Bushwalk Australia

Mt Wills 9,10/1/17 : Trip report .See below. It was my first trip to Mt. Wills. I love it there. I am going back!.

On Monday 9/1/17 I headed for Mt Wills in Vic. It started pissing down with
rain as I headed up from the Omeo hwy. to the summit hut.
Visibility became poor and I was not happy with the
conditions.At last I reached the hut.It was empty . Nobody was
around at all .
It is a great hut with 8 bunks, a pot belly stove, a
kitchen sink with a tap that is connected to the rain water
tank. There is even a comfy chair. The drop loo is not too far
from the front door .
The sunset showed signs of clearing weather with a rainbow
and golden clouds.
The sunrise revealed the magic of Mt. Wills(1756 M. ) . It was
an island above the clouds, with a blazing sunrise and with
amazing views of Mt. Bogong and Mt. Nelse / the Bogong High
Plains and the NSW Main Range to the East.
There are still a couple of drifts of snow left on Mt . Nelse and
Mt. Bogong.
It has a Mt. Buffalo vibe with old un burnt snow gums and
giant boulders. I must go there again. In snow season it would
superb. No fees, no people , great hut , great views, magic
scenery and not far up the the hill from the highway.( about 5
kms up hill on a 4 WD track )
It may become my new 'Mt. Stirling'( winter snow place of choice
) in a way but the 450 Km one way trip is a long drive.
There is good car camping en route just after Mitta Mitta
for the night before.
The next day , Tuesday 10/1/17 I walked out back to the car in
clear sunshine and headed down the Omeo highway . I drove up
the Bogong H.P. rd. from the Omeo side. That was interesting
and I hiked up Mt. Cope (1837 M. ) before the clouds rolled in .
By the time I had lunch near Wallace's hut it was a very
foggy white out.

Mt. Wills is one of our favourite places for a day walk winter or summer and although you can drive the the locked gate in 2wd, in winter it may be better to park your car on the Omeo Highway just opposite the road and walk the extra couple of k's. Having 2 cars you can leave one at the other end and go down Mt. Wills south on the AAWT. There is a totally different view from the southern side and it takes about a half hour to the trig from the hut. The toilet at Wills is probably one of the worst designs I have ever seen. Similar to Kellys hut. When you shut the door it hits your nose as you sit and it is dark. Be aware too the area is open to deer hunting but during the warmer months they are fewer. Another option with 2 cars is continue on the AAWT down to Big River Log road which is a 2wd access most times.

Fortunately it is a long way for most to drive and only a short walk so it does not get the traffic. Good car camping is also available at along the River from Glen Valley to Anglers Rest and a bed with a hot shower at Glen Wills near the AAWT. From Mitta Mitta there are a number of good spots to camp but my pick would be Lightning Creek. Mitta Mitta general store also has great coffee and home made pies and sausage rolls. The pub is pretty good for food too if it is not busy. You will need an overdraft if you want to buy fuel at Mitta Mitta but that is the last for some time.

Just an historical note, many people believe it was named after William Wills who died with Burke. The explorer Neumayer had been nearby but never went past this mount and he named a mount near Dinner Plain in 1863 after his friend William Wills. This name did not stick but it is somewhere south of Flourbag. Mt. Wills was named after the local magistrate Alfred Wills who was in the area in 1862.

paidal_chalne_vala wrote:...........but the 450 Km one way trip is a long drive.
There is good car camping en route just after Mitta Mitta
for the night before.............

Sounds like a well worth while trip PCV.......it's been on my to do list since I first read about it a while back.........available time and the 450km seems to keep it slipping to the bottom unfortunately.

A taste of what winter is like in this from Co2friendly (around 6:00 mark) - I think his approach is from the north end of the Omeo highway.

Lightning creek is a great spot to camp en route. I had a hot snack on my trangier and got my overnight pack organized there. I saw the small town of Eskdale has petrol and a supermarket but I filled up the tank of my wee Jap mobile in Corryong early in the day .I was coming back from Khancoban and trekking the Jagungal circuit in the KNP. See the NSW trip reports section for that adventure. So I did a tour of KNP, Mt. Wills , the BHP and back to Myrtleford as my major summer holiday mixing bush walking with driving .
I am going back to Mt. Wills this white season for summit snow camping and snow shoe walking. I will leave my car on the Omeo highway roadside . I will take wheel chains for sure. Christmas Creek saddle is nearly 1300 M above sea level so it could be iffy without chains.Mt. Wills has NO people , No fees, a decent hut, great views in clear weather, beautiful big old rocks and old snow gums.It's nice , I like ! ( Borat accent ) .

Very nice tour PCV

paidal_chalne_vala wrote:Lightning creek is a great spot to camp en route.

Probably the best spot north of Mt. Wills and about 25 minutes away although we intended to camp there last Monday night and it was a caravan park so we drove up Rootsey spur and camped at Mountain Creek. As mentioned previously, on the southern side there are several good spots from Anglers Rest to Big River. It is about the same time to Melbourne either way and much will depend on which side of the city you live on.

paidal_chalne_vala wrote:I am going back to Mt. Wills this white season for summit snow camping and snow shoe walking. I will leave my car on the Omeo highway roadside . I will take wheel chains for sure. Christmas Creek saddle is nearly 1300 M above sea level so it could be iffy without chains.Mt. Wills has NO people , No fees, a decent hut, great views in clear weather, beautiful big old rocks and old snow gums.It's nice , I like ! ( Borat accent ) .

If you care to let me know before you leave I will be able to tell you if the trip will be worthwhile and also if you will get through. The safest time to drive after snow is when the plough has just gone through. The next morning it may look clear but all the slush left behind on the road will be ice. We usually just drive up on the fresh snow before the plough goes through. In reality there are few days it is closed with snow but last year there seemed a bit more. We put the closed signs out at Glen Wills once when there was a foot of snow at the Guest house and you could have skied all the way down the highway from Mt. Wills. Trees falling cause more problems on the road than snow. The flat area opposite the track up is usually a good place to leave you car unless the snow is heavy. The plough pushes the snow up to form a bank that then prevents access to it. Access to Mt. Wills can also be from Sunnyside on the AAWT. It is much lower and often more accessible to 2wd from the south. It is of course a bit further to walk but the views are good and much different from the views near the hut. If you plan a trip in winter then you would be best to have something else on the agenda as well to make the time spent getting there worthwhile. Even in winter this is really only a day trip.

Explora sahib, Thanks for the advice.
The long drive from Melb. or even from Myrtleford ( my Oz Alps base at my friend's house ) and possibly iffy conditions in winter that you have described make my winter plans less firm. I will hike some more of the KNP in 12 months so returning to camp at Mt. Wills Hut on the return journey in Jan. 2018 might be a better bet.
However snow shoe hiking and snow camping by the summit hut at Mt. Wills still does have appeal.
Mt. Stirling for ease of access to Melb. has a lot going for it as a white season location esp. on weeknights for snow camping and snow shoe trekking near the Bluff spur hut in peak snow season.