NSW Nordic Ski Club
Happy New Year
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It was Ian Cross who precipitated this particular quest. Ian happened to mention to me that Happys hut is not where the Eucumbene 1:50,000 map says it is. As I was editor of Kick & Glide at the time I asked Ian for an article explaining how this hut had gone astray. Alas! the article was never forthcoming and I resigned myself to never unraveling the mystery of the whereabouts of Happys hut.
I fancy myself as a hut hunter though (see the October 1995 Kick & Glide for an account of how Bolton's hut was intercepted in my wanderings in September 1994). So when all that snow arrived in time for the June long weekend and a planned bushwalking trip fell through, it seemed an ideal opportunity to try to track down another hut that had strayed from its designated location.
So it was that Edith Baker, Charlie Andrews and I set out from Mt Selwyn a little late on the Saturday morning of the June long weekend with the objective of finding Happys hut and telling the world about it. It was as good a day as it gets in the mountains, brilliant blue sky, lots of snow and breathtaking views. But the snow, while plentiful, was not particularly user-friendly. It was quite crusty and Charlie had lots of trouble with his short (about 130 cm long) skis which did not have enough surface area to keep him above the crust. He tried going first, last, to the side and anywhere else he could find, but had trouble the whole trip breaking through crust that Edith and I traversed without difficulty.
Because of our late start, the unfriendly snow and a tendency to be distracted by the superb views it was getting late when we arrived at the top of the ridge overlooking Happy Jacks Plain. As we were only about one kilometre from the mapped position of Happys Hut, we decided to head directly for it, straight down beside the creek which starts from the fire trail junction. While this was a little steep and well treed it promised to be the most direct and quickest way to the hut.
We were carrying one Olympus tent for the three of us in case we did not camp in a hut. For some reason Charlie seemed to be doubtful about sharing the tent with Edith and me. He appeared to think he would not be admitted. Consequently he was very keen to make it to the hut so as not to have to try his luck. This gave our quest for the hut added urgency. We eventually made it down to the bottom of the hill, having made intimate acquaintance with a number of trees on the way. As expected it had been a time-consuming exercise though and it was quite gloomy when we arrived at the creek on which Happys hut is shown to be located.
While we were preparing to set out from My Selwyn an innocent bystander, on establishing the we were heading for Happys hut, volunteered his opinion of its location, as he had walked there during the summer. We headed for the spot nominated by our Mt Selwyn guide, only about a hundred metres from the advertised position. Of course it was not there - presumably having tired of that spot and relocated itself somewhere else. I also had at the back of my mind Ian Cross's advice the there was something curious about the mapping of the creeks in that vicinity.
With the light fading fast we spread out and set off down the creek, peering into the gloom for the reclusive hut. We skied for some way, always expecting to find the hut over the next rise, but continually being disappointed. Eventually, just when I was starting to think about looking for a good campsite, there was our secretive shack, nestled in a little fold at the side of the creek. It is a very cosy abode, made of iron with an elegant verandah, and we quickly made ourselves at home.
The hut log book revealed that NSW Nordic Ski Club members Andrew Stock and Pina Bartolo had found the hut during the previous summer. Other visitors were mainly pig shooters and horse riders. Well - it is not exactly on an important trade route.
Next morning the sun streamed in over the verandah and we placed the hut about 500m SE of its mapped position, overlooking the creek about 200m W of where it turns south to join Happy Jacks Creek. We saw no evidence of any creeks misbehaving themselves, contrary to Ian's warnings. Later discussion with Ian clarified that it is the creeks in the marked position of the hut that do not flow where they are alleged to. We did not miss out altogether on misplaced creeks though - but more of that later.
On Sunday we skied along the eastern side of Happy Jacks Plain, joining up with the Grey Mare Fire Trail and more or less following its route to McKeahnie's Creek. We followed this creek to Happy Jacks Road, then turned NE to follow the road to the footbridge over Happy Jacks Creek and thence to Brooks Hut. Far Bald Mountain was a prominent landmark for most of the day. An interesting feature of the ski along the Plain was a steel tower which seemed to deliberately provide several artificial bird nesting sites, one of which had been occupied. We could also see that the creek along which we had descended the precious night was the clearest descent from the ridge in the vicinity of Happys hut.
For some variety on the way back to Mt Selwyn on Monday we decided to take a shortcut via Temperance Creek. That was fine until we encountered a creek that was desperately seeking cartological acknowledgement, but was out of luck. Our confusion was compounded by the fact that we were near the corners of the maps, which are of different scales.
Nevertheless we pressed on across the phantom creek and soon found ourselves on a spot where we could locate our position. Temperance Creek is a welcome change from the firetrail route, providing some delightful skiing and a shorter route to or from Brooks hut. Once we reached our outward route at the southern end of Tabletop, it was the familiar route past Tabletop and thence to Mt Selwyn to conclude a really Happy start to the season.
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