At last I was able to hit the trail again, as the lockdown was over and I was prepared to chance my back strain, and the weather forecast was great for the exact three days I had available. I decided to do a loop starting from Powelltown and covering a portion of the Walk into History trail I did in December last year. I suspected the campsites would be busy as this was the first weekend we were allowed out of our 15 km radius and it was easily made into a long weekend by the Melbourne Cup holiday.
I parked outside the church in Powelltown and headed up Monett Road. This was a typical forest dirt road, deep in the bush and narrow. A small sign at the start of the road said it was closed due to road conditions but I decided to chance it, as the sign looked old and I knew I could always turn back and drive somewhere else nearby to start the walk. As a side benefit I realised this would mean no vehicles on the road. The road was a gradual climb with lots of tree ferns among the tall mountain ash and birdsong. I saw a couple of black cockatoos and heard lots of their screeches. It was still and sunny and I already regretted not having brought my shorts. After about 5 km there was another sign warning of road closure and shortly after I came to a barricade across the road; I continued around it and within a km I came to another barricade marking the end of the closed section. I could not for the life of me see why this section of road was unsafe.
The last bit to Starlings Gap campsite was on another dirt road, much smoother and I stopped by a little spring to make a cup of coffee. When I got to Starlings Gap I was not surprised how crowded it was, with already 16 tents and masses of cars. Lots more people were still arriving. I chose to camp right where the Walk into History trail enters the forest as there was a patch of flat ground. The large groups played music until about 1.30am but this didn’t keep me awake. 11 kms
In the morning I walked to Ada #2 campsite where I camped last time and noticed that there had been some trail maintenance, as there was far less tree debris than before. The ferns were wonderful and this was quickly becoming the least windy walk I’ve done all year.
At the campsite I had a quick chat then continued on a km to Ada Creek where I sat on the bridge having coffee. The trail was not especially damp but I was immediately found by leeches.
Then I joined another forest road and walked downhill for a long long time to the Latrobe River. Walking beside the river and hearing it gurgle was very pleasant and I was only passed by a couple of vehicles. When I came to the Latrobe River campsite/picnic area I found the river was high and part of the area was flooded. I sat at a picnic table and had lunch and chilled and thought about where to put the tent. Just before I got it out of my pack I decided to check my route for tomorrow and I suddenly realised I was not at the campsite, which was away from the river and 500 metres further up the road! I went on to the campsite in the forest, which had marked sites unlike last night, and of course they were all taken, so I chose a nice spot right next to a picnic table. I enjoyed looking up at the tops of the tall spindly trees. 20 kms
In the morning the forest was in fog and it was cold so I lingered in bed. Then I remembered I had to walk along the sealed road for a while and I thought I should get going before it got busy. It was fairly busy anyway and I was pleased to reach the High Lead car park where I could turn onto the Walk into History trail and follow the river all the way back to Powelltown. I stopped at the first log bridge for a coffee break and I took a photo; when I got home I saw that I took the exact same photo last year.
There had been maintenance on this section too but there was plenty of fresh blackberry coming through. When I reached the main road I decided I would try to find the back route into Powelltown as shown on my gps; last year we had tried unsuccessfully to find this route out of the town but after a few false starts I found a trail going right back to my car and avoiding the main road entirely. However it was very muddy. Disappointingly the shop was closed, so I had lunch at the picnic ground and drove to the bakery in Woori Yallock. 15 kms
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