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.