I drove up to Thredbo via the Alpine way from Melbourne on Good Friday 2018. It was very busy on the roads .
I stopped by to see my old friend at The Silver Brumby Chalet in Thredbo before continuing onto Island bend to camp for the night. The upper campsite was filling up and the lower camp site was beyond capacity.
It was not my usual style to camp with the holiday crowd car camping masses but I needed to get an early start on Easter Sat. and it was becoming dark as I set up camp.
There was a heavy frost overnight and the moon was full and the night sky was clear.
I packed up on Sat. and was off by about 9 am. I found a parking spot at the Guthega Power station and went off to towards the Disappointment spur track. Th e Munyang bridge is broken and the powers that be have fenced it off. I was not deterred since I had come to walk some more of the AAWT. I did a river crossing north of the bridge and emerged dry and composed.
The spur climb on the fire trail was nothing compared with the Diamantina spur in VIC. but it kept going up and up until I reached the green Disappointment spur hut.
There was water flowing at regular points along the the whole route unlike in VIC. which is so dry .
Eventually after a quick rest and a snack at the hut I went on and met the Schlink track and pressed on for lunch at White's River Hut. The same party that I met at the green hut were also eating lunch at White's River hut.
I did not see any fecal waste around the hut so the new loo there must be working in enticing people to do their business inside the comode.
Further on at the Schlink pass I met a solo AAWT walker heading for Walhalla. I gave him some tips for parts of the VIC. leg of the trek and moved on .
The Schlink hut is large and would be a welcome sight in BC XC ski season but it is not much of a place to camp.
After having a pit stop there I pushed onto Valentine's hut.
By the time I arrived I was exhausted, just shattered having walked 18kms . A KHA working Bee party was ensconced there and were repainting the hut.
Once I had set up camp and cooked my dinner it was almost dark and I went to sleep in my snuggly warm sleeping bag. There was a heavy frost overnight , again.
The next morning at day break I was up and about. It was quite nippy indeed outside .
A larger , younger group had camped down by the creek and were slow to pack up.
Having packed up and dropped my pack at the hut I went and bush bashed down to Valentine falls.
The KHA party were recutting the track with hand tools.
I think the falls would be more spectacular in November.Then having set off I went back to the Schlink hut for lunch. I passed the large party who camped by Valentine Creek.
The route was full of walkers but I was still able to have some solitude along the way in the Jagungal Wilderness section along the Valentine track.
I chatted with some pack wielding mountain bikers at Schlink Pass and my way to Horse camp Hut.
They flew down the Schlink track whereas I trudged along past White's River hut.
I was surprised to find that Horse Camp Hut has been rebuilt and is very smart. The KHA had very recently repainted it and it stank of fresh paint.
I set up my tent and was pleased to find I had the whole location to myself.
Water was not far away and I went and pumped up some water with my water filter.I got a camp fire going and cooked dinner. Another early night in bed followed. The morning of Easter Monday was clear and sunny and having packed up I walked back down to the Power station .
Next time I will walk the Rolling Ground from Guthega Dam to White's river Hut as well as another walk , up Hannel's spur.
Once I had got organzined I took my RAV4 up to Guthega for the views and returned via the Smiggins Hole link Track . That is a 4 x 4 track really but my car was fine along that route.
Jindabyne was so busy it was a shock but the Barry way was something of a 4 x 4 wilderness route .
It was also quite busy on the NSW side with 4WD enthusiasts and campers along the Snowy River.
Along the way I took a detour to visit Little River Falls. They were as dry as a crisp and thus I continued to Buchan where I found a bed at the Backpackers' lodge. That establishment is changing hands and it is unclear after some 25 years of dropping in there , on and off over the years, whether it will continue as a budget travellers' hostel or not.
A visit to the Fairy cave on Easter Tuesday was worthwhile and then came the LONG drive along the Princes' highway to Melbourne.
I packed a lot into 5 or so days. One could have loitered en route and spent two weeks doing such a trip.