6 Days in the Jagungal Wilderness
Our group of 12 spent six awesome days out in the Jagungal Wilderness.
Meeting up mid-morning, everyone was keen to get moving and pretty excited for the week ahead. First stop was Goulburn for lunch at the usual café, solid sandwiches, hot coffee, and the chance to properly catch up. From there, we rolled into Adaminaby, soaked up the views (and thoughts of giant trout), reset the drivers, and pushed on.
By mid-afternoon, we hit the Patons Hut walking track car park and wandered the easy 2 km into Patons Hut. It was a great way to kick things off, with wildflowers along the track, birds everywhere, and no rush. We set up camp at the hut, which turned out to be a top spot for stargazing and sitting around the fire. The short walk in also meant late arrivals could catch up. Just after midnight, while most of us were already asleep, Ann and Jesse crunched into camp and quietly settled in.
The next day, after seeing Ann back to her car, we knocked out the 10 km to Wheelers Hut. When we arrived, we found it already occupied by a group fresh off a successful fishing mission on the Toomah River. After some quality campsite Tetris, shifting packs, tents, and gear, everyone squeezed in. Later that night, Jamie appeared out of the darkness, lugging a double swag and a one-gallon bottle of iced water, which instantly earned legend status.
In the morning, from there we headed cross-country toward Pretty Plains Hut, not totally sure what we were in for. The vegetation was a mixed bag: some easy low scrub, some thick head-high prickly stuff. The bit we thought would be the worst turned out to be the best, a really nice gully walk up a gully to the second ridge. The stroll along the Pretty Plains valley was great, even with rain threatening on and off, as long as you didn’t lose the track. The hut was excellent, though the night delivered a surprise hailstorm with lightning and thunder thrown in for good measure.
We woke to a calm, sunny morning and had breakfast with a couple of snakes that clearly felt they lived there. Any plans of heading cross-country to Derschkos Hut were scrapped pretty quickly after checking out the vegetation ahead. In a rare moment of sensible decision-making, we backtracked down the valley and picked up the fire trail instead, rolling into camp late afternoon.
Next up was Mt Jagungal. The climb was steep to start, eased off nicely, then kicked again near the top. The views were unreal, and thankfully, there was phone reception. Jamie, fully committed, dragged his swag all the way to the summit. After heading back to the hut to grab our packs, we made our way toward Round Mountain Hut, eventually camping halfway along by a stream, where the ants made it very clear we were not welcome.
An early start on the last day saw us walk back to Round Mountain Car Park and load up the cars for the drive home, not without one final bit of excitement, as Jeremy finished the trip with a flat tyre.
All up, it was a great start to the New Year. Plenty of laughs, great company, and some seriously beautiful country. Massive thanks to everyone who came along, you all helped make it a trip to remember.
Meeting up mid-morning, everyone was keen to get moving and pretty excited for the week ahead. First stop was Goulburn for lunch at the usual café, solid sandwiches, hot coffee, and the chance to properly catch up. From there, we rolled into Adaminaby, soaked up the views (and thoughts of giant trout), reset the drivers, and pushed on.
By mid-afternoon, we hit the Patons Hut walking track car park and wandered the easy 2 km into Patons Hut. It was a great way to kick things off, with wildflowers along the track, birds everywhere, and no rush. We set up camp at the hut, which turned out to be a top spot for stargazing and sitting around the fire. The short walk in also meant late arrivals could catch up. Just after midnight, while most of us were already asleep, Ann and Jesse crunched into camp and quietly settled in.
The next day, after seeing Ann back to her car, we knocked out the 10 km to Wheelers Hut. When we arrived, we found it already occupied by a group fresh off a successful fishing mission on the Toomah River. After some quality campsite Tetris, shifting packs, tents, and gear, everyone squeezed in. Later that night, Jamie appeared out of the darkness, lugging a double swag and a one-gallon bottle of iced water, which instantly earned legend status.
In the morning, from there we headed cross-country toward Pretty Plains Hut, not totally sure what we were in for. The vegetation was a mixed bag: some easy low scrub, some thick head-high prickly stuff. The bit we thought would be the worst turned out to be the best, a really nice gully walk up a gully to the second ridge. The stroll along the Pretty Plains valley was great, even with rain threatening on and off, as long as you didn’t lose the track. The hut was excellent, though the night delivered a surprise hailstorm with lightning and thunder thrown in for good measure.
We woke to a calm, sunny morning and had breakfast with a couple of snakes that clearly felt they lived there. Any plans of heading cross-country to Derschkos Hut were scrapped pretty quickly after checking out the vegetation ahead. In a rare moment of sensible decision-making, we backtracked down the valley and picked up the fire trail instead, rolling into camp late afternoon.
Next up was Mt Jagungal. The climb was steep to start, eased off nicely, then kicked again near the top. The views were unreal, and thankfully, there was phone reception. Jamie, fully committed, dragged his swag all the way to the summit. After heading back to the hut to grab our packs, we made our way toward Round Mountain Hut, eventually camping halfway along by a stream, where the ants made it very clear we were not welcome.
An early start on the last day saw us walk back to Round Mountain Car Park and load up the cars for the drive home, not without one final bit of excitement, as Jeremy finished the trip with a flat tyre.
All up, it was a great start to the New Year. Plenty of laughs, great company, and some seriously beautiful country. Massive thanks to everyone who came along, you all helped make it a trip to remember.
