to drop down to the west and then loop around north-east towards Force Crag mine before taking the faint footpath south by Birkthwaite Beck to the footpath that passes High Moss and Outerside. Alas, the weather had closed in completely at this point and we ended up curving too far to the south-west, climbing the screes to meet the path close to Sail.

After this short detour, we picked up the correct path and headed eastwards past Outerside and then by Stonycroft Gill back to the start. The Swinside Inn is not far down the road and provides a good place to relax afterwards.

My rating: B+
Map OL4 – The English Lakes: North Western Area (1:25,000)
Wainwright’s guides: Book six, The North Western Fells

Mt Field East, located in the Mt Field National Park about 90km outside Hobart, provides an excellent target for a day-walk. If the weather is fine, you’ll get superb views from the summit.

I did the walk as a circuit, which requires a bit of a road bash. Parking at the Lake Fenton car park, I took the path by the south-eastern end of the lake that climbs steadily and affords excellent views. After a quick detour to Seagers Lookout (worthwhile) I proceeded across Windy Moor to the obvious summit.

After taking in the great views from the summit I took the path down by Lake Nicholls which eventually reaches Lake Dobson Road, and ultimately back to the parking area.

At around 4 hours I found it a moderate day-walk. The trail is generally pretty well marked, but some sections will require a bit of navigational care. The final pull up to the summit also requires a bit of rock hopping. I’d recommend doing the circuit clockwise as the path down from the summit to Lake Nicholls is quite steep and drags a bit – going down here seemed preferable to climbing up. The final road section is uphill but the grade is much less steep. This whole area is an alpine environment so please ensure you are properly equipped.

My rating: B+
Map: TASMAP Mount Field National Park (1:50,000)

Mt Howitt is a major attraction of the Wonangatta-Moroka unit of the Alpine National Park, with sweeping views in all directions, including of the impressive Crosscut Saw. This moderate day walk is a highly recommended Victorian bushwalk.

The walk commences at the Upper Howqua camping area. The path follows the Upper Howqua road for the first 3.5 kilometres. The road, which was closed some years ago (you used to be able to drive to the base of Howitt Spur), is easy to follow. There are however three fords required – the bridges marked on the out-of-date Vicmap have long since collapsed.

Eventually the road meets a small clearing and a signpost. Ignoring the overgrown vehicular track that climbs to the right, cross the clearing and then the Howqua River to join the Howqua Feeder Track footpath, which soon becomes quite distinct. From here it’s about 4.5 km to the summit. The path climbs moderately at first before getting steeper as it approaches the tree line. West Peak is reached first and there are magnificent views. It’s an easy walk to the summit of Mt Howitt from here.

From Mt Howitt summit you can return the same way.

[Alternative return: Walk downhill north-east from Mt Howitt along an obvious path to a track junction, taking the left (north-ish) branch slightly uphill along the first part of the Crosscut Saw. Continue along for about a kilometre to a saddle where a faint foot track proceeds off to the left (and was marked by a small cairn when I was there). Follow this path – it soon descends steeply along Stanleys Name Spur and eventually will reach Queen Spur Road, an old logging road which is now overgrown. At the road, turn left (south) and follow it back to the clearing at the base of Howqua Spur and then back along Howqua Spur road to the start.

Please note that this is for more experienced walkers – there’s some scrambling involved on the initial very steep section down from the Crosscut Saw, and the path along the spur is indistinct in places and towards the end could not be seen at all, having been hit with bushfires, leaving me traversing a rather nasty fern-filled gully to reach the old Queen Spur ‘Road’ (now a heavily overgrown and indistinct footpath). Given these issues, it would probably be better to do the circuit in a clockwise direction, i.e. ascend via Stanleys Name Spur and thus more easily locate the launching point onto the spur from Queen Spur Road, and come down the Howitt Spur.]

Walk date: Jan 2, 2009
Distance/time: around 16kms, 1 day moderate (about 6 hours), 1 day hard if returning via Stanley’s name Spur
Map: VICMAP Howitt-Selwyn (1:50,000)
My rating: A+

Access: The Upper Howqua camping area is reached via Mt Stirling – take the road to Telephone Box junction and then follow the right-hand branch of the Stirling Circuit Road until it reaches a junction with Bindaree Road. Follow Bindaree Road until it meets the Upper Howqua Road, turn left here and the camping area is reached almost immediately. The road should be passable by 2WD vehicles in dry conditions.

An excellent and not particularly difficult walk to the summit of Mt Cobbler starting at the attractive Lake Cobbler.

From Lake Cobbler follow the sign-posted track to Mt Cobbler as it follows an old vehicular track initially, before leaving to drop down and cross a small creek. Some of the track markers in this area have been burned, so are hard to see.

From the other side of the creek the path climbs steadily through forest until it reaches a track junction. From here turn right (north) and follow the path as it breaks through the treeline onto the Cobbler Plateau. Walk up the rock slabs (a path is marked by occasional cairns but in good weather you won’t need them) as you walk up this section you’ll probably wonder how the summit will be reached as it is cut off from the main ridge. Fortunately there is a small land bridge that connects the two; some simple scrambling is required, although it’s steep on all sides so a head for heights would be useful.

After exploring the summit area and taking in the superb views, return to Lake Cobbler via the same path.

Walk date: Jan 3, 2009
Distance/time: Around 8kms, 1 day easy (3 hours or so)
Map: Vicmap Howitt-Selwyn (1:50,000)
My rating: A+

Access: Lake Cobbler is about 50km south of Whitfield, along a forestry road that is unsealed for the most part. My car is an all-wheel drive Subaru Forester which had no problems negotiating the track, access by 2WD should be possible with care in dry weather – note that there is a steep climb up from the upper Dangdongadale River valley and a short ford just before Lake Cobbler is reached.

Update: See comments for an update on current conditions (Mar 2011)

Just returned from a couple of great days walking in the Wonnangatta-Moroka area of the Alpine National Park. Walk descriptions to follow shortly; a photo gallery is available here (nb. requires modern browser and broadband connection).