I had two weeks leave and was super keen to get out on the tracks while I was on leave in particular Wed 16th Aug - Fri 18th Aug. I sussed out a trip with my mate James (Axis) which we had originally planned on visiting Mt Matlock and Mt Terrible but as it got closer the weather looked more and more like the latter so we decided to look elsewhere and after most of the State looking about the same for those days, we settled on the Pyrenees.
I'd been there some years ago and only had some basic memories of some stellar tracks that I wanted to revisit. We took off from Melbourne about 8ish on Wednesday morning and made Avoca in pretty good time. First stop was the pie shop in Avoca and there is a plethora to choose from. Sadly no Roo pies were cooked that day.
Our first port of call was Donkey Hill. I think it's actually called Mt Warrenmang but it was a Donkey of a hill to climb that's for sure! We accessed it via Sardine Tk and then Donkey Hill Tk. That's a tough track on the best day and we could only manage half way up so we walked for the rest just to take in the view. Didn't want to end the trip a couple of hours in on the first day with something busted! Well worth a look for those wanting a technical challenge with an amazing view to reward your hard work at the end.
We set off and made our way to Cameron's Track campground to setup camp for the night. Great spot that is easily accessible with a shelter with tank water (not drinkable) and a clean drop toilet. It was pretty cold this first night and even though we had a roaring fire the cold wind was getting the better of us!
Day 2 saw a hearty brekkie and we packed up camp and headed off down Cross Tk. We found ourselves at the junction of Old Tiger Cat Tk with the Nowhere Creek running through. Not game to take the gnarly Old Tiger Cat Tk vertical we chickened up the New Tiger Cat tk before realising we wanted to head the otherway. Doubling back we crossed the creek and headed down another track. Maps for this bit aren't the greatest as they all seem to not show there's a track through there except the Pyrenees Endurance Walk track but there is a track. We crossed the creek a few times with a few tense moments of navigating before realising there was no way we were going to get up the other side of Old Tiger Cat Tk which eventually joins with Emery Tk - bummer as that's where we wanted to get to! A leisurely morning drive turned into most of our day. We back tracked and ended up taking the North Glenpatrick Tk south back into Glenpatrick which was one of the other tracks I remembered from the last time I was there. It was a bit hairy given the incline and the wet clay underfoot but we both made it down no probs.
We setup at the Glenpatrick reserve for the night as the weather was turning feral and we were super glad we did. Hail was coming in sideways and the wind was doing it's best to freeze everything in sight! We were the only one's around so we setup camp in the shelter with our swags so at least we knew they'd be dry the next morning! We dropped in to Elmhurst for a counter meal that night and it was great. The publican and her daughter were great to have a chat with and the steak was just what we needed!!
Day 3 saw us again showing up the map makers for this area and realising that some of the tracks have either been swallowed up by farm houses (Point Patrick Tk runs into a farmhouse now and no one was home to ask if there is an alternative route to get back on it) or just aren't signed well enough (Mangan's Ln ran us into another farmhouse but with gated access roads - again no-one around to verify if it was ok to cross these or if they still were viable tracks).
We ended up going back in via Glenpatrick and up Emery Tk before trying to navigate a couple of un-named tracks that looked to go through to Ebling Tk but didn't. First one looked like it used to but just dead ended (with a great view though). The second was more a safety issue given that the track was very slippery and no way to control the decent (plus it started snowing here too!). We ended up taking Fraser Tk as the sun came out and found our way to the Waterfalls Picnic grounds. A bite to eat and we aired up and headed back to Melbourne.
A great place to visit as there were no road closures. Also we never saw another car for the whole 3 days while on the tracks!
View from Mt Warrenmang
Looking down Donkey Hill Track from Mt Warrenmang
View back up Donkey Hill Tk to Mt Warrenmang
Cameron's Track campground
The hut and area at Cameron's Track campground
The aftermath of hail at Glenpatrick reserve
Our camp at Glenpatrick reserve
Old Tiger Cat Tk (sort of!)
Traversing the Nowhere Creek
Fraser Track
