Paling Spur- Youngs Top 13/14/15 December

 

Ascending Swindlers Spur

Was getting an itch to get out again since my last outing on the Crinoline circuit & 2024 coming to an end i wanted to tick this route off the list, thanks to forum members on a bushwalk site this route come up in discussion and after a little research i packed my gear and fat bike for a short roll to the car end of hike.

Headed northbound from Melbourne Friday afternoon for the longish drive to the Harrietville area arriving at Smoko campgrounds by 6ish found a spot right by the river just perfect the sound of the water and being out of town was calming, ate dinner and relaxed the evening away. 

Was back on the road by 7ish the next morning drove my way over Hotham and parked my car at the Brandy Creek mine trail between Dinner Plain and Hotham Village, two young French guys had their portable table setup roadside enjoying breakfast in the morning sun after a quick greeting I doned the pack started walking down the firetrail where It meets the Cobungra River clear sunny skies and balmy for early morning, looking left upstream was my  route wading waist high tussocks no track to speak of , i thought to myself this will be snake city and sure enough as i started to walk a black snake scooted passed my feet , kept me on my toes for the 1 km walk where i crossed the river and found the base of Paliing Spur, a great camp spot is here also for future reference.

Tussocks on the Cobungra River runs parallel to right of photo.

After a quick break i started the walk up Paling Spur a faint pad is visible at the base and remains clear all the way up  the first 2 kms are quite steep but levels off after this until reaching the open plains of Young Top, i broke a sweat out it was warming up i think around high teens clear skies. 

I had a 20 min break up the top under a large old tree enjoying the shade , the next 3 kms of walking is along the open plains of trackless wilderness ,i lathered on some sunscreen and headed in a northward direction i followed a some false pads which are actually from wild horses and deer i soon realised my error as i started heading downhill thru trees and thickish scrub into a valley and on the far distance i could see Youngs Hut , i stopped and had a good look at the map , backtracked and headed left untill i got back on top of the broad open ridge.

I walked in a North West general direction for most of the way , the clear open plains were guarded by sometimes thick scrub and trees to walk thru or around, its was very beautiful also with views all around, felt very remote & wild at the same time.

Was early afternoon and some cloud cover was a welcome relief from the sun beating down on me.

I finally got to a narrow valley which swung down to the west  and aimed for Youngs Hut, was my first visit here and on first impressions i found it a little eerily creep with some kind of animal skulls hanging on the front porch and very snakey with pools of water around the front door i did see a black snake slither off just a few meters away, i collected water and rehydrated myself also and headed up the pole line to meet up with the AAWT trail.

Youngs Hut

Was 3 pm by this stage and too early to call it a day and camp up high i slowly made my way down into the valley to Dibbins Hut, along the way i come across a party of five walking the Falls to Hotham traverse and once i go down into the valley some more peeps were set up , i kept on walking a few hundred meters close to the hut a one person has set up behind the hut out of sight i found my prime real estate to setup and have the valley views all to myself was well and truly exhausted, relaxed the afternoon with tea and snacks followed by some dinner of a veggie stir fry with tuna.

Open plains traversing Youngs Top

Slept ok waking up once at 2 am for a toilet but managed to doze off , was up at daybreak and packed and ready to walk by 6 am as i wanted to beat the heat of the day and be back at the car earlish afternoon.

I slogged it up Swindlers Spur passed Derrick Hut 2 hours in and i was feeling the heat already with a temp around 23 degrees at 8:30 am. 

I picked up the Huts trail which led me back down into the valley passed Spargos Hut i held a descent pace with minimal stops just for water and a chew on some trail nuts.

The day before i had locked my bike up in the scrub with a plan to bypass half of the Cobungra Ditch trail to Brandy Creek, it saved my 3 kms approx of walking, i picked up an access track which headed straight back up to the Great Alpine Rd where my bike was and rolled back down 3 kms to the car happy Days!  Was hot and bothered and was only 12:20pm was great to be in my car with the air conditioner full bast , i stopped at the General at Hotham Village for a cold drink before making the long drive back to Melbourne.

Was a great walk one i would do again soonish but maybe in 2 nights allowing one to stay at the base of Paling Spur would be real nice. I think i am on hiatus until Autumn as its too warm!