Summary:  3 day hike from Diamantina Hut to Mount Feathertop and return to Harrietville

Date:          23-25 July 2022

Region:      Alpine National Park

Introduction

The plan for this weekend was to drive down to Bright and spend the night, next morning drive to Harrietville and catch a taxi to Diamantina Hut. From Diamantina Hut we would walk across the Razorback and camp near Mount Feathertop but not at Federation Hut. The next day those who wanted would climb to the summit of Mount Feathertop. The last day we would descend to Harrietville via Bungalow Spur.

Day 1

We drove to Harrietville and parked the cars. It was then a short walk to the Motel where the taxi was going to pick us up. 5 of us climbed into the taxi and headed up the mountain to Diamantina Hut. From Diamantina Hut we traversed across the Razorback. There were some downhill sections that were fairly steep and it was hard going in snow shoes so the alternative was to sit on our bum and slide down just being careful not to get up too much speed.

The views across the Razorback to Mount Feathertop were superb.

There was one section where the mist had rolled in and it was hard to distinguish any outline of the snow beneath our feet and one of our party stepped off a small ledge, luckily it was only about 1 metre high so there were no injuries.

Nearing the turn off to Federation Hut we decided not to walk up a steep section and go around through the trees, in hindsight walking up the steep section would have been a lot easier.

We passed the turn off to Federation Hut and as the weather predictions were favourable we picked a nice flat site with good views to set up camp. This turned out to be a good move as there were many people at the hut.

Day 2

Day 2 was reserved for those who wanted to climb to the summit of Feathertop. A couple of our party tried but fell just short as thick mist came across making going any further too dangerous.

The mist and brief glimpses of sunlight made for a spectacular day.

Day 3

After breakfast we packed up camp. The wind was picking up and it was very misty as we headed across to Federation Hut. We only spent a short time at Federation Hut before hiking down Bungalow Spur to Harrietville. There was snow cover for approximately 1 km. We took our snow shoes off just a little early as there was still some patches of snow on the trail and it was slippery in places.

When we reached Harrietville another hiker gave a couple of us a lift to where our cars were parked making it a lot easier than a trek into town.