Trig #10 ?? - Black Mountain

Today I thought I’d have a crack at Black Mountain. Surely that big tower on top is a trig? Johnny has it on his list, so it must count yeah? 😀

There are lots of ways to walk up Black Mountain. I’ve walked once before from the car park on Gungahlin Drive, but today I went for the “Summit Walk”, which originates from behind the substation on Frith Drive.

It’s a tough walk! It’s only about 1km, but there’s about 815m of elevation in that time. So it’s up, up, up all the way. The first bit is pretty steep, and then the last 100m or so is really steep! And there are stairs that are just a little bit wrong. They’re uneven and they seem like they’re not quite the right height.

So needless to say, my heart was pounding for much of the time! But I just say the bush in either side of the path is quite lovely. There’s a lot of litter (branches etc),

some really funky shaped trees, 

and some very pretty eucalyptus flowers in bloom.

 The only think that was missing was wildlife. I heard a few magpies, and saw a bunny or two at the bottom, but I had expected some kangaroos or something!

Coming down was pretty hard too. Because it’s so steep  I was almost jogging, and I don’t jog... The humpy things were tricky too. They were high enough that you need to step down off them, but because of the slope you’ve got to take a bigger step. Hard if you’re going quick and you’re worried about your knees!

There were a few people, but it didn’t seem nearly as busy as Mount Taylor in a Friday afternoon. Of course I shook my head at those fit folks that could run past me!! 😰

I thought about going up the tower, but the sunset while I was on the summit, so I left it for next time. 

There aren’t the magnificent views from the base that I’ve seen on other mountains, but there were some nice views through the trees on the way down.

Overall, a hard one. But satisfying when I got to the bottom. I’d go again. 

Black Mountain

Elevation gain - 815m

Time to trig - about 37 minutes 

Difficulty - hard. It's a steep hill!

Best part - the bush. It's very pretty.

 

Trig #9 - Mount Taylor

Goodness me! 

I have walked up Mount Taylor dozens of times, but today I found it really tough! 😵

I had been putting it off, as I know how busy it can get on the Mount Taylor trail, but today I needed something close and relatively quick. Ha! 

Mount Taylor is one of the nicest walks I’ve been on, in that it is easy to access (a nice carpark at the bottom), it's a well-maintained trail, and there is plenty of nice plants, wildlife and views. But it is hard! Well, for me it's hard! There were plenty of people running up and down it when I was there! That's the other reason I was a bit nervous about it: I know lots of people that go up regularly and probably go really fast! So I was a bit embarrassed about how long it took me! But then I reminded myself that the only person I'm competing against it myself (cue inspirational quote...)

The walk is pretty relentless. Right from the start it’s up, up, up. 

There’s a flattish section for about 200m about halfway up, with a couple of seats to take in the amazing views over Tuggeranong; but then there are the stairs...

...and another steep bit (probably the steepest)! And then just when you think it’s getting easier, there's another steep push to the top. 

But, I made it. And despite the cold wind, was rewarded with amazing sunset views and not too many other people. 

 

Weirdly, it was one of the slowest ascents I've done on Mount Taylor, so I'm not sure what's going on there. I haven't been 100% well (some asthma and sinus issues), so perhaps that was why. But it will be good to try it again in a few weeks. At least it's nice and close to home.

Mount Taylor 

Elevation gain - 857m

Time to trig - 37 minutes 

Difficulty - medium-hard. It's a steady uphill climb all the way.

Best part - the amazing views, lots of wildlife and the well-maintained track. 

Trig #8 - Narrabundah Hill

14 July 2020

I was in Duffy and I thought I’d give this one a go. It’s very easy to find, with trails off EucumBebe Drive. I started from the steps opposite Warragamba Ave. The walk up to the trig is pretty easy. There’s a steepish bit (it is a hill after all!), but it’s a reasonably smooth trail, with a bit of a rocky patch towards the top. I made it to the trig in 7 minutes, I reckon fitter people could do it in under 5.

