Thursday, 31 March 2011

Johnnies Track & Beloka Range Track Junction

Buckwong Creek plus 1km

26.2

370.3 AAWT

Birds, brumbies

Two 4WDs, two logging trucks

Cold foggy and overcast in the morning, sunny and mild in the afternoon

I woke at 7 AM to a fairly thick fog and still air. Everything was very damp and it was cold. Still that way when I started walking at 9 AM along Johnnies Top Track. After a couple of kilometres on the fire trail I reached Johnnies Top (1556m) and then began following a faint trail down a long spur. The trail was easy enough to follow and I enjoyed walking through the snowgum forest on the gentle downgrade in the fog. After a few hours the fog cleared and after a final steep descent I reached the end of the spur and Buenba Creek. I was supposed to follow it upstream but first had to cross Corner Creek, which turned out to be very marshy with several channels. My feet got wet again. Curses!

Eventually I reached drier ground and then followed brumby trails parallel with the creek along the treed grassy flats. There were lots of horse droppings but no brumbies. There were also lots of boggy bits. Pleasant walking, nevertheless. Eventually I reached the Buenba Hut site on a grassy plain. The only evidence of the hut was a couple of poplar trees. It had been farmed once and there were traces of fences and gates. I had lunch under the poplars and spread out my tent, sleeping bag, etc., to dry in the pleasant sunshine.

After lunch the trail, again faint, climbed gradually through scrubby country to eventually reach Mt Hope Road, where two logging trucks were parked with the drivers having a yarn. They chatted with me for a while and offered me water and to charge my phone. Nice guys. By now it was after 4 PM and the balance of the day was easy walking down a fire trial as far as Buckwong Creek. From there I followed the creek upstream for a kilometre until I found a campsite by a small tributary after seeing some brumbies along the way. It was all a little damp and grassy and will be wet in the morning. I could hear dingoes or feral dogs howling as I went to bed at 8:30 PM.