A walk into history (Ada Valley Walk)

I was determined to go on a walk to test out my new gear and had always wanted to do the Warburton to Powelltown walk (Ada valley) which is now known as 'a walk into history'. This is not a very well know walk. It is a through walk meaning you will need a car at either end as public transport doesn't reach Powelltown. The walk follows a number of tramlines through the Big Pats creek valley, Ada Valley, Latrobe Valley, and finally the Little Yarra valley. The tramlines are remnants of the areas former utility as milled forest. Following the gold rush, a number of settlements remained as logging towns. Successive logging booms meant that a number of sizable towns and mills were established in the area. The tramlines hauled the lumber from site to mill to railway. The Bushfires of the 1930's burnt out most of the settlements, and World War 2 followed by the introduction of diesel engines meant that these old mills and settlements were left behind in the forest. The bushwalk features a number of side trips to some of these abandoned mills which still hold old machinery such as winches and boilers. I was lead to believe that there would be a number of large trestle bridges along the way to aid the tramlines across deep gullies.

I had proposed this walk or the Donna Bang to Dom Dom walk to Cal and Erin, considering the snow we luckily chose the Ada Valley. I failed to take many photos along the way but please enjoy the ones I have:

Lunchtime day 1 at Starlings Gap campsite. There were drop toilets, and a little shelter with a picnic table. You can drive into this site and some hoons drove past and harassed us.

Erin was in charge of this lunch and it was delicious.

cal and Erin looking excited in a peaceful tramline cutting; note the picturesque canopy of tree ferns above. Can you tell it is cold?

Here is a lovely selfie in my nice orange raincoat

Erin took a lovely photo of myself and Calum. can you tell it is forecast to snow tonight?

After arriving at the crossroads around 5pm as light was quickly disappearing, we decided not to walk the further 2km to Federal Mill, and instead walk the 400m to the unmarked Ada no.2 mill site. Good decision! A beautiful campsite with fireplaces, food boxes, and camping platforms. It was also a fortuitous decision because...

At the same time we walked in, so did Ben. A friend from university in Canebrra. We thought he was still overseas (for many years). But it turns out he had decided to do the exact same obscure bushwalk as us (from the opposite direction) on the exact same weekend, and to camp at the exact same unmarked campsite. Providence!

In the background you can see an abandoned tram bogie repurposed as a bench.

Camping platforms! Erin waits patiently for Cal to pack the tent.

The forest was very beautiful at this spot, and I was woken up late in the morning (snug and warm in my new sleeping bag / bivy) by the gentle cooing of the forest-folk (lyrebirds).

Before heading off on a morning side trip to the Ada tree, we decided to further explore the campsite. Here is an old steam furnace / boiler.

On the way to the Ada tree I got to see my first (collapsed) trestle bridge of the walk. I was irate about this aspect of the walk. I love trestle bridges. I love hobbies.

Some stairs! Better take a photo!

Calum demonstrating how to safely cross the river, as everyone else walked across the rocks.

Collapsed trestle bridge. Not that impressed.

Finally the Ada tree! Victoria's biggest tree.

dat sign

dat boardwalk

It's a bit hard to give perspective on the size of it. It's a lot bigger than the Statue of Liberty.

Bit.

Calum gives in and jumps across the rocks with us on the way back.

We were in a bigger hurry to get to Powelltown, and I failed to take ANY photos from this point on. The High Lead was a mega-pain to get down in the mud, and I feel for Ben who had walked UP it the day before. There was some very pretty forest and (collapsed) trestle bridges between the Bump and Powelltown.

My final verdict is: Too much walk, not enough history.

A much more comfortable and short 2-day walk would be Ada Tree Carpark (camp at Ada no.2 mill) to Powelltown for those who are considering it.