Harrietville to Mt Hotham via Bon Accord Spur, Alpine National Park - May 2019.

High up in the Snowgum zone on Bon Accord Track.

I’m not sure if anyone remembers (actually, I’m not sure if anyone even reads my waffle?) that way back in November last year I attempted to climb Champion Spur up onto the Razorback, in the Alpine National Park. Things went a bit pear shaped that day and it turned into a bit of a Feral catastrophe as I battled seemingly impenetrable scrub, heat and a  lack of water, not to mention a lack of fitness! After I’d licked my wounds back at home for awhile I mumbled something about having a go in cooler weather and also maybe trying to head down the spur rather than push up through the scrub. Now procrastination could really be my middle name, so it’s taken me until a couple of weeks before the snow season officially begins to get myself organised for another go at Champion Spur.

So this is the story of my next adventure on Champion Spur right? Er, no actually this is the prequel. Before I could head down Champion Spur I had to get up to the top somehow and with me being largely friendless then that meant that there was no chance of a car shuffle, so it was shanks pony for me! So with only one vehicle at my disposal the next best option for me was to climb Mt Hotham via Bon Accord Spur and spend the night at The General, yep a night at the pub definitely had a certain appeal! So anyway, after leaving home at around 4am I pulled up to the small car park at the Bon Accord Track Head at around 9am, pulled on my boots and pack and set off.

Bon Accord Track Head.

It was a pearler of a day

The Bon Accord Track starts off pretty easily as it contours along high above the Ovens River, the pad weaving in and out a few side gullies as I made my way south towards Washington Creek. This was a nice section of track to walk the morning as the morning sun warmed the western slopes, although I’d be careful in Spring as I reckon it would be a perfect spot for snakes to warm themselves up a bit. The track along here mostly stays fairly high above the Ovens River, so for the most part I only really got glimpses of the rushing water down through the trees. Lifting my eyes up from the river it was Champion Spur and The Razorback that was gaining my attention, things looking deceptively reasonable from down here on this sunny morning.

Bon Accord Track stays a fair way above the East Branch of the Ovens River until near Washington Creek.

Bon Accord Track

Champion Spur and The Razorback - it all looks pretty easy from down here.

Bon Accord Track contours in and out of a few side gullies on it's journey south.

My route tracked along above an old water race for awhile.

Bon Accord Hill - I'll be heading up there soon enough.

Nearing Washington Creek, Bon Accord Track started to drop down towards the Ovens River East Branch.

After an hour or so of easy walking Bon Accord Track started to drop down to cross the Ovens River near Washington Creek. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect down here as the area was heavily damaged in some big floods a few years ago so arriving at river level I was happy to see a nice bridge to get me across the river. Crossing the bridge with dry feet I now picked up a spur that started between the river and Washington Creek, this spur marking the start of the hard walking. Where as the walk along the river had largely contoured the climb up here is fairly steep, the track climbing around 600 metres over three kilometres up to Bon Accord Hill.

The Ovens River East Branch.

Washington Creek coming in on the left, the Ovens River East Branch is on the right, Bon Accord Spur starts between them.

There's flash bridge over the Ovens River East Branch.

Ovens River East Branch.

It was now just a matter of keeping my head down and shuffling my way upwards, the good news was that the track was fairly good and I was even able to get a few views through the trees when I inevitably stopped once again to get my breath back. With the sun streaming through the trees even this steep climb wasn’t too bad this morning, it’s amazing that even on a steep grunt like this a bit of sunshine does wonders for my Feral mojo. Topping out at the 1304 metre Bon Accord Hill it was time for a bit of a longer break, only the sound of the occasional motorbike on the Great Alpine Road disturbing the peace.

Bon Accord Spur starts off steep....

....and stays that way until arriving up on Bon Accord Hill.

Apart from the obvious track there are a few hints around that walkers have been heading up here for years.

Passing Bon Accord Hill I started to get some views through the trees across to The Razorback.

Bon Accord Spur is certainly a less well travelled spur than some of the other spurs that can access Mt Feathertop, I’m sure if I was on Bungalow Spur or the Razorback Tracks I would of seen plenty of other walkers on what was a very pleasant Saturday but today I hadn't seen another sole (I was up on The Razorback before I saw another walker today). After having a bit of a breather on Bon Accord Hill I set off again on another fairly easy section of Bon Accord Track, this section of the walk mostly follows the top of a high ridge, the track crossing over a couple of knolls as I headed towards the site of the old Bon Accord Hut. After walking a particularly acute section of the ridge I entered an area that was thick with Alpine Ash Regrowth, this regrowth was what I was worried about for tomorrows walk back down along Champion Spur, it was one thing going through the dense wall of green on a fairly clear track, but I know from bitter experience that pushing through this stuff off-piste is a nightmare. There’s only really a chimney left at the old Bon Accord Hut site now but there is enough room to pitch a tent or two in the regrowth if anyone wanted to camp here, actually the better spot to camp is just before entering into the thick regrowth a little to the north west of the old hut site I think.

I was now in the Alpine Ash regrowth zone.

