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

General Information

Distance:  17.5 kilometers
Total climb:   625 meters
Time taken:  4 hours 30 minutes
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 76471 89026
Destination map grid reference:  55H FA 78819 85130
End point:  same as start

Route

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

Description

This was a repeat of the walk I completed on 18 August 2016, but with a few adjustments to the route. Readers can also refer to the commentary and pictures for that walk.

To avoid the ankle-deep crossing of Paddy's River near the start of the previous walk, we started this time at the Cotter Bend carpark and walked down to the Cotter campsite where there is a bridge over the Cotter River. From there a walking trail links up with the Bullen Range Road which we followed up and along the ridge to Bullen Hill. On reaching Bullen Hill we continued around east of the summit so that we could climb it from the south; a much less taxing ascent than from the north. Leaving Bullen Hill to the west, we continued down that trail towards Murray's Corner but it was very indistinct and difficult to follow. It was also very steep and treacherous going down the side of the hill.

Walking back through the pine forest we took a detour to have a look at the dam at map grid reference 55H FA 76464 86972. The track we followed to get to the dam really no longer exists after about 100 meters, so we had to bash through the bush to get to the dam (which itself is nothing special). It would have been better if we had approached the dam via Gravel Pit Road at map grid reference 55H FA 76441 86584. Continuing back towards our starting point, we headed to the road that starts at map grid reference 55H FA 76473 87524 and followed it north. This was a mistake. After a few hundred meters there was a locked gate, beyond which the former road had been dug up and huge erosion mounds put across it. This made walking very uncomfortable, and when we had to descend a steep slope down towards Paddys River, very treacherous. I would advise against using this route.

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).

Bullen Range Nature Reserve: Southern Ridge and Pierces Creek Pine Forest

General Information

Distance:  14.8 kilometers
Total climb:  579 meters
Time taken:  3 hours 35 minutes
Maps:  Tuggeranong 8727-3S 1:25 000
Guide:  none
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO:  34 kilometers
Start point map grid reference:  55H FA 83723 73862
Destination:  Loop walk
End Point:  Same as start

Route

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

Description

We started at the entrance to the Bullen Reserve off Tidbinbilla Road about 1.6 kilometers west of the Point Hut Road intersection. Following the Bullen Range fire trail we started to climb up to the ridge of the Range. We diverted off the fire trail, however, to reach the peak of Barnes Hill, which gave some some good views in all directions.







Continuing along the ridge of the Bullen Range, we passed from open grassland to fairly dense forest on either side of the fire trail.





After hiking almost 5 kilometers we reached the highest elevation on our walk: just over 910 meters (the starting point was at elevation 710 meters). After another kilometer we paused for a break before staring down a very steep management trail on the western side of the range at map reference FA824790. 



Eventually this took us through to a locked gate with "no trespassing" signs, so we followed the fence line south on the Reserve side until we struck the pine forest. Here we were again able to follow management trails through the forest on the western side of Bullen Range back to our starting point. This was a great walk with some excellent views, particularly where it goes through grassland. It is also very easy to access from South Canberra.