28/11/2014 – 30/11/2014 Eucumbene Cove – Mackays Hut – O’Keefes Hut – Jagungal return
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo country
Distance: 99km Height Change: 2620m Travelling Time: 19 hours
Participants: Jenny Adams, Scott Brodie, Stephen Davies (Photos), Sue Davies (Report), Jones Lemmon, Stephen Long (Leader), Helen Troy
We met before 9.00am in Cooma under sunny skies all keen to start out on our mountain bike adventure. Driving to Eucumbene Cove and packing our bikes with gear for the three day trip, we headed off for the 32km ride into Mackays hut before 11.00am.
Day 1: Friday 28/11/2014 Eucumbene Cove – Mackays Hut
The route in (and out)
Max elevation: 1762 m
Total climbing: 911 m
Total descent: -786 m
Average speed: 13.93 km/h
Total time: 05:32:04
Jenny and Helen – on Happy Jacks road
After a very short downhill section the climbing began. For most of us this involved some riding and a lot of pushing a heavily laden bike up what seemed to be never ending hills. The view from the top of the ridge over Lake Eucumbene was picturesque and we stopped for quiet lunch while fighting off ever persistent ants which seemed to be everywhere.
Lake Eucumbene from near Eucumbebe Lookout
On we pushed up hills and down again until we reached the turn off to Greymare. We left the road and pedalled through a gorgeous valley, crossing several creeks by various means along the way. Some members of the party, Scott in particular, managed to cycle through all of these. Other were not so brave and the shoes were off and we walked our bikes through. Steve Davies was frequently updating us with our distance to the destination “as the crow flies”. At times we did not seem to be making much progress and we were not impressed with the blasted crow.
Sue – crossing Doubtful Creek
We reached our destination for the day at about 4.30pm which gave us ample time to set up camp and enjoy a gorgeous afternoon in the sunshine. The March flies were out in force and as Scott pointed out, the flies bundied off as the Mosquitos commenced their shift for the evening. Scott entertained us with stories of his cycling adventures in Europe as we waited until 9.00pm so we could go to bed.
Day 2: Saturday 29/11/2014 MacKays Hut – Jagungal return
Max elevation: 2075 m
Total climbing: 1503 m
Total descent: -1503 m
Average speed: 8.70 km/h
Total time: 09:03:05
We awoke to a beautiful morning with sunshine and mist rising over the valley. We managed to start our trip towards Jagungal at the planned time of 8.00am which we thought would give us adequate time to cycle to the trail head, climb to the top and get back to camp at a reasonable time. So we thought.
Jagungal from the Grey Mare Fire Trail on Farm Ridge
The trail was hard going. Relentlessly undulating, our progress was not as fast as we would have hoped. We reached O’Keefes hut around 11.00am and it was clear that we were all not going to make it to the top as we had planned. Helen waited at the hut while the rest of us pushed on. We had still not reached the path to the Jagungal summit after several more kilometres and with energy levels declining Jenny, Sue and Steve Long decided to head back and leave Steve D, Scott and Jonas to bushbash to the summit.
Alpine scenery on Jagungal with views to the Main Range
The retreating party had a leisurely lunch in the cosy O’Keefes hut and then took our time to get back to camp. A pleasant afterrnoon was spent drinking cups of tea and relaxing in the spring sunshine.
The male party of three set a cracking pace. They reached the summit, had lunch and walked back down the trail. This meant they needed to walk a further 3km back to the bikes and the ride back over the hilly terrain. They reached camp by 5.00pm. An impressive effort!
Wildflowers at dusk – Mackeys Hut
Day 3: Sunday 30/11/2014 Mackays Hut – Eucumbene Cove
Todays GPS track is the reverse of Day 1, Friday.
We were aware that the forecast was for deteriorating conditions on Sunday afternoon so we planned to leave early for the 4.5 hour ride out. We awoke at 5.00am to a lively electrical storm. During a brief pause in the rain we retreated to the hut to pack and prepare breakfast. Bravely we started riding out around 7.00am when the rain and lighting appeared to abate.
Our party outside Mackays Hut
We had a beautiful ride through the undulating terrain, negotiating several creek crossings through to the Greymare turn off. The weather took a turn for the worse just as we started the long climb to the ridge. The rain was pelting down, thunder seemed to be all around us so we just kept pushing on. Finally we reached the ridge and unfortunately Steve Long suffered a puncture here. Feeling rather exposed to natures wrath on this section we kept going, enjoying a long downhill to the gate. We were soaked by the end and covered with dirt and grit from head to toe. We were all very relieved that we all completed the ride safely especially considering the conditions on our ride out.
We met for lunch at the Lott cafe in Cooma enjoying some well deserved treats. It was a fitting end to a great adventure. Thanks to Steve Long for organising the trip.
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