For this walk we assembled a team of 9 experienced Geehi bushwalkers to undertake one of the longer and more challenging day walks in our calendar. With a relatively late start we made good time from Guthega to the suspension bridge near Illawong Lodge. This was helped by utilizing the upgraded track that forms part of the Snowy Mountains Main Range walk and not needing to use the old flying fox at Farm Creek.
And from the Illawong bridge we had a well-defined foot pads up to the ridge line north of Mt Twynam. It was steady climbing up from the river for another hour to get to the ridgeline.
On the way we had a very pleasant “morning tea” stop under the last very large old snow gum at the top of the tree line, admiring a pair of pardalotes coming and going to their nest in a tree hollow, complete with the tiny chirping sounds coming from within.
Once we crested the ridge-line we had the full panoramic views out to the west, and along the ridge connecting Mt Anton, Mt Anderson and to Mt Tate. Despite it being hot down below we had most pleasant walking conditions up there at 2000m above sea level. Nevertheless, it was still good to find a sheltered spot out of the wind near Mt Anton for lunch.
Walking in this area revealed that we were actually following an old vehicle track that was last used by Soil Conservation Department over 50 years ago. This finished just prior to Mt Anderson, but we still had a good foot pad to follow all the way to Mann Bluff and Mt Tate. It is clearly a popular route.
After another brief stop on Mt Tate it was decided to take the shorter way down the old Norwegian built ski pole line back to Guthega Creek rather than following the spur all the way back to Pounds Creek and Illawong bridge as originally planned. Our way was initially along the same spur but turning left near Gills Knob to find the remnant steel poles. And then it was picking our way down the steep slope through the thicker bush till we arrived at the ruins of the lift machinery at the Guthega Creek.
The forecast of late rain did not materialize so we had time to relax by the creek for a while before making our way back over the dam wall to our starting point at Guthega. All in all, we covered a total of over 17kms with lots of climbing and only 4kms on formed tracks. This was a fantastic experience to visit such an undeveloped area and it was a most satisfying excursion.