Hannel Spur Backpack Grade 5 - 3 days

The Journey That Is Hannels Spur

A 50-minute drive from Thredbo to Geehi Flats – winding around the western flanks of the Snowy Mountains – perfectly showcases what’s in store for the next three days. The Main Range looms above as we descend to 450 m, the beginning elevation for the Hannels Spur Trail. 

A farewell from hundreds of kangaroos sends us on our way as we follow Geehi River to our crossing point just under a kilometre away. 

Stripping down to our knickers, we shrieked as the icy river gushed at our bare legs. Settling almost at our hips, we waded slowly to the other side, thankful for the hiking poles we’d hired.

NOTE: Check the weather forecast before crossing the river. Loads of rain and snowmelt in Spring can cause the water level to be too high to cross. Don’t underestimate the dangers of river crossings. Take a look at this river crossings post From Trail Hiking Australia to learn the correct way and what to look for.

Passing Dr Forbes Hut on our right, we snuck in to write our message in the logbook before getting ready to attack the first 1,100 m of Hannels’ Spur’s epic ascent.

Climbing Hannels Spur

Lush fields give way to an almost impenetrable green wall filled with forest debris. The abandoned fire road becomes a trail no wider than a goat track – if that in places – and leads vertically in an almost straight line. 

A game of find the markers keeps us entertained as we follow our guide, Keith, who seems to have the ability to navigate this track with eyes closed.

Short traverses give respite to our unprepared legs as we gape at the forever changing scenery. With such a large ascent comes a number of terrain shifts. From spindly tightly pressed trees to a canopy of peppermint gums, mountain gums and alpine ash with blanket leaf trees filling in the blank spaces. 

A glimpse here and there of the valley falling away beneath us ignites excitement of what’s in store. Providing fuel to leap over and under fallen trees, eager to gain higher ground – and to leave behind the many leeches who flourish in the forest’s mulch…

Lucky we had waterproof boots to save us from the blood sucking devils.

Remnants of snow gums, blasted from the 2003 wildfires, welcomes us to the sub-alpine. A gully provides the perfect vantage point to witness first hand the harsh effects of such a ferocious fire. All those years have passed and still, the mass devastation of the snow gums is present. 

In just under six hours of trudging through the raw trail of Hannels Spur, following the footsteps of Strezlecki, and the original landowners before him, we break into a wide-open space known as Moira’s Flat.

The First Campsite – Moira’s Flat

Moira’s Flat was named after the daughter of a cattleman who first made a track up the spur, his team probably used the natural clearing as a camp in the 1920s/1930s, when they would drive cattle through the Snowy Mountains. 

It’s easy to see why they would choose such a beautiful sanctuary to camp. Moira’s Flat is equipped with a bubbling stream just a stone’s throw away, delivering the freshest alpine water. And a viewing rock 150m higher provides stellar sunsets.

Keith and his fellow volunteers have done an incredible job at making this campsite homely. The perfect campfire with sitting logs and a healthy stack of firewood awaits you at Moira’s Flat.

A roaring fire dried our garments – that lost their battle with the river crossing – as we tucked into a well-earned meal. 

The Alpine Climb

The new day brings in frosty air and blue skies, causing our frozen fingers to work a little slower. As the sun breaches the tree line, we shoulder our packs for another day of climbing.

Trickling water covers the path, producing sloppy mud – a heavenly delight for more leeches. Picking them off as we ascend to a clearing, we clamber onto a rock and get our first glimpse of the rolling hills stretching beyond Geehi Flats below. 

The higher we climb, the shorter the shrubs become before we’re left with knee-high alpine health and the skeletons of stunted snow gums. 

Before long, the snow gums disappear completely and we enter the high alpine country of the Main Range. Peaks kiss the horizon in front as Hannels Spur falls away behind us, showcasing what we’ve accomplished. 

Pink tape and orange markers are replaced with rock cairns as we pass Byatt’s Camp – the main camp for the historic cattlemen – and wander deeper into the clutches of the towering bouldered slopes. 

