Bikepacking with New Friends: Long Plain, Kosciuszko (Video)

Words by Tim Attwood (@timmeh500), photos by Tim Attwood and Mattie Gould (@mattiejgould)

Kosciuszko National Park is easily one of my favourite places to ride. It’s not the easiest of riding, but there is something special about being up in the high country of Australia. My last trip down to Kosciuszko was one week before winter, and I had been patiently waiting for the snow to come and go so I could head back down there with the bike. There are more than 70 alpine huts in the Kosciuszko National Park, and when I was asked if I wanted to tag along on a casual bikepacking trip, I instantly jumped at the chance. I was invited by Mattie from Desire Lines Cycling Club, who has a love for bikes and cameras. Mattie was what I’d call an internet friend, as we’d been communicating online due to our similar interests in bikepacking and photography. We hadn’t spent any time together in person, but I was excited as I don’t really have any other friends who are into cameras, let alone bikes, cameras, and camping. Mattie’s weekend brief was perfect for me, 100% focusing on fun times, photos, and very few kilometres.

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Going on a trip that’s more photography based is ideal for me. One of the reasons I go on these bikepacking trips is because I love playing with cameras. Taking photos and making videos… I just love it! The plan was to ride into the Jagungal Wilderness and visit a few alpine huts, none of which I had seen before. A lot of the trails in the Jagungal Wilderness sit around 1,600 metres in elevation, so November seemed like a good time to visit as the winter snow has generally melted, and being one month out from summer, the temperatures are generally perfect for riding.

The week leading up to our ride was an extremely wet one. The Alpine areas received around 30 centimetres of snow, which was one of the biggest November snowstorms on record. There was also lots of rain in the lower parts of the region. Unfortunately, black ice, floods, and landslides had closed a few roads, and the area where we were planning to ride was covered in snow. We had no option but to make new plans. The decision was made to head a little further north and ride in some of the less elevated areas of the park. I knew of a nice spot I had been to before by Tantangara Creek, which I thought would make some great images and it was also only a short five-kilometre ride from the carpark, which made it the perfect spot for the late Friday arrival.

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On this trip, I also brought along my adventure buddy Josh, who I’ve done lots of trips with. We parked at Bullocks Hill campground, where we met Mattie and his two friends, Marty and Jon. After a quick meet and greet, we hopped on the bikes and rode down to camp. The trail we were on is open to 4WDs in dry weather, but there is a sign at the top gate that reads, “No vehicle based camping past this point.” I was a little disappointed when we got to the bottom and found some 4WDs had set up camp in what I thought was the premium photo spot. I can’t blame them, as it’s a beautiful place to camp, but I had been hopeful it was going to be free as you’re not supposed to camp out of your cars down there. It made me a little bitter at first, but there was plenty of room for all of us to enjoy. They were even really friendly.

Once set up, it was time to enjoy the scenery, get to know some of our new friends, and discuss the plans for the rest of the weekend. We had to cross this creek to get to our planned hut for night two, but the water was up around waist high and flowing hard and fast. We watched a couple of hikers cross with inflatable mattresses but they were much taller than me and still struggled. We decided it was safer to change our plans for a second time and not attempt to cross the creek.
After an enjoyable evening sitting around the fire, it was time to try out my new Big Agnes bikepacking tent. I had done all my previous trips in a big, cheap, heavy four-season tent, and night one in the new tent couldn’t have been more perfect. Flat, grassy ground, the sound of the creek flowing, not a breath of wind. I was in my element.

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Saturday morning, we packed up and rode back to the car, where we drove around to Long Plain to start plan number three. We parked the cars at Long Plain Hut and set off. Our first stop was Millers Hut, where we had some lunch before continuing on to Hainsworth Hut, where we camped the night. It was only about 11 kilometres to camp, so we were there very early. Mattie and Marty decided to ride out to a few more huts while Josh, Jon, and I just hung out around Hainsworth Hut. Josh and I ended up doing a walk up into the hills along some game trails, which were surprisingly nice and gave us some great views looking back down at the hut.

I had been to Hainsworth Hut twice before but never camped there. It was such a nice spot to camp. It was very peaceful and the company was great. We were all tired, after dinner it was a waiting game… waiting for the sun to drop so we could all head off to bed.

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Even though this trip had its challenges from the weather, I’ve been having a lot of good luck when it comes to weather in the high country. Every time I visit, the weather is just perfect. Sunday morning was no different, it was the start of another glorious day. I didn’t want to leave.

Some bikepacking trips are a tough physical slog, but they don’t all need to be. This was a perfect example of a relaxing ride, hanging out with some new friends, and enjoying some beautiful parts of the country. I highly recommend planning some shorter routes just to enjoy the time spent being out in nature. It was so nice to hang out with friends who like cameras as much as I do. I was once told your lifelong friends will be ones you have similar interests with. Time will tell. Can’t wait for the next one soon.

Long Plain Hut – Hainsworth Hut Route