Bon Accord Spur gets fairly acute in spots approaching the old Bon Accord Hut Site.

Passing through the regrowth on Bon Accord Track


The old chimney is about all that's left of the old Bon Accord Hut.

Leaving the old hut site the track once again starts to climb steeply, now passing out of the Alpine Ash zone into the Snowgums. I was getting pretty tired by now as I shuffled my way upwards, although with the vegetation getting more stunted and the views correspondingly opening up my Feral mojo was kept pretty high. After a couple of short breathers I was soon standing on top of Bon Accord Spur on The Razorback at the top of the Big Dipper, things should be a little easier from now on, well that was my theory anyway.

Shortly after leaving the old hut site the views start to open up.

Looking along The Razorback to Mt Feathertop from the upper reaches of Bon accord Spur.

With the open top of Mt Hotham now easily in view I was starting to look forward to that cold beer that was waiting for me at The General, although while it might of all looked easy enough I still had to walk it! Shuffling my way across The Razorback my next objective was Diamantina Hut, although it wasn’t the shelter of the hut that I was looking forward to this afternoon but rather the picnic table out the front, yeah I’m getting old I suppose when I’m looking forward to somewhere to sit! After sitting in the warm afternoon sun for awhile at Diamantina Hut, chatting to a few walkers coming in along The Razorback from Feathertop, I decided that I was suitably fortified and ready for the last climb of what had been a fairly solid day.

Hey, hey, I've made it onto The Razorback.

The walk across to Diamantina Hut along The Razorback was pretty cruisey.

Diamantina Hut.

The climb from Diamantina Hut to the summit of Mt Hotham is a pretty easy walk…normally! It’s only around 100 metres of elevation but it was a three stop climb for me this afternoon (Cue the harp music. I remember when I could knock off the hardest climbs in Victoria without needing to rest, hmmm). Thankfully I was around 2 metres from the summit when I felt the first twinge of cramp in my groin today, another joy that I didn’t have to deal with back when I had hair. For the middle of May the weather today was incredibly warm, sitting on the summit of Mt Hotham in a thin shirt in the late afternoon only a couple of weeks out from winter isn’t normal, although thankfully we were having an election today so action on climate change should be imminent (yep, we all know the postscript for that, doh!!!).

I was now on a section of the Hotham Trails network.

Leaving Diamantina Hut I climbed through some nice Snowgums.

It was about here that I felt the first twinge of cramp in my groin.

After another good rest on the summit I set off again on the last leg of my days walk down to my nights accommodation at The General. Now the Mt Hotham Village is spread out along the Great Alpine Road along high ridge and unfortunately The General is a fair way along the ridge, so I still had a bit of a walk in front of me. If you can block the dormant skiing infrastructure out a bit then the walk down from the summit to Hotham Heights is actually pretty good, the open grassy tops allowing long reaching views in every direction only really limited by bushfire smoke haze this afternoon.

Mt Hotham summit.

Dropping down to Hotham Heights.

Arriving onto the bitumen Great Alpine Road at Hotham Heights all I had left was a 15 minute road bash down to Davenport Village and The General, it sounds pretty shitty but walking the Great Alpine Road late on this Saturday afternoon was a pretty quiet affair, I only had a couple of vehicles go past me. It was around 4:30 when I checked into my room this afternoon so my climb had taken my around 7.5 hours hours, I can live with that. Staying at The General was certainly a very civilised way to spend a night in the middle of a walk, a hot shower, great view, heater and good wifi and a decent bed being luxuries that I don’t often enjoy on a long walk…and then then was the cold beer and good food!

The Great Alpine Road was pretty quiet this afternoon.

Sunset from my balcony at The General.

The Dirt.
I walked 18.7 kilometres and climbed 1559 metres according to my GPS on what I’d call a hard day out. Like I’ve waffled on about already the Bon Accord Spur Track features couple of steep sections interspersed with a couple of fairly level sections. I’m thinking that if you are walking down Bon Accord Track then once you bottom out at Washington Creek the distance from there back to the track head might be a little frustrating, although maybe that’s just me? I used the Rooftops Bright-Bogong-Hotham Forest Activity Map and it was all I really needed. Off the top of my head the walk up Bon Accord Spur has also featured in books by the Chapman’s, Mr Thomas and Mr Van Der Knijff. Bon Accord Spur is the route that the pioneers of ski tourism used to take to get tourist up to Mt Hotham back in the day, being a bridal track the path is generally fairly well benched and easy to follow, if not pretty steep in a couple of spots. Parks Vic have got the track pretty clear of bushfire regrowth for the most part, there was only a short section of overhanging scrub between Bon Accord Hill and the old hut site but it wasn’t anything to worry about. As I’ve already waffled on about I stayed at The General again on this visit, I’ve stayed there a few times over the years and while its not your cheap and cheerful option I like it for the food, the beer, the comfortable rooms and the friendly staff.

Relevant Posts.
Mt Hotham, AAWT, 2017.
Mt Loch, Alpine National Park, 2018.

It's not every walk that I can catch the TV news while I have a shower.

The guitar was about to come out!

One for me and one for Bob, may he rest in peace.