Namadgi National Park: Corin Dam to Pryors Hut

General Information

Distance:  16.3 kilometers
Total climb:  1,053 meters
Time taken:  4 hours 23 minutes
Map:  Corin Dam 8626-1N 1:25 000
Guide:  none available
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  60 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 66343 66173
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 61153 63140
End point:  same as start

Route

http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/

Description

The first two kilometers of the track is a series of very steep climbs taking you from an elevation of 950 meters to a little over 1400 meters. This is not a track for the unfit. There are many stairs on this section of the track which make walking safer, but seem to put a lot of pressure on the legs. There are limited vantage points along the track, which is well forested. The walk begins at the carpark at Corin Dam. Follow the signs at the end of the carpark to the start of the well-defined walking track. At the end of this first section is Stockyard Spur, where the terrain flattens and I saw the first scatterings of snow.

The snow became progressively thicker as I continued the climb until the ground was covered by crisp snow to a depth of around 15 centimeters. Luckily the track was still easy to distinguish thanks to the wheel ruts, and pesky GPS/map navigation was not necessary.

Along this section of track there were occasional views towards Mount Ginini to the northwest and Mount Gingera to the southwest. At the 1532 meter peak at map reference FA641654, about 3.5 kilometers into the walk, there were some spectacular views to the southeast.

The track climbs steadily until it meets the Mount Franklin Road, by which time about 7 kilometers has been travelled and an elevation of 1635 meters has been attained. Originally I was intending to leave the road at this point and ascend Little Ginini Mountain, but given the thick snow cover obscuring anything nasty that might lie underneath it I decided that it was probably not a safe choice. Instead I followed the Mount Franklin Road, which had been cleared of snow, south for 1 kilometer to Pryors Hut.

After all of this walking I was rather disappointed to find that the dunny behind the Hut had been closed until further notice, and I had to find a tree instead. Nevertheless, I took advantage of the Hut itself to have a reasonably comfortable lunch break before heading back the way that I had come. The return hike was highly enjoyable up to the two-kilometer descent back to Corin Dam where the steep slope and relentless steps caused some niggling joint pain in the legs until I got back to level ground.

This is a very demanding track, but with lots of rewards, even if it's just the achievement of getting up to Stockyard Spur. The snow at the higher parts of the trail added considerably to the beauty of the area and did not impede the hike in any way. This may be different when the snow is deeper and the track obscured. At the top of the track, where it meets the Mount Franklin Road, there are options to climb Mount Ginini to the north or Mount Gingera to the south. Two hikers I met on the return journey were in fact climbing up to Mount Gingera to spend the night there camping in the snow.

Bullen Nature Reserve: Cotter Reserve to Bullen Hill and Pierces Creek Pine Forest

General Information

Distance:  normally 16.5 kilometers, but I walked close to 18 kilometers due to some exploring and backtracking
Total climb:  652 meters
Time taken:  4 hours
Map:  Cotter Dam 8627-2N 1:25 000
Guide:  none available
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  24 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 76314 89207
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 78819 85130
End point:  same as start

Route

http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/

Description

The starting point for this hike was the Cotter Reserve carpark on the left just over the Cotter River bridge (for readers familiar with the pre-2003 bushfire Cotter Reserve, this is where the old Cotter Pub used to be). I started the hike at 8:30am. From the carpark I followed the Cotter Discovery Trail southwest around the bend in the Cotter River until the trail meets a management road. I followed this management road to the left, taking a brief side-trip to Cotter Cave (not open to the public), before eventually swinging round to the northeast to a ford over Paddys River. I looked both upstream and downstream for possible rock-hopping crossings, but none were to be found. This left the ford itself as the only possible crossing, so it was shoes off and across the shin-deep icy water. Across the ford, I followed the management trail around and up the northern extremity of the Bullen Range. This offered some reasonably good views back towards the Cotter Reserve and Cotter Dam.

From this point, the trail follows the top of the Bullen Range up and down various peaks. There are occasional views to the northeast and southwest, but the forest is usually quite dense and restricts visibility. About 5.5 kilometers into the walk the trail meets pine forest on the right, and from here it is only 1.5 kilometers to the base of Bullen Hill. When I arrived at Bullen Hill, I walked directly up a steep and treacherous track (I suspect used mainly by dirt bikers) to the summit.

