Monday 18 January 2016

Kosciusko National Park: Tabletop Mountain and Four Mile Trails

General Information


Distance:  23.7 kilometers (day 1 - 13.1 kilometers; day 2 - 10.6 kilometers)
Total climb:  630 meters (day 1 - 366 meters; day 2 - 264 meters)
Time taken:  7 hours 45 minutes (day 1 - 4 hours 25 minutes; day 2 - 3 hours 20 minutes)
Maps:  Cabramurra 8526-2S 1:25 000; Denison 8626-3S 1:25 000
Guide:  Derrick Stone Walks, Tracks & Trails of New South Wales (2012), pp. 182-183.
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  206 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 34798 28358 [Cabramurra]
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 33565 19421 [Cabramurra] - campsite
End Point map grid reference:  55H FA 39033 23931 [Denison]


Route






http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/


Description


This hike required two cars and a large backpack for overnight camping. The first car we placed at our planned end point, a carpark on the Eucumbene River - note that this track to this carpark requires 4WD or AWD. Having placed the first car, we drove on in the second car to a carpark just off the Snowy Mountains Highway at the southern edge of Kiandra which is the northern end of the Tabletop Mountain Trail. We started the hike in a generally southerly direction along the Tabletop Mountain Trail (part of the Australian Alps Walking Track) through grassland with the occasional stand of trees. Many trees in the area were dead, possibly as a result of the 2003 bushfires. We were also plagued by swarms of flies and had to wear fly nets over our heads to stay sane. About 6.5 kilometers into the hike we deviated east of the trail to visit Four Mile Hut.



There had been no other water on the trail before this, so we took the opportunity to refill in the nearby Four Mile Creek. There was also a pit toilet up the hill from the hut - a welcome sight to any hiker who doesn't relish the idea of digging and refilling their own in the hard ground. After a good break at the hut we retraced our steps to the Tabletop Mountain Trail and continued south to Nine Mile Creek. Having found here that the creek was clear and fast-flowing, we decided that this was a good spot to spend the night and pitched our tents around 3.30pm. This proved to be a good decision, as it was difficult to find water later in the hike.



Our campsite was in the middle of the old Nine Mile Diggings mining area, and there were mining earthworks all around us. There were also a lot of annoying small ants, but these disappeared after sundown. The next morning we continued along the Tabletop Mountain Trail south and then east. At one point we found what seemed to be the remains of an old mining race below the trail.



About 1.5 kilometers from our campsite we met the Four Mile Hill Fire Trail, which we followed north until we came to Broken Dam Hut. 



We had expected to find some more water in Broken Dam Creek, but it was dry. More positively, though, we found another pit toilet near the hut. After a brief stop at the hut we continued along the Four Mile Hill trail going up and down some significant slopes until we reached Four Mile Hill (1690 metres elevation). This had us quite exhausted, as the morning was already warm and the lack of opportunities to refresh our water along the track was requiring us to use what we had with care.



Fortunately the trail from Four Mile Hill to the Eucumbene River is all downhill - in fact, it drops over 400 meters in elevation in 3.2 kilometers. Eventually we came to the river and crossed a ford (still knee-deep water) to get back to the first car.

This is a walk I am not sure about. On the negative side, the flies and ants were annoying, the dead trees everywhere were depressing, and the lack of water sources (particularly along the Four Mile Hill trail) was disturbing. On the positive side, the mining history of the area is everywhere and the grasslands and summer wildflower remnants were very pretty.