Being newly able to visit regional Victoria again over the Melbourne Cup long weekend after a long spell of restrictions, I travelled 3 ½ hours to Bright to run up some hills. I covered 107k (+4,542m) over 4 days.

Day 1: Mt Buffalo

Started at Eurobin Creek, right at the park entrance. Up the Big Walk, over Monolith, continued along the road to the The Horn (1,723m) then turned around and came back again.

Old Galleries Track was a fun short detour off the main road threading between and under large boulders, but on the way down I cut out that entire section of asphalt via the Long Plain track. I also took a quick side excursion up The Hump and had intended Le Souef Plateau on the way down but was feeling pretty rubbish and thought at the time I was possibly over-extending.

Fuel

Water: 2.5L (~350ml/hr)
Food: 1,500 Calories (~220/hr)

Still not quite where I want to be but this was the best fueled long run I’ve been on. I didn’t feel dehydrated or particularly hungry afterwards. First time I’ve tried tropical SiS Go in anger and it worked a treat, better fit for me than Tailwind. Cookies and fudge also new and huge wins. Salted macadamias not so much (though fantastic snack after), and the old standby sandwich and Probar didn’t get much attention. Reckon they’ve been replaced!

Started with 1L of SiS Go and 0.5L water. Refilled 0.5L filtration bottle twice from streams.

Day 2: Mt Bogong

Highest point in the state (1,986m). Loop starting from Mountain Creek Campground, up the infamous Staircase (6k @ 20%!) then down Eskdale Spur. Next time want to tag West Peak as well. Tough first half but loosened up on the way down.

Fuel

Water: 1.75L (~460ml/hr)
Food: 600 Calories (~160/hr)

Had a massive breakfast so felt well fed despite the lower on-the-run intake. Refilled filtration bottle at Eskdale hut.

Day 3: Mt Hotham and Mt Feathertop

Ideally would have liked to climb the extra 1,000m up from Harrietville but cheated and drove to the Razorback trailhead instead for a much flatter day. Probably the smart move. Went backwards to start to quickly summit Mt Hotham (1,861m), then a pleasant roll along the Razorback to Mt Feathertop and back — second highest peak in the state (1,922m). Still a surprising amount of snow on the summit.

Fuel

Water: 1.4L (~370ml/hr)
Food: 1,140 Calories (~305/hr)

Really getting into it now! First time I’ve exceeded 250kcal/hr. Was moving at a cruisy pace and making an effort to keep eating. Refilled filtration bottle at Feathertop hut but was redundant.

Day 4: Morses Creek

Quick jaunt along some flat MTB trails around Morses Creek before heading home. Nice to open up without the pack.

Miscellaneous Good Vegan Food

There are some solid eats to be had around town.