Our jaws continue to stay glued to the ground as we take in the surrounding landscape. Walking south through a valley of almost eternal wonders, who would have more than a few stories to tell if they could. The 400 million-year-old rock has a way of humbling us as we gaze in silence, drinking in the historic environment. 

The spring snowmelt creates a labyrinth of streams cascading from the snowy peaks, causing an intertwining maze of swampy alpine heath for us to navigate.

Hopping over small trickles of water and avoiding the swampy tracks proves a harder task than anticipated, and the sudden shift to snow is welcomed as we traverse the slopes of, and round, Abbott’s Ridge. The contrast between brown and grey rocks, deep green heath and startling white snow paints the perfect picture, one that we spend many minutes trying to capture through our lens.

The snow soon provides its own challenges, not enough to warrant our snowshoes, but enough to slow us down slightly as we stumble and giggle our way into Wilkinsons Creek Valley. 

Entering The Wondrous Wilkinsons Creek Valley

And then we stop dead in our tracks… If we thought we were immersed in the beauty of nature before, we certainly were now. 

We descend into the embrace of the Main Range. Mt Townsend and Mt Kosciuszko – the two tallest mountains in Australia – rise magnificently around us. To our right, a seasonal waterfall crashes against ancient boulders on its journey to Wilkinsons Creek. 

This is a source of the Murray River, the longest river in Australia which borders the states of New South Wales and Victoria, before ending in South Australia. It all begins on the slopes of the Main Range. And what is even more magical, the Snowy River begins on the eastern side of Muellers Pass ahead of us – a ridge connecting Mt Kosciuszko to the more northerly peaks of Kosciuszko National Park.

We set up camp between the ancient rocky tors and the gurgling alpine creek, finding a patch of spongy snow grass that is yet to become the ants’ playground.

Due to COVID-19 health requirements, members must provide their own sanitizers, gloves, wipes, masks, etc.  If car pooling is required please make sure masks are worn. Please be aware of current NSW/Vic border restrictions.

This is the list of gear we took on our trip in early Spring and highly recommend:

• Compass and some sort of map – Hannels Spur is not an easy hike navigationally. Experience is highly recommended and a map, compass and GPS are essential. If you don’t own a GPS, download Gaia GPS and preload the map before leaving. This app will track your location, even telling you which direction you’re facing with its arrow.
• Head Torch – It’s always better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.
• Sturdy hiking shoes – Our favourites are Salomon XA Discovery Trail Runners.
• Waterproof shoes – The snow can last all summer in sections, as well as swampy heath in the alpine. If you’re not equipped with above ankle, waterproof hiking boots, we recommend using NEOS overshoes for those sections.
• Snowshoes – This is dependent on the season. It is a must in winter and we would recommend them for the shoulder seasons also, it’s much better to be safer than sorry!
• Extra warm clothes – The wind can whip like crazy through these mountains and a storm can hit at any time. Check out my post How To Stay Warm Hiking for more information.
• Rain Jacket – High winds and sudden rainfalls are more than common!
• Sunscreen – Quite the contrary to a rain jacket, but it’s Australia… that sun is fierce.
• Water Bottles – Preferably VERY hard plastic or metal, the chances of dropping it are high.
• Sunglasses – Those rocks and snow can be mightily reflective.
• Small Backpack for day walks – A hike is never complete without snacks. 
• SNACKS – The highlight of our lives.
• Camera – DER… if it’s not documented, did it really happen!?
• Camping equipment – If you’re embarking on an overnight hike, make sure to pack a tent, warm sleeping bags and a mat. It can get cold up on top of the hills even in summer!
• Cooking equipment – Again, if it’s cold nothing will beat a warm cuppa.
• First Aid Kit – Unbeknown to Dylan, I always put this in our pack. He’s clumsy on a good day!
• Emergency Beacon – There is no reception for most of this hike and with the remote and difficult nature, help could be a long way away without an emergency beacon. Leaders will take