FOR some 46 years a group of Melbourne-based keen bush walkers have hit the High Country every November spending five days at a time following the Alpine Walking Trail.
And some of those Phantom Alpine Walkers hit Mansfield again recently.
Although many are now in their more senior years (the oldest is 89) they still enjoy hiking the mountains above Mansfield and beyond.
Keith Byrne was one of the original members of the club and, along with three other men, formed the Phantom club in 1977 - their first walk being from Walhalla to Canberra.
“We walked it in stages – each stage being a five day trek carrying all our needs in backpacks,” member Trevor Jupp explained.
Latest Stories
“We had pretty primitive tents and bags at the time – at the start we carried all our food and everything we needed.”
Keith chimed back in with his account of the start of the club and their hikes.
“The first hike started out with four and as we went along, restarting where they left off the previous stint, the group got bigger and bigger until we reached Canberra and ended up with about 14 people walking with us,” Keith said.
“These extra people all wanted to do the bits of the walk they hadn’t done before joining us, so the easiest way was to start again from Walhalla and we did it the second time.
“It took another 10 years to get to Canberra a second time,” he said.
The original four were all from Melbourne – most of the group at the time working with the former State Electricity Commission, one was an accountant and one a Post Master General employee.
“Walhalla was the start as it marked the beginning of the Alpine Trail and was only defined until the NSW border which is Tom Groggin – the alpine track at that stage was only to Tom Groggin, but by the time we got to there the government had drawn a line further on – all the way to Canberra,” Keith said.
“So we followed the track to Canberra then.”
The group has also walked the McMillan Track because Angus McMillan took his cattle down from Sydney to Gippsland and places around the Dargo High Plains.
“We did that in two days once and from Arbuckle Junction to Taylor’s Crossing and again to Arbuckle to further north,” Keith said.
They also walked the Overland Track, the Bathurst track, the Grampians trails and many others.
Trevor said that all the men with their recent trek to Mansfield were part of the early days of the club.
“We are here in Mansfield but we stay in accommodation now – not camping - and only do day walks from here, we make Mansfield our base,” Trevor said.
“But we still have an attraction to come back here every November and walk the mountains, we just love it.
“The group does take part in other walks such as the rail trail and we went to Stringybark Creek and Power’s Lookout this trip and all the way to platform 1 which was a great experience; I had only been to platform 2 previously but DECCA are to be commended for the work they have done there,” Trevor said.
Another member, Lionell Swift, would be the oldest current member at age 89 and appears to be still fit and strong but does not do the longer walks anymore; he still enjoys the company, the talks and the shorter walks.
While talking with these Phantom members they explained that another small group from the club were actually out walking bush trails that started at Sawmill Settlement along the track to Mt Buller.
Keith said the first Alpine Trail walk was a great experience and it changed his life.
“I was not interested in doing physical things when I was younger, but then a neighbor started it [Phantom Alpine Walkers] and he joined in and that could be the reason I am here today; because I got involved in all the exercise that was going on."
Trevor explained that the group has been very lucky in all their years hiking with no one getting lost or suffering from serious injuries.
“Out in the wilderness you have to be careful with snakes and things, but we have been very careful and lucky, we realised it is too far to get help in a hurry, so we take care,” he said.
The ladies joined the group after the long treks were given away and now take part in day walks, Christmas parties and other events the group hold.
When asked what the ladies thought about the husbands going off on these tracks, Lynn Jupp, clapped her hands and said, “wonderful, a week off without the guys” but did say they now enjoy the outings with their husbands.
