Australia: Jagungal Wilderness, Kosciuszko National Park

Introduction

If you haven’t been hiking in the Jagungal Wilderness, located in the northern part of Kosciuszko National Park, then do it!

Commencing at the Round Mountain trailhead, six hardy souls trudged out for the start of a big adventure. The plan – hike the Great Alpine Trail some 100kms back to Thredbo, camping and carrying all our food and gear for 7 days. With a hardcopy of the relevant topo maps, downloaded map of the area plus a compass and a Garmin InReach added for additional safety.

From our research, we had a good idea of the route and huts we could utilise in case of emergency. We did decide to take the opportunity to camp by the huts where available and utilise them for preparing our meals.

First Day: Round Mountain Trail Head to Derschkos Hut – 14km

Departing Thredbo early in the morning, we set off for the 2 hour drive to the Round Mountain trail head (via Khancoban). Carrying full packs in very wet conditions and despite the rain, the day ended up being an easy one. What a great introduction to the Jagungal Wilderness.

As luck would have it, after consuming our soggy lunch, the sky cleared to reveal a nice sunny day ahead. Reaching the camp site before sunset, we managed to get a fire going in the fire pit outside. We settled in for the night, sharing a good yarn or two – minus the one million blood sucking March flies!

Second Day: Derschkos Hut to camp site, via Mt Jagungal – 12km

This turned out to be a tough day. Navigation skills came to the fore, that and swatting away some one million March flies – well, it certainly felt like there was one million! They managed to bite through every piece of clothing and human flesh possible. No amount of swatting, kicking or screaming kept them at bay. Staring into their big beady eyes didn’t scare them away either!

Picking our way through head high undergrowth bush bashing Aussie style, we finally navigated our way up to a high ridge after about 3 hours. Reaching the ridge, we picked up a faint trail. Dropping our packs at the base, we had a short rock scramble which led us to the top of Mt Jagungal (2,061m) – the seventh highest mountain in Australia. With the sun shining, a slight breeze and 360 degree views of the surrounding Jagungal Wilderness area, this is as good as it gets on any summit day.

Descending, we hit a few bogs – and more biting March flies. Apparently, the March fly uses the protein in the blood to develop eggs, which give rise to the next generation of March flies. Hmmm!

Back to the trail. We could roughly make out where we were headed, up to the Stromlo Range. So with map and compass in hand we continued to zig zag across the swampy area and up the hill until we were all exhausted. Finally reaching a spot where we could pitch a tent and that also had running water nearby, we called it a day.

Dining alfresco, with the stars shining ever so brightly in the sky above us, we fell asleep content with how the day unfolded. Looking up at the clear night sky and sighting the Southern Cross along with other constellations was a sight to behold.

Third Day: Camp site to Grey Mare Hut – 10km

Today, was up and over another ridge that intersected with the Grey Mare trail. Finally ending up at our our destination of Grey Mare hut. Along the way through the swampy area, we came across numerous yabby holes – the small Australian equivalent of a freshwater crayfish species.

After setting up camp, we headed to the nearest water source, an easy 50m from our campsite. Judging by some old implements lying around, it appeared this was once an gold mining site from the 1800s.

During bad weather, Grey Mare is considered to be one of the key survival shelters in the Jagungal Wilderness.

Fourth Day: Grey Mare Hut, via Valentines Hut to Schlink Hut – 14.5km

This was what I call Type 2 fun day. Involving three river crossings around knee to waist high, it was gear off and gear on. Rinse, dry and repeat! Reaching Valentines Hut was one of the highlights of the hike – it’s door is painted bright red, so aptly named. It’s also a great spot to have a lunch break and take in the surroundings.

After lunch, things got a bit interesting at a T junction on the trail. Reaching Schlink Hut, also known as ‘Schlink Hilton’, we realised that one of our party hadn’t arrived. On dusk, we dispatched a small search party and managed to find him within the hour and in good spirits. However, it appeared that the darn March flies had also sent out a search party and found us too!

Fifth Day: Schlink Hut to White River Hut – 5km

This turned out to be a very short day. Plan A was to go from Schlink Hut up and over a ridge and camp near Mt Tate, following the Great Alpine trail.

