Bushwalk Australia

Hi all, I am a Grampians local (25 minutes counts right?), and have done many day hikes in the National park. When I started I was of under average fitness, and thought Mount Abrupt was the hardest thing I had ever done. Now that I’m much fitter, I find it to be rather moderate. I am basing difficulty mainly on elevation gain, though overgrowth and scrambling/exposure may play a secondary role. I have not yet done many long or difficult day hikes, and am wanting to know which are the hardest. Whether tracked or off-track, I would like some suggestions of hard walks to add to my belt. I know of most walks, though I am certainly a beginner when it comes to off-track hikes, both in experience and knowledge.

You could just do some of the overnight walks as day walks, eg. Halls Gap to Borrough Huts, Mt William carpark to Jimmy Ck or the Mt Difficult loop from either Beehive or the new Troopers.

Long Long time since I ran it, Mt William Summit from the eastern side, think Redman road.

Rolv wrote:Long Long time since I ran it, Mt William Summit from the eastern side, think Redman road.

Via the Bomjinna Track? It’s closed now and pretty overgrown, but I could try it. Or possibly the Kalymna Falls route, I’ve been meaning to try that one, and with 900m of elevation gain in 13km that certainly seems to meet what I’m looking for.

It's certainly a slog up from Kalymna but not the greatest walk being just a fire track 90% of the way to boundary gap.

AbruptTiger19 wrote:

Rolv wrote:Long Long time since I ran it, Mt William Summit from the eastern side, think Redman road.

Via the Bomjinna Track? It’s closed now and pretty overgrown, but I could try it. Or possibly the Kalymna Falls route, I’ve been meaning to try that one, and with 900m of elevation gain in 13km that certainly seems to meet what I’m looking for.

A pity, that. Bomjinna is/was definitely a better workout than Kalymna, and putting the two together made for a nice little loop.

It was a lifetime ago since I did Bomjinna, I am disappointed to hear it has been closed.
Regards

north-north-west wrote:

AbruptTiger19 wrote:

Rolv wrote:Long Long time since I ran it, Mt William Summit from the eastern side, think Redman road.

Via the Bomjinna Track? It’s closed now and pretty overgrown, but I could try it. Or possibly the Kalymna Falls route, I’ve been meaning to try that one, and with 900m of elevation gain in 13km that certainly seems to meet what I’m looking for.

A pity, that. Bomjinna is/was definitely a better workout than Kalymna, and putting the two together made for a nice little loop.

There is a new track, heading from the Mount William Carpark, up to Redman Bluff. I’ve been waiting for a trail to Redman Bluff for a while now. There is even a point where you can look down to Mitchell Road and the valley between Redman and William, where I assume the Bomjinna Track was.

CraigVIC wrote:It's certainly a slog up from Kalymna but not the greatest walk being just a fire track 90% of the way to boundary gap.

I’m planning on doing either the Kalymna Track or Sheephills Track to Mount William. I think I will also do Mount Difficult from the new Troopers Creek, I’ve done the waterfalls walk and enjoyed that, alongside Briggs Bluff from Beehive Falls. The Fortress is another I will eventually do. I am very unsure on Offtrack hikes, especially on the Serra Range, though landslide scars make the job easier. I lack a 4wd for access to some hikes, and lack experience and equipment for overnight hiking, so my options are limited with a lot of hikes. I would like to do Tower Hill, though am unsure on whether my vehicle would make it up Stony Creek Road.

For Tower Hill you can just park at Bundaleers and walk from there as there is a small river ford beyond that. Up to Bundaleers is 2wd no problem. Add Calectasia to your Tower Hill walk. It is marked with cairns but don't rely on them as they are intermittent.

Generally speaking the off track routes in the Grampians are mostly pretty obscure and not regularly walked or flagged. You could look into the Stapylton Ampitheatre (scrambling, exposure) or the Victoria Arch (horrid scrub bash, scrambling). Both are well described online.

Bundaleers car park, quick road bash to Mt Rosea track but take the old route on the track that climbs the eastern cliff line of Rosea. After Rosea go off track to Dalton North and then onto Dalton south - this is a brutal day 1.

Day 2 Dalton south to Middleton Gap, then west down the valley to meet the Castle Rock track, Castle Rock then back out to the Bundaleer car park.

Water shouldn’t be a problem as there is a creek between the Daltons. I did this route in October 2021.

It’s a killer and although there are some pads and tape in places, it takes some navigation. I wouldn’t do it mid summer because the heat would make it extreme and the amount of scrambling, especially up Dalton South, would mean a high potential for encounters with snakes.

I once did a day walk from the Duwul (Mt William) carpark, to the first wannon creek, then followed the creek down to the aqueduct, then followed the aqueduct down to the track back up Duwul. It was miserable. There is a really pretty totem pole in the valley (40m high, 2m wide), but the walk was hard going and prickly.

Bomjina is over growing but doable but I have done it since the GPT part into the car park.

I regularly to the kalymna to the plateau quickly and at pace it’s a tough one but most of it is road.

Do you want a clear track or some navigation? I’ve made plenty of my owns ways that make it more interesting.

If you’re local don’t forget Pyrenees or Mt Cole if you want a work out.


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I did most of Bomjinna several years ago, the trail was difficult to find in places although there was some fresh tape higher up. It gets very thorny- we were *&%$#! and shredded.

[quote="bmak"]Bomjina is over growing but doable but I have done it since the GPT part into the car park.
I regularly to the kalymna to the plateau quickly and at pace it’s a tough one but most of it is road.
Do you want a clear track or some navigation? I’ve made plenty of my owns ways that make it more interesting.
If you’re local don’t forget Pyrenees or Mt Cole if you want a work out.

I am local, and haven’t yet done any trails in the Pyrenees or Mount Cole / Buangor area, so thanks for the suggestion! I’m looking for either clear trails or scrub bashes - I definitely am a lot more experienced when it comes to clear tracks, but the Grampians is my home and I can navigate off-track well. Off-track Serra range peaks have always fascinated me, and I’ve always looked up from the Dunkeld to Halls Gap drive and thought ‘hey, I want to climb that one!’