General information
Distance: 6.6 kilometers
Total climb: 407 meters
Time taken: 3 hours 15 minutes
Map: Krawaree 8826-3N 1:25 000
Guide: link
Start point distance by road from Canberra GPO: 139 kilometers via Braidwood
Start point map grid reference: 55H GA 42461 35502
Destination map grid reference: 55H GA 44985 36575 [not reached]
End Point: same as start
Route
http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/
Description
The starting point for this hike was the Wyanbene Caves camping ground. To get there we drove to Captains Flat and from there followed Braidwood/Captains Flat Road to Cooma Road. We turned south on Cooma Road and travelled just over 20 kilometers to Wyanbene Road on the left. We then followed Wyanbene Road for 8 kilometers until it ends at the camping ground. We started hiking at 10:15am. First we followed the short walking trail up to Wyanbene Caves, which is gated but not locked. We chose not to go down into the cave, however, and continued our hike. At first we climbed upwards in a northwesterly direction to make our initial ascent less steep, but after a while we decided to go straight up Wyanbene Caves Mountain. This proved to be a very steep climb through fairly open forest with a rocky and leaf-strewn floor.
We eventually reached the ridge northwest of Wyanbene trig - the first 900 meters of the hike having gained us about 220 meters in elevation - and from there walked up to the trig itself.
Not much in terms of views from the trig due to the dense tree cover, but there were glimpses of what was to come. From the trig we headed due east down a ridge until we met the northern end of Minuma Ridge Fire Trail, and from there climbed up the ridge to the north northeast and then to a large rocky outcrop from where we continued to follow the narrow ridge of the Minuma Range to the northeast. The ridge affords some great views out to the southwest and northeast.
We also found the abandoned mine at the top of the ridge that was mentioned in John Evans' 2009 blog (see above) that we used as a guide for this hike. Evans' blog said that the walk along the ridge was "...through dry, open forest", but clearly things have changed in the last seven years. We found the ridge choked with undergrowth that we had to force our way through and this was both tiring and time-consuming. Some further views provided some compensation though.
After almost an hour-and-a-half of struggling 2 kilometers through the undergrowth we reached the peak on the ridge marked on the map at 1024 meters elevation. We paused for some lunch there and discussed our options. Initially we had intended to walk further along the ridge to a high point overlooking the valley, but we couldn't face another hour or more of bashing through the undergrowth. Instead we looked for a nearby route back down the northwestern side of the range, and found a suitable ridge not much further on. When we arrived at the ridge we discovered a track which took us straight down it. The track seemed like it is no longer used, and is starting to become overgrown in some parts with the same undergrowth we found at the top of the range. It is mostly easy to follow by looking for what we assumed to be erosion prevention mounds along the track. When we were getting close to 800 meters elevation we left the track (which continued to the northwest) and headed southwards back towards the camping ground through open forest and ferns. A passing brown snake made us more cautious as we went. We returned to Canberra via Braidwood so we could stop at the very friendly Royal Mail Hotel for a beer or two.
This was a difficult walk through what was for us an unknown area. Normally I would consider a walk of 6.6 kilometers to be a short stroll, but we came out of it tired and footsore. This is not a walk for everybody, but the views were spectacular, particularly to the east and southeast.
We eventually reached the ridge northwest of Wyanbene trig - the first 900 meters of the hike having gained us about 220 meters in elevation - and from there walked up to the trig itself.
Not much in terms of views from the trig due to the dense tree cover, but there were glimpses of what was to come. From the trig we headed due east down a ridge until we met the northern end of Minuma Ridge Fire Trail, and from there climbed up the ridge to the north northeast and then to a large rocky outcrop from where we continued to follow the narrow ridge of the Minuma Range to the northeast. The ridge affords some great views out to the southwest and northeast.
We also found the abandoned mine at the top of the ridge that was mentioned in John Evans' 2009 blog (see above) that we used as a guide for this hike. Evans' blog said that the walk along the ridge was "...through dry, open forest", but clearly things have changed in the last seven years. We found the ridge choked with undergrowth that we had to force our way through and this was both tiring and time-consuming. Some further views provided some compensation though.
After almost an hour-and-a-half of struggling 2 kilometers through the undergrowth we reached the peak on the ridge marked on the map at 1024 meters elevation. We paused for some lunch there and discussed our options. Initially we had intended to walk further along the ridge to a high point overlooking the valley, but we couldn't face another hour or more of bashing through the undergrowth. Instead we looked for a nearby route back down the northwestern side of the range, and found a suitable ridge not much further on. When we arrived at the ridge we discovered a track which took us straight down it. The track seemed like it is no longer used, and is starting to become overgrown in some parts with the same undergrowth we found at the top of the range. It is mostly easy to follow by looking for what we assumed to be erosion prevention mounds along the track. When we were getting close to 800 meters elevation we left the track (which continued to the northwest) and headed southwards back towards the camping ground through open forest and ferns. A passing brown snake made us more cautious as we went. We returned to Canberra via Braidwood so we could stop at the very friendly Royal Mail Hotel for a beer or two.
This was a difficult walk through what was for us an unknown area. Normally I would consider a walk of 6.6 kilometers to be a short stroll, but we came out of it tired and footsore. This is not a walk for everybody, but the views were spectacular, particularly to the east and southeast.
