The walk will follow the Lower Portals Track most of the way, turning off to climb directly up Toms Tum. After passing a couple of pinnacles on Toms Tum we will follow a definite ridge down to some falls and then to a deep swimming hole on Barney Ck, which many club members call “Barney Beautiful” (and it is a beautiful spot). We will have lunch there (most people will probably find the water too cold for a swim). We will then follow Barney Ck downstream till we climb up over a ridge to bypass the Lower Portals. After dropping in to the Club Hut, some of us will remain at the hut for the hut working bee the following day. The rest will walk back  along the Lower Portals Track to return to their cars and then drive home. Apart from the walking along the Lower Portals Track, most of the walk will be off track over varied terrain.

Toms Tum is the peak you can see most clearly from the hut. It is a row of pinnacles at the lower end of a ridge running up to the higher peaks of Isolated Peak and North Peak on Mt Barney. The map marks Toms Tum’s elevation as 764m (for comparison the East Peak of Mt Barney is 1,351m). The walk will cover about 10km, with a total height gain of a bit under 600m. We will be walking for about 7.5 hours, so that combined with the height gain, will require reasonable fitness. 

Agility is also needed as there will be several bits of rock scrambling using hands and feet and we will be rock hopping some distance along Barney Creek. The lower slopes ascending Toms Tum are often covered with dense wattle regrowth, so there will likely be some scunge to push through (so gloves could be useful). Don’t let all that scare you, as this is a great walk with a lot of variety. There are spectacular close-up views across to Leanings Peak, one of the most dramatic of Barney’s peaks. The ridge down from Toms Tum to Barney Beautiful is gorgeous, enjoyable and pleasant walking, as is the walk along Barney Creek. There is also the possibility of doing this walk as part of an overnighter (walking in to the hut on Wednesday afternoon and joining the Toms Tum walk on Thursday). Staying on for the working bee would mean spending another night at the hut. Anyway all these options are open, depending whether we get enough walkers and drivers to cover everything. When you register for the walk, you can talk to me about these options if you are interested