I later found that had I followed the main trail around the the west of Bullen Hill, there is a much easier climb to the summit from the south. Bullen Hill at 757 meters elevation has some good views in most directions.

After pausing for a coffee on the summit, I descended back to the management trail and retraced my steps northwards. At map reference FA789857 I followed another management trail west into Pierces Creek Pine Forest. From here I followed various management trails westwards towards Paddys River, which I hoped to be able to cross. Unfortunately, the banks of the river where I struck it were fairly thick with blackberry bushes and there were no obvious shallow crossing points, so I headed south towards the ford at the Murray's Corner picnic area - another boots-off crossing of Paddys River in shin-deep freezing water. Following Paddys River Road north for just under a kilometre, I re-entered the pine forest east of Paddys River Road via the management trail at FA768853. From here it was a matter of navigating the maze of fire trails back to the Cotter Discovery Trail. As with most walks through pine forests, there was little to see other than pine trees. Near the end, however, there were some nice views above the Cotter Reserve.

The road seen in the distance in this photograph is the management trail up the northern end of Bullen Range where I started the climb.

This was a fairly easy walk, mostly along management trails, but with some steep sections and a reasonable amount of climbing (the starting point at around 480 meters elevation is less than 300 meters below the high point at Bullen Hill, but there is a lot of up-and-down track). The two barefoot river crossings were only a slight nuisance, mostly because the water was so cold. The views from the ridge are good, without being spectacular. Navigating through the pine forest requires some concentration and a decent map, and while there is not much to see in a pine forest there are some nice features along the way. Having done this section of Bullen Range, I'm considering a future walk along the full Bullen Range from Tidbinbilla Road to the Cotter Reserve (about 21 kilometers).

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve: Mount Domain (1)

General Information

Distance:  13 kilometers
Total climb:  759 meters
Time taken:  4 hours 7 minutes
Map:  Tidbinbilla 8627-2S, 1:25 000
Guide:  none available
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  50 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 72311 71964
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 69661 72739
End point:  same as start

Route

http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/

Description

This hike starts at the Fishing Gap Carpark off the Tidbinbilla Loop Road. I commenced the hike at 9:30am, signing into the Hikers Register near the gate on Fishing Gap Road. The first section of the hike follows the Fishing Gap Road for 4 kilometers until its end at Fishing Gap itself. This is a pleasant and easy walk along a wide fire trail through thick forest, gaining about 300 meters of elevation from start to end. At Fishing Gap there is a track cut through the new growth to the north which is the start of the track to Mount Domain. At first the track is relatively easy to follow by looking for saplings that have been cut down to clear the way, but eventually this gets to a clearing where the cut trail ends.

From here it is necessary to follow a trail through the scrub marked by pink ribbon tied to trees. Finding these requires paying attention and sometimes pausing to look for the next ribbon. The scrub is very dense in places, and I came out of it with numerous rips in the woollen jumper I was wearing. Some more patience on my part would probably have avoided most if not all of them.

It was about 2.5 kilometers from Fishing Gap to the summit of Mount Domain, but with difficult terrain and a 380 meter climb it took well over an hour to complete this short section. There are excellent views from the top of Mount Domain in all directions.

At just over 1500 meters elevation, and with a strong wing blowing from the west, it was very cold indeed on the summit. I returned the same way that I had come. The downhill section from Mount Domain to Fishing Gap proved to be equally difficult to navigate through, and footing in some areas was quite treacherous. I only fell flat on my butt the once, but it gave me a few bruises to remember it all. It was with some relief that I got back on to the Fishing Gap Road for an easy descent back to the carpark.

Regrowth of trees following the 2003 bushfires presents some challenges for hiking in the Tidbinbilla Range once you get off the fire trails and manicured walking trails. In many ways this hike took me back to an ascent of nearby Tidbinbilla Peak in 2015 where I had to fight through 1.5 kilometers of thick tangles of saplings as soon as I stepped off the Tidbinbilla Range Road. While this can be satisfying at the end, it takes a lot of time and energy. Nevertheless, Mount Domain was a very enjoyable hike. The more people that follow the trail up to the top, the more defined and easy it will be in the future.

