| Leader | Mentor | Understudy | Tail Ender | |
| Standards | Peter | Chris | Sally | Margaret E |
| Alternates | Leonie | Norma | Nick | Linley T |
Distance: 13.95kms Time Walking: 4hrs 30mins
Elevation: Max Alt 1000m Min Alt 772m Vert Assent: 415m
Waking to a frost and clear blue sky, 50 trampers (including visitors Jun Hae, Chris H and Tony) went on the bus driven by Victor, and Chris and Alan drove another nine trampers in their vehicles to Castle Hill Village. This was a very good turnout of Club members and visitors for a very popular tramp.
The construction of the Hogs Back Track was a joint effort by the Castle Hill Village community and the Department of Conservation to be used by walkers, mountain bikers and skiers to access the backcountry.
Once everyone had arrived at our destination by bus and car we all set off at 10.15am from the access road just west of Castle Hill Village. The standards had 36 in their group so there was a lot of counting for the tailender! The alternates followed in a group behind the standards as they were doing the same walk but not going as far.
From the access road, we made our way up through Thomas Bush climbing through the beech forest onto the Long Spur ridgeline. At 10.50 am we stopped for morning tea by the Old Ghost Tree and Chris lined us all up for a photo. After following the ridgeline, we descended across the open flats below Long Spur to the beech forest at Long Creek. Most of us got our feet wet crossing Long Creek which had a good flow of water. It was the first stream we crossed and the only one without a bridge. The walk through the beech forest was followed by a short climb up the true right of Waterfall Creek. After crossing Waterfall Creek, the track then traverses across to the western side of the Hogs Back ridge.
As we progressed towards Hogs Back ridge the wind came up strongly and it became very cold. Our leader Peter thought it would be best to have lunch below the ridge due to the conditions, so we sheltered in some very large tussocks and ate our lunch at 12.30 pm. At 1 pm we made our way back to Castle Hill Village the same way we had come.
The walk consists of a mix of beech forest and open grasslands and the scenery was stunning with the snow-capped mountains of the Craigieburn range all around. There were also small patches of snow on the ground near the track in some places. The birds were very chirpy in the beech forest parts of the track which was great to hear. The traps dotted along the way must be helping to keep the vermin down. Although the track was muddy and a bit sloppy in parts due to recent rain, it is undulating for the most part so apart from being slippery in places it was a fairly easy walk. The track is off-limits to mountain bikes over the winter months which is just as well, or it could have been quite a mess to walk on. It was cool in the shade of the beech forest but lovely and warm when walking out in the open in the sun. The rain forecast for later in the day did not arrive, so we had very pleasant conditions apart from the chilly wind in exposed places.
The standards passed the alternates on the way back and both groups arrived at the car park at approximately 3pm. It was a very good day out enjoyed by everyone. Txt by Judy R.
