Our group of nine assembled in Harrietville at 8am on a warm sunny morning for this classic 22km walk. We started up the Bungalow spur on a well-graded track which ascends about 1200m over 9km, initially through lush fern gullies and alpine ash forest, giving way to snow gums higher up. We met a couple of intrepid school groups with their even more intrepid teachers, all bounding with enthusiasm and clearly delighted to be out of the classroom and in this wonderful place. We made a leisurely ascent, with several stops to admire the views, replenish calories and inspect the old Bungalow Hut site. The hut was destroyed in the 1939 fires and never rebuilt.

After Bungalow Hut we were in snow gum country and more exposed to the sun and the track is rockier. The final 2km up the spur was a hot climb and it was good to stop for lunch and a breather at Federation Hut at the beginning of the Razorback ridge.

Campsite on the Razorback

There are only two sources of water in the Federation Hut vicinity. One is near Bungalow hut, on a side track which leads 200m to a creek. The closer one is about 15 minutes from Federation Hut, down a track which branches off the path to Mt Feathertop. Federation Hut itself had no water in its tanks when we were there. We had warning of this via a sign at the start of the Bungalow Spur but those approaching Federation Hut from the Razorback side did not, and luckily we were able to tell some other groups where they could stock up on water before making camp at the hut.

After lunch we headed out along the Razorback, leaving our packs to make a side trip up Mt Feathertop (1922m), a steep climb rewarded by magnificent 360 degree views of Mt Bogong, the Bogong high plains, Mt Hotham and Mt Buffalo. Then after a couple more hours of walking we made camp at a spot identified by our leader on a previous trip, in a sheltered saddle between the Knobs, with superb views back towards Feathertop and Mt Buffalo to the west.

A more sombre side of the Razorback: ascending the Big Dipper in a gale

After a warm night we had a taste of alpine weather the next morning, with intermittent hail and fog and a biting easterly gale which brought home the need for care when attempting this narrow exposed ridge in bad weather. After a quick breakfast in our tents we donned pack covers and every layer of clothing and set as brisk a pace as we could while trying to avoid being blown sideways by freezing gusts of wind. After a couple of hours we got to the Big Dipper, a steep climb to a track junction where we turned off the Razorback and headed down the Bon Accord spur.

The weather lightened almost immediately as we started down the spur, and got quite warm on the way down. After a relentless knee-challenging 6km descent we were glad to stop for lunch and a soothing foot-bath in a creek at the bottom, and then a pleasant undulating 5km stroll back to Harrietville, reaching the cars by mid-afternoon. Though some had hopes of ice cream there was none to be found in Harrietville, so we stopped instead in Benalla for a counter tea. Many thanks to our leader Ian and fellow walkers Halina, Bob, Max, Sue, Claire, Diane and Mark for a memorable weekend on what has to be one of the most beautiful and dramatic walks in the high country.