Alps Walking Track
Prepare and stay safe
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Staying safe is your responsibility
The Australian Alps Walking Track traverses rugged remote alpine country in Victoria, NSW and the ACT. Bushwalkers must always be experienced, self reliant and have good navigational skills. It is important that you plan, prepare and equip yourself well for a walk on the Alps Track.
Plan and prepare
"We carried a full set of topographic maps and these were essential. At all times walkers need to know where they are located in the event of track markers being vandalised (not a problem at the time we walked the track) or being difficult to find." Ross Walker, December 2000 (After completing the entire walk).
Planning for your walk on the Australian Alps Walking Track is a matter of following common sense guidelines.
- Choose your walk based on the bushwalking skills and knowledge that you and your group have.
- Keep your party small; four to eight people is ideal.
- Obtain as much information and advice about the Alps and the section of the Alps Track you intend to walk. Find out about any hazards or risks and how to deal with them.
- The weather in the Alps can change dramatically at any time of the year. Prepare for the worst conditions and check the latest weather conditions before you depart.
- Let someone know where you are going. Leave trip details (return date and time, planned route, group member names, and vehicle details) with a responsible person or the police. Don't forget to check in when you return.
- Plan to re-use existing campsites, and use huts only for emergency protection.
- Have the right skills and knowledge:
- carry and be able to use of a compass and a topographical map
- have bushcraft and outdoor first aid skills
- have the ability to handle and recognise survival situations, particularly the causes of hyperthermia and how to treat it, and
- consider joining a bushwalking or mountaineering club to gain more experience if you intend to do a lot of bushwalking.
Equip yourself
Having the correct equipment is vitally important for overnight or extended trips on the Australian Alps Walking Track.
- Make sure that everyone in your group has clothing which protects them from heat and cold. Have layers including a hooded raincoat, over-pants, hat and gloves, warm and fast drying tops, thermal underwear, shorts and trousers, and leather or Gore-Tex walking boots
- Carry a map (at least 1:50 000 scale) and compass, first aid and survival kits, water bottle, and emergency food including high energy foods
- Consider carrying an EPIRB (emergency Position Indicator Radio Beacon) or satellite phone if you are going into wilderness or on an extended walk
- Have a fuel stove and fuel for cooking, good quality tent (minimum three season rating), and a hand trowel for burying toilet waste
Water
Water can be scarce along some sections of the track, especially in summer and along drier ridges and spurs.
- Plan your trip to camp near known water points
- Boil or filter all water and always collect upstream of huts and campsites
- Be prepared to carry water, enough for two days
- Water tanks have been provided for walkers at Barry Saddle and Johnnies Top, two particularly dry sections of track in the Alpine National Park
Fire
Firewood supplies are limited especially in the alpine and subalpine areas so only light a fire if absolutely necessary for warmth and cooking. Do not light fires above or near the tree line.
If you must have a fire, keep it small and within officially constructed fireplaces provided. No fires including camp stoves may be lit on days of Total Fire Ban.
Regulations for the lighting and use of fires vary from state to state. For example:
- In Baw Baw National Park the plateau (open plains and snow gum woodlands) is a Fuel Stove Only Area
- In the Alpine National Park, Mount Bogong, Mount Feathertop and approaches are Fuel Stove Only Areas
- In Kosciuszko National Park campfires are prohibited in the Alpine Resorts Zone and all visitors to Wilderness and Back Country Zones are actively encouraged to use fuel stoves
- In Namadgi National Park Fuel Stove Only Areas are areas close to public roadways, walking tracks, huts, ecologically sensitive sites and the Cotter River Catchment. Fire permits are required for all campfires all year round except in officially constructed fireplaces.
Minimal impact
Many areas along the Track are sensitive to bushwalking and camping impacts. They need your care and protection when you are walking the track.
Guidelines for minimal impacts:
Use a fuel stove - This method of cooking is quicker, cleaner and better for the bush.
Carry it in, carry it out – Whatever you are carrying, don't burn, bury or leave it. This includes cigarette butts and tissues. Most rubbish doesn't decompose, and it may wash into nearby creeks and lakes only to pollute them.
Got to 'go'? – Always use toilets where they are provided, or take a walk at least 100 paces from water, campsites or the walking track. Dig 15cm deep and cover well.
Stay on track – Even if it is muddy or dusty don't widen tracks or take shortcuts.
Respect heritage – Heritage places are links to memories of people of the past. Huts were also often located in areas used as camp sites by Aboriginal people, so leave all artifacts and the hut environs undisturbed.
Leave no trace – Whenever you visit the Australian Alps respect the Aboriginal owners and their country as well as other visitors by aiming to leave the area as you found it.