Youngman Stream Hut - Lilburne Hill 

6 - 7 July 2024

As our vehicle drove along the Lees Valley Road the wind-screen wipers suggested that we might be in for a damp day. At the start of the 3km farm 4WD track, Helen skillfully drove the ute through mud and ruts and we arrived at the trail-head without getting bogged. As we were unpacking the ute a guy with a deer carcass on his back came riding along from the hills on an electric mountain bike. I have never seen a hunter carrying a deer on a bike before. As we set off, the light rain stopped and the cloud lifted to treat us to a sunny day. We were on the river-side vehicle track for an hour before it turned up the Lilburne Valley. At the Lilburne River crossing we met two young guys reluctant to get their feet wet. They must have consulted a sketchy route description, so weren’t expecting this. They did cross the river because we saw them on the spur track to Tarn Hut thus avoiding the risk of arriving at a crowded Youngman Stream Hut.

River flats at Tent Gully Stream provided a suitable lunch spot, then we climbed up the forest track on the Ashley’s true right to avoid the river route. The uphill seemed unrelenting for us four oldies and was quite steep in places. Descending a spur to the river, we saw a sign pointing across the river telling us the hut was a mere five minutes away. After keeping our feet reasonably dry, we had to do some last-minute wading. The hut is a standard six-bunker with a wood burner, so we set to, gathering firewood to get the hut to room temperature, rather than fridge temp. The fire was only half-way successful as the burner is set into an old fireplace, so most heat goes up the chimney. Kerry engaged in a bit of “fishing” and retrieved a stonefly lavae, or some-such, when getting river water. The dinner quantity was adequate, so Wang took it back to the river in the morning in a benevolent delayed catch and release.

Sunday dawned clear and frosty and at 8.30am we re-crossed the river and headed up the Lilburne Hill track, a steady 700m climb to Lilburne Hill. On the shaded side of tussocks, snow remained, but on the sparsely vegetated tops there was none. At Tarn Hut we boiled the billy and had a 40-minute stop, then took the long spur down to the Lilburne River, a 700m decent from Tarn Hut.

Back on the track alongside the main river, we had another hour’s walk back to the ute—a bit over six hours of walking time. This compares with four hours for the inward journey. We were: Graeme Nicholas (leader), Kerry Moore, Helen Binnie and Wang. GN