Namadgi National Park: Mount Tennent (2)

General Information

Distance:  15.7 kilometers return
Total climb:  899 meters
Time taken:  4 hours 10 minutes
Map:  Williamsdale 8726-4N, 1:25 000
Guide:   link
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  36 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 87286 66083
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 85340 64040
End point:  same as start
Note: I had previously done this walk on 2 April 2016 in far better weather, so I have used photographs from this earlier walk.

Route

http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/

Description

This hike follows part of the Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT), which begins at the Namadgi Visitor Centre, as does this particular hike. The Visitor Centre is on Naas Road 2.5 kilometers south of the village of Tharwa. From the Visitor Centre carpark, the first part of the trail leads back to Naas Road about 500 meters southwest of the carpark entry. We crossed the road and continued the trail on the other side, having first entered our intentions on the walkers' register there. The track climbs fairly gently at first, but starts to get steeper. About 2.8 kilometers from the start, having climbed about 170 meters, Cypress Pine Lookout offers some good views over the valley of the Murrumbidgee River to the east.

About 2.3 kilometers from Cypress Pine Lookout, the track forks, with the AAWT continuing to the right, and another trail to Mount Tennent heading left, which is the one that we wanted. This is well signposted, so does not present any difficulties. [Note: The Williamsdale map shows no fork in the track and has the AAWT following the track to Mount Tennent. There was a rerouting of the AAWT into the valley west of Mount Tennent and this has yet to find its way onto the printed map.]

Continuing along the  track, after 1.3 kilometers we struck the Mount Tennent Fire Trail and continued uphill. The Fire Trail leg of the hike is only about 1.2 kilometres long, but climbs about 160 meters in elevation, so very steep in most places. It is quite a relief to get to the summit, where there are great views in most directions. Or at least there are in good weather - we found ourselves up in the clouds on this particular day, but on a good day:

We returned the same way we came up, but it is also possible to continue down the Mount Tennent Fire Trail until it meets Apollo Road. This would require, however, either someone to pick you up at that end, or a long walk of over 10 kilometers back up Naas Road to the Namadgi Visitor Centre.

Make no mistake, this is quite a climb, but a very rewarding one. It can be quite busy on weekends, so if you are the type of hiker who likes peace and solitude it's best to go on a weekday if you can. The track is easy to follow and quite well maintained. On a good day, the views are spectacular, but if there is cloud and rain about it's probably best to leave it for another time. 

Kowen Pine Forest: Mount Cohen, Amungula and Glen Burn Homestead

General Information

Distance:  19.5 kilometers
Total climb:  570 meters
Time taken:  5 hours 10 minutes
Map:  Bungendore 8727-2N, 1:25 000
Guide:  none available
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  26 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H GA 13682 88573
Destination map grid references:  Mount Cohen - 55H GA 12899 91821
                                                      Amungula - 55HGA 11129 9261
                                                      Glen Burn Homestead - 55H GA 10374 90389
End point: same as start

Route

http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/

Description

The starting point for the hike was the gate at the end of Sparrow Hill Road, which comes off the Kings Highway just after Burbong. From here we entered the Kowen Pine Forest and followed management trails in a general northerly direction until we reached Mount Cohen, a peak at 918 meters elevation which is thick with tall pine trees and did not offer any views.

After a coffee break, we followed fire trails in a general westerly direction to the top of Amungula at 915 meters elevation. There were some views north towards Wamboin just before we reached the summit.

From Amungula we followed management trails south through the pine forest until we came to Glen Burn Homestead, where we took the opportunity to look at the homestead and nearby pioneer graves.

From the gravesite we headed east through very boggy ground to get back into the pine forest with the intention of following management trails east to out starting point. Unfortunately we were blocked by a large area of recent logging activity which we were prohibited from entering. As a result, we ended up on Charcoal Kiln Road, which we followed down to Sparrow Hill Road. We started slogging our way up Sparrow Hill Road to get back to the car, but luckily my hiking companion started up a conversation with a passing motorist who kindly drove us the remaining way.

This is an easy and quite pleasant walk through pine forest, but without any particularly interesting views. The Kowen Pine Forest itself, however, is quiet and not without its nice spots, although obviously the areas that have been logged (and we passed by or through a few of these) are pretty awful. The highlight of the hike for me was Glen Burn Homestead, which can be visited also by driving up Charcoal Kiln Road (gravel). Navigating through pine forest requires a good map and compass to make the right route choices.