Mt Donaldson circuit - weekender
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 15.49 mi
- Elevation gain
- 2,346 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Very difficult
- Elevation loss
- 2,346 ft
- Max elevation
- 3,416 ft
- TrailRank
-
51
4.7
- Min elevation
- 1,293 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Moving time
- 7 hours 19 minutes
- Time
- one day 4 hours 8 minutes
- Coordinates
- 4336
- Uploaded
- February 26, 2023
- Recorded
- February 2023
near Mingoola, Queensland (Australia)
Viewed 75 times, downloaded 9 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
2 day, 1 night hike.
General comments
-entirely off track hike, some section of steep scree, long section of walking on creek bed (tiring and tough on ankles), three steep scrambles up waterfalls.
-don’t hike this is you’re new to off-track hiking.
-follows NP map, bar one section. I think some of the other hikes recorded turned a little too soon into creek territory.
- beautiful views north and west over sundown.
- hard, slow hiking for most of it.
- I hiked south through McAllister creek first then returned along northern ridge down to Severn river. I saw a few hikes go the other way but I’d still go this way. The bulk of the hard hiking is out of the day 1.
Hike outline.
-Stayed on carpark Friday night.
-hiked through McAllister creek, roughly staying in the creek bed. There are two waterfalls you HAVE to go around by kicking up along steep banks of scree on the southern side.
-every now and then you can shortcut the shoulder of the creek by kicking in through scrub - it’s generally obvious
- turn into feeder creek and head north until it essentially dwindles out. This is the last water until Severn the next day.
Once you’re up out of creek stay NE and head around ridge up to summit. Some of this is really overgrown, so work N then a wing around W up to summit.
-camp in hammocks.
-day 2 head W along ridge down toward Severn. (You’ll see it in the distance.)
-I turned slightly SW to head to a lookout, but you can skip this lookout and stay up on the top of the ridge the entire way down if you want. It shouldn’t be too overgrown and avoids steep drops into side creeks.
-Hit the Severn and lie in the shade of a tree to celebrate.
-follow the creek back, staying on the inside of creek turns. (Outside is generally cliffs)
-push well up away from the water to find softer ground walking through the trees, or test your ankle ligaments by literally following the creek bed the entire way back.
-splash like a baby in the permanent waterhole, before walking the last 1km back to your car and collapsing in aircon.
If you’re considering three days, I’d hike into one of the spots along macallistair creek, camp, summit,
camp and return hike.
Animals spotted
- huge eagle
- 1 snake
- 200 lizards
- wild pigs
- wild goats
- something leech like with more yellow along it’s back.
General comments
-entirely off track hike, some section of steep scree, long section of walking on creek bed (tiring and tough on ankles), three steep scrambles up waterfalls.
-don’t hike this is you’re new to off-track hiking.
-follows NP map, bar one section. I think some of the other hikes recorded turned a little too soon into creek territory.
- beautiful views north and west over sundown.
- hard, slow hiking for most of it.
- I hiked south through McAllister creek first then returned along northern ridge down to Severn river. I saw a few hikes go the other way but I’d still go this way. The bulk of the hard hiking is out of the day 1.
Hike outline.
-Stayed on carpark Friday night.
-hiked through McAllister creek, roughly staying in the creek bed. There are two waterfalls you HAVE to go around by kicking up along steep banks of scree on the southern side.
-every now and then you can shortcut the shoulder of the creek by kicking in through scrub - it’s generally obvious
- turn into feeder creek and head north until it essentially dwindles out. This is the last water until Severn the next day.
Once you’re up out of creek stay NE and head around ridge up to summit. Some of this is really overgrown, so work N then a wing around W up to summit.
-camp in hammocks.
-day 2 head W along ridge down toward Severn. (You’ll see it in the distance.)
-I turned slightly SW to head to a lookout, but you can skip this lookout and stay up on the top of the ridge the entire way down if you want. It shouldn’t be too overgrown and avoids steep drops into side creeks.
-Hit the Severn and lie in the shade of a tree to celebrate.
-follow the creek back, staying on the inside of creek turns. (Outside is generally cliffs)
-push well up away from the water to find softer ground walking through the trees, or test your ankle ligaments by literally following the creek bed the entire way back.
-splash like a baby in the permanent waterhole, before walking the last 1km back to your car and collapsing in aircon.
If you’re considering three days, I’d hike into one of the spots along macallistair creek, camp, summit,
camp and return hike.
Animals spotted
- huge eagle
- 1 snake
- 200 lizards
- wild pigs
- wild goats
- something leech like with more yellow along it’s back.
Waypoints
Waypoint
1,306 ft
Waterfall
Tree
Campsite
Summit
Comments (3)
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Great trip notes with all the essentials covered. I camped the first night at the campsite you indicated on McAllister creek. It was a lovely spot with everything you need - a waterhole to cool off in and a lovely flat grassy area. I planned on camping again the second night on the Severn, but as I started out early to beat the heat, I actually finished in 2 days. The only hairy moment was climbing the waterfall on the feeder creek after leaving McAllister. I would definitely go around the ridge to the right next time. Thanks!
good effort! I still remember feeling rattled after doing the waterfall - I was solo hiking so kept having visions of being stuck by myself with a broken leg 😅
That’s a big push for day 2!
Me too! Best not to think about it, I find. I actually found day 1 a lot harder, probably because it was hotter. At least once you get to the Severn you can take as many refreshing dips as you like. A great hike to do in winter, probably.