Text and photosTyrone Boi

After a few nice winter snowshoe hikes I was happy that a warmish spring weekend was forecast.

North-west from near The Nobs

4 | Bushwalk December 2023

T he Mount Clear loop had been on my radar for a good 2-3 years, so I thought why not tackle this more remote isolated part of the Alpine National Park. The route would take in part of the Australian Alps Walking Track.

Day 1: Clear Creek to Mount Clear Saddle 15 km, 8 hoursAs I wanted to get an early start walking and taking in account the tedious drive from Merrijig to Clear Creek, I left Melbourne at 4.30 am. This gave me plenty of time to think about what I was expecting on this hike. I was a bit nervy and also excited to be back into into a remote place.

After an hour and half of bumpy slow drive in my VW van from Merrijig I finally reached Clear Creek. It felt like I was driving into the void as i descended into the Jamieson Valley. As I was getting ready I met deer hunters in their big ute tanks, reminding me of the horror movie Wolf Creek. After a quick chit chat, assuring me I wouldn’t be shot mistaking me for a deer, I headed up The Nobs 4WD track which led to the start of walk proper on the AAWT 440 metres higher.

I had read that the 4WD track from Clear Creek to below The Nobs track was quite steep, and with a loose rock surface I was blowing steam already. One of the deer hunters was driving up the track, and this is where Wolf Creek thoughts crept into my head and thinking this is it for me. He offered a lift up to the top to the AAWT turn off, saving me the last kilometre of this road bash. I was happy to jump into back of his ute which was covered in blood from a fresh kill. It all added to the adventure.

I started walking on the faint footpad eyeing off The Nobs in the distance, two craggy peaks. The walking was beautiful with stunning Aussie bush all around me. I had six litres of water with a loose plan for a dry camp at one of the many saddles, so the extra weight was affecting my progress.

The Nobs

Clear Creek and the Jamieson River from Mount Clear

High Cone from the west

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After a short scramble up The Nobs I could look down and see the spurs and ridges as shown on my paper map very clearly. As I headed towards High Cone the wind was blowing at around 40 kilometres an hour, and with a blaring spring sun I wasn’t sure if I was cold or hot.

In a few hours I reached High Cone, happy with my progress and really enjoying the wild remote feeling on this route. After a short snack break of dried fruits nuts and a banana I was on my way. I could see Mount Clear in the distance, and nearer there was another bump, Square Top. I'm unsure how the name came about as it looked more like a pointy triangular shape.

Navigation so far had been quite straightforward, following a faint footpad. I had read a report that the track was overgrown in places, and I got cocky and ahead of myself thinking, “Meh, a walk in the park!” So I went down from High Cone, but after about 20 minutes I lost the track, back on course soon after checking the GPS. This went on for another half hour, losing the track, checking the GPS, repeat …

Things took a turn and soon I was trying to locate the trail and finding no track, just overgrown waist-high shrub with fallen trees to climb over and under. I soon found myself choosing my own path through thick scrub for two hours or so. I was trying to follow the middle of the spur to get onto Square Top but somehow ended up sidling around it. I found a flat ledge clear of scrub and thought this is too easy to be true. I walked it anyway as it gave me a short sense of relief until I reached a scrubby dead end. I checked the GPS and to my surprise saw how far down the north-west side of Square Top I was. By this stage I was feeling tired and exhausted, and looking straight up to where I had to go to get back on top of the spur was soul destroying.

The south ridge of Mount Clear

Tarns just south of Mount Clear summit

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I scrambled up a very steep slope over fallen trees and thick scrub. I got somewhere near the top blowing a lung out or two and as I looked down a fat long copperhead snake lay there basking in the sun, scaring the crap out of me.

A sense full of self despair overcome me!

After a short regroup to check the map and GPS I found that I wasn’t too far from the saddle before Mount Clear, still with no track. It was somewhat easier as I was on the middle of the spur heading down hill and finally a clearing was in sight of the saddle between Mount Clear and Square Top. I was much relieved and feeling parched I guzzled down a good half litre of water. Fair to say I was really buggered, sore calf muscles, sore shoulders etc … I was thinking it would be tempting just to set up camp now at 3 pm and relax for the rest of afternoon, or I could try and make a dash to the intended campsite just north of Mount Clear. I figured out that this would be an hour up to summit of Mount Clear, then an hour on the summit plateau and

down other side. I could see that the scrub was not dense upon the southern slopes so I figured that the bush bashing was behind me. With a choccy bar and another banana to give some last energy boost as I felt I was running on vapours I decided I would go for it and have an easy walk back down to car the next day.

Climbing Mount Clear involved 200 metres ascent from the saddle, steep in places. The wind had picked up speed by late afternoon and I wasn’t too interested in hanging out on top of Mount Clear's flat open area for too long. Tunnel vision had set in for reaching camp as I was racing against the sun as I didn’t want to be navigating in the dark.

A lonely tree on Mount Clear

Campsite with Mount Clear behind

8 | Bushwalk December 2023