King River base camp, walk to Mount Cobbler.
Description: This trip will be a base camp on the head waters of the King River at the King River Hut, within the Alpine National Park. The campsite has long drop toilets and beautiful grassy flat areas on which to camp next to the King River. Access to the base camp is from Mirimbah, via the Stirling Circuit Road and the Mt Speculation Road, a distance of 33 km. Mirimbah is on the Mansfield- Mt. Buller Road, 220km and 3 hours from Melbourne.
The preference will be to meet at Mirimbah on the Friday evening at an agreed time and travel as a convoy to the campground. This arrangement or an alternative arrangement to travel in as a convoy on Saturday morning will be discussed with participants closer to the time. The road into the campground off the Circuit Road is suitable for camper trailers and offroad caravavans.
On the Saturday, we will drive up to Lake Cobbler along the Cobbler Lake Track travelling up The Staircase. At the lake we will leave our vehicles and walk to the summit of Mount Cobbler. At an altitude of 1630m and with an open rocky summit, it provides spectacular views across to Mount Buller and the surrounding mountains. We will then return to our vehicles and retrace our steps to the camp. The return walk to Mount Cobbler is 10km and 3.5 hours. The lake itself is at a high altitude. The walk enters the forest and dips into a moist creek gully before starting the steady and sometimes steep climb to an open snow plain area. From there it is a moderate and sometimes steep walk to the summit. For those that do not wish to take the walk they can either stay in camp and enjoy the beautiful alpine environment of the King River valley or enjoy the equally beautiful alpine environment around Lake Cobbler.
On the Sunday, we will drive along the King Basin Track , crossing the King River numerous times before arriving at Pineapple Flat. We will then drive up Black Landing Track to the Circuit Road and around to Craigs Hut. From Craigs Hut we will drive over the Clear Hills Track to Mount Stirling where we will then look back at the prominent peak of Mount Cobbler. We will then continue along the Clear Hills Track, rejoining the Circuit Road at Howqua Gap. For those with camper trailers or the like, they may wish to return via the Circuit Road to collect their campers. The others may then drive up the No.3 Road to Mt No.3 either direct or via Mine Creek Road and Weston Track. This will be discussed on the weekend. . We finally return to Mirimbah via Carters Road and then to Mansfield for coffee.
The best map is the Rooftops Mansfield -Mt. Howit Adventure Map Fifth Edition.
Weather: Alpine environment, potentially cold and wet. Bring appropriate clothing and footwear.
Equipment: Vehicles need to have low range 4WD capability with good all-terrain tyres, UHF radio equipped ( or one borrowed from the club). and good ground clearance (200mm). Normal recovery gear (snatch strap, shackles, dampener, shovel etc).
Trip Standard: Medium - some steep, low-range hill climbs and some hard rocky tracks particularly the Clear Hills Track.
Fuel: a full tank ex Mansfield where all fuels are available. NB the Mansfield service station closes at 9:00 om Friday evenings. Approx. distance from Melbourne is 235 Km.
Distance: The round trip distance from Mirimbah to Mirimbah is estimated at 150 km.
Duration: 2 days
Convoy limit: 10 vehicles
Meeting Arrangements: The preference will be to meet at Mirimbah on the Friday evening at an agreed time and travel as a convoy to the campground. This arrangement or an alternative arrangement to travel in as a convoy on Saturday morning will be discussed with participants closer to the time.
Trip Leaders: Graeme Allen has proposed this trip but would prefer to be an assistant trip leader to a member that would like to lead this trip that has not otherwise led a trip. It is not a difficult to trip to navigate and assistance will be available throughout the trip. If interested please contact Graeme on mobile 0477 488 434 or email graeme.allen86@gmail.com .
