Goin' Feral One Day At A Time: Mt St Gwinear to Mustering Flat Walk, Baw Baw National Park

The AAWT passing through the Snow Gums near Mt St Phillack. The Snow Gums up here are really a feature of this walk.

Mustering Flat is one of the places that I've had a go at visiting over the years, however actually getting there has never really come off. I've glanced down in the direction of the flat from Phillack Saddle many times and on one occasion I'd even got halfway down to the flat only to be beaten back by lack of time and some reasonably thick scrub. Both Mr Chapman and Mr Siseman mention a pad running down to Mustering Flat from Phillack Saddle although I've never found any evidence of it on my visits. Anyway with an afternoon to spare I decided to head back up to Baw Baw National Park and have another go at checking out the elusive Mustering Flat. On my other half hearted attempts to get to the flat I'd come in from the Mt Baw Baw Village however this afternoon I figured that I'd change things up a bit and make the walk into a circuit of sorts and come in from the Mt St Gwinear Car Park.

It was already mid afternoon by the time I'd set off today.

Arriving at the car park in a cloud of dust I was feeling pretty good as I pulled on my gaiters, grabbed my pack, re-set the GPS and shuffled off up the Mt St Gwinear walking track, although setting off on a bit of an exploratory walk at around 3pm wasn't exactly optimal... The walking track up to Mt St Gwinear is signposted as heading to the lookout platform (or something similar) and it climbs fairly solidly through the Alpine Ash before it does indeed arrive at a small lookout... that has views of more trees but little in the way of long range views. Now the lookout isn't really anywhere near the summit of Mt St Gwinear so after a perfunctory attempt at a decent photo from the lookout I shuffled off up the walking track again heading for the summit.

The walking track climbed solidly up to a lookout platform.

The lookout platform was fairly low key.

The view from the lookout platform was pretty low key too.

After leaving the lookout the walking track climbed to meet a cross country ski trail.

Fifteen minutes after leaving the viewing platform the walking track merged with the cross country ski trail and I veered left along the wider trail towards the summit. After avoiding the summit bypass track that veered off a little to to the north I was soon sitting on the Mt St Gwinear summit taking in the view. On a lot of the peaks on the Baw Baw Plateau the views are pretty well blocked by the Snow Gums however Mt St Gwinear is the exception, the views north and east are fairly extensive from the summit and include the Thomson Dam and even the small patch of cleared land over at Aberfeldy, many kilometres away (the other peak with a decent view up here is actually the lookout near the top of Mt Baw Baw). With not a lot of daylight up my sleeve this afternoon I didn't linger for too long on the summit now, soon shouldering my pack and shuffling my way south west across a nice snow plain to meet the Australian Alps Walking Track at Camp Saddle.

The ski trail is well marked with snow poles.

Approaching the Mt St Gwinear summit.

The view north east from Mt St Gwinear is one of the better view points on the Baw Baw Plateau.

Leaving Mt St Phillack I crossed this nice little snow plain to meet up with the AAWT.

Turning north west along the AAWT I now climbed over Mt St Phillack which at 1565 metre is the highest spot on the plateau, although there are no long range views through the Snow Gums. Actually speaking of Snow Gums (I've probably waffled on about this before so skip this next bit if you've heard this before!) the Snow Gums on the Mt Baw Baw Plateau are stunning. Where most of our alpine country has been severely burnt in numerous once in a hundred year fires over the last few decades this little island of alpine scrub has mercifully emerged unscathed... so far. The Snow Gums up here are incredibly beautiful and the fairly mature trees up here are increasingly rare, so if anyone who's reading this waffle loves these trees like I do and is considering a visit then please be careful with fire. Dropping off the summit of Mt St Phillack the AAWT soon had me down at Phillack Saddle and the afternoons hard work was about to begin.

The views from Mt St Phillack are restricted by the trees - but what beautiful trees they are!

Arriving at Phillack Saddle I was about to drop into this shallow gully.

As I've eluded too both Chapman and Siseman talk about a pad dropping from the saddle down to Mustering Flat. Now I've never found that pad however sitting at home reading my notes in the comfort of my lounge room I figured that maybe I just didn't try hard enough, after all Mr Chapman mentions the option of dropping down to Mustering Flat off the AAWT to camp for the night if you are passing through on the way to Canberra... surely it couldn't be that hard! So...leaving Phillack Saddle to the walkers who were camping there for the night I left the AAWT and waded into the waist high scrub looking for my elusive pad. After 15 minutes wading through and sometimes on top of the scratchy scrub, I could still clearly see the Snow Gum where I'd left the AAWT above me, but what I couldn't see was any sign of a pad! I wasn't going to be easily deterred this time though so I kept on pushing down the gully following a beautiful little creek, making my way down rocks, through sections of thick Tea Tree and negotiating the ever present scratchy alpine scrub (have I mentioned that I'd come prepared in shorts?). After what felt like hours, however was probably more like 45 minutes I could see the elusive Mustering Flat through the trees in front of me and after one last particularly gnarly section of head high scrub I finally pushed my way out onto the more open ground... fuck me, that was way tougher than described!

