Three Adventures From 1990
Posted Friday 13th September 2024
Back in 1990 Dad and I planned an eight day walk through the heart of the Victorian Alps, taking in as many of the state’s highest peaks as we could. In preparation for this we went on a couple of shorter walks to get in shape: one to The Viking and another to Tin Mine Cove. I kept a journal of these walks, and I’ve edited that into the account presented here.
Walking in 1990 was very different to today. No mobile phones meant we were isolated from the rest of the world: civilization could fall and we’d know nothing of it until we returned from our walk. To gauge the weather we had to read the sky instead of checking the forecast on the web. With no GPS we relied on paper maps and a compass for navigation.
And there were no digital cameras. These days I can easily take hundreds of photos on an interesting day of walking. Over the fifteen days of walking covered here I took a total of about 70 photos — an average of only four or five per day, and some days I took none at all. Luckily I was able to supplement this from Dad’s collection, which has only recently been unearthed.
— Ben Michell, September 2024
Part 1 — The Viking
Some of the most spectacular scenery in the Victorian Alps is found around Mt Howitt. The Crosscut Saw and Mt Speculation have breathtaking views over deep valleys, and are carpeted with wildflowers in the warmer months. In the distance to the east looms The Viking with its distinctive twin horns.
Part 2 — Tin Mine Cove
The northern end of Wilsons Promontory is less popular than the southern end, and that contributes to it being more of a wilderness. The paths are a mix of old vehicle tracks and faint walking tracks, though sometimes it is easier to simply follow the coastal rocks between beaches.
Part 3 — Epic Alpine Trek
Making a circuit taking in the highest peaks of Victoria’s Alps isn’t easy, with a deep valley separating Mt Feathertop and Mt Hotham from the high plains, and another separating Mt Bogong. We chose to start from Bogong Village which gave us a reasonably central starting point at the cost needing to climb over 1,100 metres on the afternoon of the first day.
