With Mount Maroon and Mount Barney in sight, Mount May is another great mountain to spend a day to enjoy an incredible view on. Hard? Yes, but it is achievable!
Around 7am, we arrived at the Waterfall Creek Reserve Campground. There is something magical and 'creepy' driving through a valley filled with fog from Rathdowney to the start point of Mount May. If you do plan for an early hike, I would recommend to drive carefully as I find I couldn't really see anything beyond a few meters in front of me, and that road is narrow and has quite a few sharp bends.
Once arrived at the campground, we start the walk uphill straight away. We did Mount May in a clockwise direction by starting straight at the campsite and coming back from the 4WD track to the campground. The total distance is around 6km and the track goes from the north peak to the south peak. Please make sure you wear sun screen as there isn't much shade on the track.
After a short uphill walk, you will reach the first lookout overseeing a valley. We watched the fog flow through the valley where the sun-ray is still soft, it was glorious! After spending a few minutes at the lookout, we continued with the walk uphill. The track is mostly clear to follow and it is not overgrown. It kept going uphill until we reached a small rocky section where we have to scramble up. However, this is not difficult to manage. There is a good lookout to the left on a small rocky outcrop, please be careful walking on the loose surface to reach there though. At this lookout, you will be able to see the Maroon Dam and surroundings.
After the short scramble up, the track continues to the right reaching the northern peak of Mount May. The summit is quite roomy and there is great lookout to the right once you reach the summit.
After the summit, continue on by following the track down the saddle and onto the south peak. Going down the saddle, you will be very close to the cliff edge at times, so extra precaution is needed. Once you reached the saddle, the uphill walk/scramble begins until you reach the north peak. There is much more shade on top if you choose to have lunch here.
To return back to the campground, go towards the direction where you come up to the summit but turn towards to the left to descend all the way to the 4WD road, and follow that road all the way back to the campground. You will reach a viewpoint where you have Mount Barney directly in your line of sight on your way down. You will also see from afar on the two peaks where you have ascended and descended.