Allegedly there is a pad down here... although I've never found any evidence of it!

After much pain Mustering Flat has just come into view through the trees... happy days!

I still had one more belt of shoulder high scrub to push through though!

So now I'd finally stepped foot on the elusive Mustering Flat it was time to explore a little. With the daylight hours ticking away I decided to cross the flat following the creek that drains the flat in a north east direction, my theory being that my old maps and notes talk about a small waterfall that drains the flat that I thought that I might be able to check out (after all my old notes and maps had been so accurate so far!). Mustering Flat is really just a large Sphagnum Moss swamp and I quickly realised that walking across it wasn't going to be the most ecologically sensitive decision, so instead I skirted around the eastern side of the flat through the low scrub. With the creek starting it's descent down into the Thomson River Valley and the scrub once again getting higher and scratcher I stopped for a bit of a break and to take stock of the situation, my thighs were now pretty well red raw from the scrub and daylight was running out - and with a fair section of off piste walking still ahead of my to get my back to a walking track - I decided that I'd better start heading back to the ute, the waterfall could wait for another day.

Mustering Flat, Baw Baw National Park.

Mustering Flat, Baw Baw National Park. I'd dropped down the gully on the right of the photo.

I skirted around the edge of Mustering Flat.

I followed the small creek that drains the flat looking for a waterfall...

... this was as far as I got though. Daylight and enthusiasm were both running low now.

Now remember I'd talked about a circuit walk of sorts, well this is where the circuit bit comes in. Instead of retracing my scrubby gully back up to Phillack Saddle I was going to head west to pick up the walking track below Mt St Gwinear. Once again Mr Siseman talks of a pad heading across here and even my Rooftop map showed a rough route, however I was dubious...to say the least! After retracing my way partly back across Mustering Flat, eying off the scrubby gully where my track allegedly lay waiting for me I decided to abandon that plan and just strike off across country. Normally on an off track walk I'd stay well clear of the gullies and stick to the drier slopes on the sides of the hills so that's what I decided to do on my return journey. Picking a saddle between two hills to aim for I found that the walking was a lot easier, yes, there were belts of tough scrub however there were also easier sections of light to moderate scrub so my legs were getting a bit of a reprieve. Cresting the saddle and starting the descent down to Gwinear Flat on the other side, my cunning plan had paid off, after ten minutes I was on Gwinear Flat and the hardest walking was over. Shuffling my way across the plain I crossed North Cascade Creek on an old bridge, the first real sign of any track for hours, and then after a short climb I re-joined my outward walking track just below the summit of Mt St Gwinear...happy days!

Retracing my outward route along the creek.

Pushing through the low heath back around Mustering Flat again.

Instead of looking for a rough pad along the gully I climbed up and over a saddle between two hills to get to Gwinear Flat.

The slopes of the hills weren't exactly devoid of scrub however they were a lot easier than the gullies.

One more push through the scrub and I'll be on Gwinear Flat.

By the time I climbed up to the summit of Mt St Gwinear for the second time this afternoon I was feeling pretty well shagged out. Arriving back on the summit close to sunset I settled on a soft rock and enjoyed the views for awhile. The afternoon had been pretty warm, but also grey and overcast at the same time, so the setting sun was pretty well my last hope for a great photo today a hope that only partially paid off, still sitting up here in the light breeze as the last of the days light seeped away life was pretty good. Eventually I resigned myself to the fact that there'd be no great photos today and shuffled of back down the St Gwinear Car Park. Instead of retracing the walking track back down to the ute I decided to follow the grassy cross country ski trail back down, this grassy track was a little longer however the slightly gentler gradient was appreciated as I meandered my way down to the ute. The light was pretty well all gone by the time I jumped into the ute and headed for home tonight. It was close to 11pm by the time I finally pulled up in my driveway today after what had been a fairly solid day out - for an old bloke!

Gwinear Flat.

Looking east off Gwinear Flat, North Cascade Creek drains this small snow plain.

Crossing North Cascade Creek on an old bridge - my first evidence of a track for many hours.

Meeting my outward walking track I climbed the last few metres up to Mt St Gwinear.

Taking in the view from the Mt St Gwinear summit while I had a bit of a rest - it would be all down hill from here.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked around 13.6 kilometres and climbed around 491 metres on what I'd call a hard grade days walking. The stats don't really tell the story of this walk, its the thick and scratchy alpine scrub that ramps things up a bit on this stroll. Both Mr Chapman and Siseman have mentioned tracks/pads that follow gullies. If /when I revisit Mustering Flat I'm not even going to try and find these routes - instead I'm going to go in and out by my return route over the low saddle to the north west of Mt St Gwinear, this route was rough but more enjoyable than the scrubby gullies. Apart from my old notes and maps I also used the Rooftop's Walhalla - Woods Point Forest Activities Map, although the rough route shown on that map was also pretty well gone too. For walkers experienced with off track walking in scrubby conditions this is a walk worth considering, although unlike me come with some long pants for the scrub though!

Relevant Posts.

Mushroom Rocks to Whitelaw Hut Site, AAWT, 2017.

Baw Baw Village to Mt St Phillack Circuit, 2016.