Loop hike from Mt Buller

As my swan song for the year I thought I could do a hike from Mt Buller. I wanted to do a loop and not repeat too much from previous hikes, but planning a hike at Buller can be problematic because there aren’t many access trails on and off the mountain and many of the lower trails have been swallowed up by the bush even when they appear on maps. So I went with two options and luckily I was able to do my preferred one.

December 26 I parked at the Summit car park above Mt Buller village and headed off down the Family run and onto Four Mile Spur. It was a beautiful day. I remembered the first part from my Buller Huts hike last year, the winding through the snow gums followed by a sudden surprising scramble, and when I went wrong I immediately realised it was the same place as last time. The downhill was relentless but with good mountain views from several openings in the trees, crimson rosellas, flowering yellow pea bush and blue flax lilies. I passed other hikers. At the bottom the Howqua River looked higher than last time and I didn’t like it that I had to cross with a pair of hikers watching but I got across without falling. (One of the hikers told me where they were headed and when I looked at my map this was where Dom got lost, but it was too late to say anything.) Then I followed the dirt road to Davons Flats campsite. All the campsites along the river were extremely busy. I tucked into a nice spot close to the river. 12 kms

December 27 I started immediately on the Eagle Peaks trail, but I was dismayed to see the sign at the trailhead said it was 20 kms to Eight Mile Gap when my gps and map both showed 13.5 kms. The path climbed steeply from the get go. Two kms in I met a guy descending I recognised from the campsite; he said he had approached, but not reached, the summit from both sides but never been up and over as I intended. The trail was defined, something I had been worried about, but really overgrown and I got many scratches. In places there was grass but enough walkers had flattened it to make the trail obvious. The wildflowers were wonderful. As I climbed I came to a succession of grassy saddles with superb views, at first towards Mt Buller and then towards the Governor and the main Eagle Peak.

It was a perfect sunny day and not too hot. I had been concerned about one stretch of the trail that was supposed to be quite exposed with steep drop offs; luckily the drop offs were never on both sides at the same time. I walked over the two minor summits but the main one was elusive; I stopped one time thinking I had reached it only to have a descent and another steep climb.

I came upon a fat lizard resting on the trail, completely motionless. Closer to the top a black snake was lying across the trail; it was so still I wasn’t sure it was alive and a fly was sitting on its tail, but then it slithered away. The entire 11 kms climb took me five hours. When I reached the highest summit I had great difficulty finding the start of the descent and I was very relieved when I noticed a hairpin trail heading steeply down. This trail was loose dirt and really slippery so of course I immediately fell over and collected a lot of grazes and bruises.

Soon it went into the trees and was easier. There were beautiful grey gums and masses of everlastings, yellow ones and white. At Eight Mile Gap the sign said it was 11 kms to Davons Flats, so a trail that is signed as 20 kms one way and 11 kms the other, but is actually just under 14 kms.

From here I had a long dusty road to follow back to the Howqua River and Eight Mile campsite. Fortunately there weren’t many vehicles. I stopped half way down by the first flowing water I saw and sat to have a coffee. The campsite was again busy but I found a patch of grass by the river. It had been a long day. 22 kms 

December 28 In the morning my legs were sore from yesterday’s exertions. I set out on the high trail along the river and soon climbed high above it; the views of the river far below and the towering mountains was amazing.

The river was a series of wiggles with frequent rapids. I had a brief stop at Richies Hut and went on to Pikes Flats. The river was narrower with plenty of white water. Just before Pikes I had to cross Eight Mile Creek and couldn’t quite do it without taking my shoes off. The confluence of the creek and river was a lively place of water surging against rocks. Pikes Flats was a huge area of grass where the river had widened - deserted. I found some shade by the Howqua and had a long break to prepare for what I expected to be an arduous climb to the Mt Stirling area, if indeed my planned route was walkable, something I was not 100% sure about. Just as I was preparing to wade the river two rangers showed up and were interested in my activities, which I was happy to tell them of, and I also mentioned my findings with the marker signs. What were the chances of bumping into the ideal people to confirm whether I could walk up a logging road that was shown as closed on the map? They said yes. 

The 11 kms climb on Cornhill Logging Rd, a dirt road closed to vehicles, was long and hot. Initially I climbed steeply then tapered off. I had great window views towards the Bluff and flanking peaks. There were huge numbers of fallen trees, which had been partly cut up but couldn’t be moved, leaving giant logs suspended above and on the road. Higher up the road followed the edge of the hillside with a big vertical drop. I was tired. It took me ages to reach the Mt Stirling circuit road. Then after a few kms I got to Howqua Gap hut where I camped beside the separate refuge hut (“maximum capacity 2 people” which sounds unkind if your group is caught in a blizzard). 25 kms

December 29 It was a lot colder up here in the morning than down by the river. I had a heart starting climb in the sunshine to warm up though. I was walking up a mountain bike trail but I didn’t expect to see any bikers so early; at least 15 came hurtling down the trail within half an hour. The trail was lined by snow gums - none grow upright, they all lean off the mountainside. I passed Cornhill and after a shot stretch on a walking trail I was in the Mt Buller urban sprawl. I looked south and thought I could identify the Eagle peaks.

I went into the village and got a coffee as an imposter at the Bike Cafe and relaxed in the sunshine surrounded by dozens of bikers. Then I finished off with the trail to the car park, getting views towards Mt Speculation and a distant Mt Bogong. 7 kms