Helicopter Spur - Stanley's Name Spur

[oldsalt671]

We did this hike over the weekend of 5-6 November 2022

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jfDDAj1UhviNnbcV9
GPX: https://www.trailhiking.com.au/hikes/howitt-helicopter-spur/
We found the GPX file to be roughly right

Day 1 – Upper Howqua to Hellfire Creek

- Drove up from Melbourne and departed 1:00 pm
- Over the bridge and turned right onto the 4WD track up the hill. Easy walking for 40 mins until you reach the camp (end of track) and the walking track heads into the bush
- There was a bit of tape to mark the track and a few trees down. The pad was easy to follow. First few pitches were relatively easy the sort you can do with treking poles
- The final one. which I consider the crux (3:30 pm, 2.5 hrs) , is a long steep chute but with plenty of foot and handholds. We climbed it with packs. Although I had a near miss when after completing the climb I took my pack off and then while down climbing to help my son dislodged a soccer ball sized rock. Luckily it didn’t bounce down into the chute but careered off the cliff. We were very lucky!
- After the chute there was a little more ascending until we reached the King Billy 4WD track
- Arrived at Picture Point and dropped our packs and took in the views 4:40 pm (3.5 hrs vs GVDK 2.5-3 hrs)
- After departing PP we hiked along the 4WD track but missed the turn off onto the AAWT. It was only when my GPS beeped that we realised. So took a bearing and walked out across the Alpine meadow until we found it.
- The descent is a little rocky but the climb up Magdala was glorious. We hit the peak right on golden hour 6:30 pm. It was magic.
- The descent to Hellfire was straight forward and we arrived at 7:00 pm. What a great camping spot it is. A steep descent down to the creek but a small price to pay for such a beautiful cascading stream.

Day 2 – Hellfire Ck to Upper Howqua Camp

- Departed at 9 am. Legs were a bit tired so we felt the climb up Big Hill and Howitt but arrived at 10:00 am (1hr vs GVDK 1 hr). It was a clear day so great views of The Crosscut and Razor/Viking
- It was a quick hike around to the start of Stanley’s Name Spur and we arrived 10:40 (40 mins vs GVDK 1 hr)
- - Set off down SNS at 11:00 am. Top part is straight forward with a couple of down climbs. The first couple we took our packs of and dropped them down but we had one pack get away on us and threaten end up in King River. We used rope after that.
- Lots of trees down and slow going after the rocky sections
- The worst section of SNS is the scrubby section just before you emerge into the opening prior to the QST (heading down) . Time Stamp 1:34pm. In the photos it coincides with be blue drink bottle in the tree. Here the scrub is very thick but to make matters worse there are few trees that have fallen over and the combination makes for a bush bashers delight.
- Once onQueen Spur Track (1:46 pm) things improve but there a still a lot of trees down across the track
- The track through the blackberries is pretty good
- The multiple river crossings of the Howqua were pretty straight forward even with the amount of rain we have had
- Back at the car by 4:00pm (SNS Descent 5 hrs vs GVDK 3-3.5hrs)

Cheers

Nigel

[paidal_chalne_vala]

Well done. I have hiked that route. In good weather it is a worthy excursion.

[Hiking Exped]

Great work, and a favourite route of mine too. Love that camp spot. Not made it up there this green season yet, not surprised so many trees down on SNS. How were the Blackberries?

[oldsalt671]

Blackberries were not too bad. A clear track through them at this stage in the season. I could seem them going crazy over the next month, almost perfect conditions for them with plenty of water.