As the Alpine weather forecast was not looking great, we contemplated alternatives. Reaching White River Hut after a short hike, we pitched our tents. This was just in case it became very busy with overnight hikers coming up from Guthega Power Station. A decision that proved wise as it turned out.

Some of the hardy group decided to press on and see if they could tag Mt Tate and return to camp. It was tough going, with the trail disappearing into head high undergrowth and remerge many metres away – again and again. So, after a few hours the two of us decided to turn around and head back down. The thought of a delicious lunch of salami and cheese coupled with dessert was also an attractive option to return to.

Today was the first after 5 days that we encountered other people. They were with a local alpine club who had hiked up from the power station. It was nice to have a conversation with someone other than our own.

Sixth Day: Change of plan! Detour from White River Hut to Ski Lodge in Perisher – 12km

What’s that saying? The best laid plans of mice and men get led asunder! The updated weather report didn’t look promising, limiting our options to head up and follow the Great Alpine Way further across the top.

With an alternate trail closed because of a collapsed bridge, another detour was the order of the day. When one of our fellow companions suggested we could bunk down at their ski lodge for the night with a hot shower and comfy bed – well, need we say more. It wasn’t a hard decision. However, now we had to find our way.

The first section of our new detour was a service road which lead down to the Guthega Power Station and car park, around 8km. The power station formed the original part of the great Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme. It was on this road that we encountered some more people – a large bush walking group. They were also headed up to White River Hut – a very popular destination, so it seems, for an overnight hike.

Upon reaching the power station, it was ‘now where’? With a little assistance from MapsMe and some local knowledge, we began our long zig zag ascent to Perisher. To our detriment, we had to hike up an incredibly steep ski slope – the ‘Blue Cow Black Run’.

Now, I’ve never attempted a black ski run in summer – come to think of it, in winter either! So here we were, up and up we went – straight up in fact. The thought of a hot shower at the end seemed to spur us on. Finally, we trudged into the very quite but quaint village of Perisher and onto the ski lodge.

The highlight of our stay was being able to access a well stocked pantry. Making scones for afternoon tea and having a well earned pasta dish for dinner, there was definitely no hydrated food for us tonight.

Final Day in the Jagungal Wilderness. Charlotte Pass to Thredbo – 22km

After a well earned rest, we poked our heads outside to see that the weather forecast was spot on. 100mm of rain plus 40-60km winds were headed our way – some of it having reached us already. After some consultation, we arranged for a shuttle bus to come and pick us up and take us on the short drive to Charlotte Pass, around 12km, so that we could resume our hike back down to Thredbo.

Some of our merry troupe decided to walk the 22km loop of the main range – crossing the Snowy river and up around tagging Mt Kosciuszko and then down to Thredbo village accessing the chair lift at Eagles Nest.

Given the dire weather forecast and because we’d previously hiked that trail, we elected to cut it short and head the most direct route down to Thredbo, a distance of some 16km. Taking shelter in Seaman’s hut along the way, looking like drowned rats, we waited out some of the bad weather. After an hour or two, we finally made a decision to hot foot it down in what was a record time for us at least.

Finally, we reached the village of Thredbo, where our journey began 7 days ago. Curling up in our warm cosy lodge to dry out, we reminisced with the others when they arrived over a well earned dinner washed down with a glass or two of red wine!

Onwards and upwards!

Trevor

Insights – Jagungal Wilderness

• Register your trip intention form online with NSWPS or in person at the Snowy Region Visitor Centre, Jindabyne or Khancoban Visitor Centre.
• Kosciuszko National Park entry fee applies, regardless of the season.
• Given a wet summer, there was ample water supply along the way.
• All of the huts we encountered in the Jagungal Wilderness were in excellent condition. They would make great emergency shelters if you encountered extreme weather.
• Be prepared – pack appropriate gear, water, tent, compass, PLB and maps of the area.
• March flies are not active early in the morning or at dusk – luckily they do sleep!!
• Read our other posts about adventures in the Kosciuszko National Park here.