Mt Howitt and The Crosscut Saw
t Howitt and the Crosscut Saw is
one of the great yuppy walks of the
high country but despite this it is still a
great place to hike and meet people. The
region is very undeveloped despite it's
proximity to Mt Buller and is probably
saved by the fact that there is no sealed
road between Buller and Howitt.
M
W
hile not shown on this map, the
walking track extends across to
The Viking and it is 'possible' to do a
circuit walk of Howitt - The Crosscut Saw
- The Viking - Zeka Track but it includes a
lot of altitude changes and some dense
blackberries around the Wonangatta
River.
T
he Crosscut Saw is perhaps the best
known walk but a quick glance at the
map will show that there are many other
walking tracks branching from it. If you
stick to the main tracks you will spend
most of your time walking through open
snowgum forests or above the tree line
so apart from some steep grades the
walking is generally quite easy. Most
people underestimate the altitude
changes along The Crosscut Saw and
discover that it is harder than it looks on
The Viking from Mt Howitt
the map. Most of the walk is above the
tree line and you are very exposed to the
weather (so hope that it's good weather)
M
acalister Springs offers the most
reliable water in summer and a
small spring at Mt Speculation is also
usually running but you may need to walk
downstream a little. Water from
Speculation has been polluted from the
campsite and you should boil the water
before drinking.
V
allejo Gantner Hut is something of a
hotel as far as alpine huts go and is
often quite full but there is ample
camping around the hut. Many people
use Macalister Springs as a base for day
walks.
The Wonangatta Spur and Devil's Staircase
from Mt Speculation
T
he map (page 2) is redrawn from the
Howitt-Selwyn 1:50 000 map (Vicmap
8223-N) and shows 100m contours,
roads, walking tracks and the main
creeks and rivers. It should be used as a
guide only. Virtually all tracks are closed
during winter.
The Devil's Staircase and The Viking
Access
he Howitt car park is a good 6 - 6 1/ 2 hour drive from Melbourne
through Traralgon and Licola. The road is seasonally closed (third
week of June to October 31) about 36km from the car park making the
only the Upper Howqua Road the only reasonable access route during
winter.
T
Mt Cobbler
T
he Sheepyard lat track from Merrijig takes only 3.5 hours to get to
Refrigerator Gap from Melbourne (including stopping to put snow
chains on) and is open throughout the year.I am yet to see how much
snow builds up on the road or how close you can safely get to the
bottom of the Howitt Spur
but I'm planning a trip
sometime in August.
Click to see
detailed map
Mt Buller
A
nother option is the
Upper Howqua Road
but this really is a long
drive across potentially
snow covered mountain
roads. It begins near the
toll gate to Mt Buller and
circles around.
© Ben Kreunen
Merrijig
wq
Ho
r
e
d
p
Up Roa
ua
How
Mt Speculation from Mt Howitt
[email protected]
itt R
oad
Licola
Traralgon
http://www.bigbenpublishing.com.au/
Mt Howitt and The Crosscut Saw
Cliffs
Hut
Water available
Main campsite
BA
1594
0
Bicentennial National Trail
Road ("Road"), Bridge
4WD track, Gate
MP CREEK
130
CA
K
MOUNT
KOONIKA
SPUR
ING
RR
Y
MOUN
Catherine
Saddle
TAINS
MOUNT
DESPAIR
1464
River/ Creek, Spring
WWW page
1300
WWW panorama
MOUNT
SPECULATION
WONANG
1668
KI
150
1
2
3km
RI
VE
R
RI
NOR
TH
AN
G
C
1391
MOUNT
BUGGERY
H
VE
R
QUEEN
SO
UT
VE
Horrible
Gap
BR
KIN
THE
PIMPLE
RI
0
NG
0
ATTA
R
THE
SPUR
TERRIBLE
H
THE
BRANCH
90
0
HOLLOW
CR
1468
10
00
00
SC
RANGE
THORN
13
OS
MOUNT
THORN
UT
1200
RIVER
W
HO
UPPER
HOWQU
D
BRAN
NOR
A
Devil’s
Staircase
SA
W
CH
Macalister Springs
TH
1400
HOW
SPUR
ITT
BRAN
MOUNT
HOWITT
CH
BIG
HILL
MOUNT 1725
MAGDALA
WONA
TA SPU
NGAT
R
00
TH
1738
15
SOU
WEST
PEAK
1725
Vallejo Gantner
Hut
R
ROA
RIVE
A
QU
Hell’s
Window
Picture
Point
Clover
Plain
RIVE
KING BILLY
No. 2
VIEW
POINT
Car park
HO
W
I
TT
RO
AD
k
Trac
AL
KING BILLY
No. 1
Zeka
R N
O RT
H
Lovicks Hut
IS
H
AC
C
M
BR
AN
TE
R
1500
1500
MI
ES
ON
Howitt
JA
Plains
© Ben Kreunen
[email protected]
http://www.bigbenpublishing.com.au/