The trig/summit was a little underwhelming. There is quite a lot of weed growth (like Arawang - I wonder if it’s related to the bushfires in 2003?), and it’s not nearly as pretty as the other trigs I have visited. It probably didn’t help that there was a freezing wind! The views are nice enough: pretty similar to Chapman and Urambi.

Mt Arawang and Mt Taylor in the background

I thought I needed a longer walk, so I went down in the opposite direction and ended up walking back along a fire trail next to a fenced private property, this was a little nicer, with lots of young gum trees and a bit of bird life.

Narrabundah Hill

Elevation gain - 691m

Time to trig - about 7 minutes 

Difficulty - easy-medium. There is one bit that will get the heart beating

Best part - the walk back via the fire trail 

                                                              

Trig #7 - Shepherds Hill, Newcastle

10 July 2020

I'm on holiday in Newcastle at the moment, so of course, I had to check out a nearby trig. 

I walked from my accommodation, but this trig would be an excellent one for anyone to get to. It's located next to a track and bridge (which is the amazing ANZAC Memorial Bridge) which you can access from a carpark (on the northern side). On the southern side there are a number of stairs. 

I started out from Newcastle Beach and walked uphill through "The Hill", which I'm guessing is a prosperous area of the city. Some very nice houses! I walked up past an old battery station, 

and then not far from there is a carpark where the bridge path starts. 

ANZAC Memorial Bridge

From the carpark to the trig is about 330m on the relatively flat bridge path. The views are absolutely phenomenal: you can see across the city and river to the Stockton Bridge, and then down the coastline to the headlands near Redhead. It's gorgeous! 

This is by far the prettiest and most spectacular trig point I've visited. I'm very lucky to have been able to visit this lovely city. Not sure I'm ready to return to cold Canberra! 

After this walk, I walked down through Newcastle for breakfast and by the time I got back to the accommodation I had walked 7km! What a great way to see a city!

Shepherds Hill trig

Elevation - 70m.

Time to trig - <5 minutes from the carpark; 30 minutes from Newcastle Beach

Difficulty - easy. 

Best part - the spectacular view and ease of access 

Trig #5 AND #6 - Cooleman trig and Mount Arawang

4 July 2020

Obviously my success in climbing Big Monks made me confident, as in this walk I managed to visit 2 trigs!

I parked in Chapman at the base of the steps up to Cooleman trig. Despite there being a good set of stairs, it was only about 200m to the trig and it only took me about 7 minutes (mind you 7 minutes of watching a woman run up and down it at least 1.5 times while I plodded up! 😀). 

The Cooleman trig was nice, with a gorgeous view across Weston Creek and Woden, and I could see Mount Arawang trig, which didn't look too far away. 

                                                           

I looked at Google Maps and it told me it would take about 15 minutes (later I realised I had it set to 'car' - doh!). 

I walked down the back of the hill and followed a trail down to where it met the main fire trail at the back of Chapman. There were lots of people out walking and riding. I found a path across the saddle and made my way to the main gate at the base of the Arawang summit walk. 

It was a pretty hard walk up, with lots of stairs that were quite high. Tough on my old knees. The path is nice but there are lots of weeds along the trail. Perhaps it needs some TLC? 

                                                 

As usual, the summit from the trig was very lovely. The view was similar to the Urambi trig, but you can see right down the Bullen Range to Cotter Reservoir, which was kind of cool. There are some quite friendly magpies up there too. 

poser!

Of course, I realised my mistake after descending Arawang (slowly, as coming down high stairs is sometimes harder than going up them!), and seeing quite how far I had to walk back to my car! Silly me!

Aw maaaan! I gotta go back too? 

But it was OK, I walked all the way along the fire trail, and while the whole thing took me 1 hour 40, I actually walked further than the Big Monks walk last weekend.

Cooleman trig and Mount Arawang

Elevation - 763m.

Time to trig - 7 minutes! Arawang took a little longer....

Difficulty - medium. The summit ascent for Arawang is tough with the high steps. 

Best part - two for one!

Trig #4 - Big Monks

28 June 2020

We had a couple of weekends of nice Canberra winter weather. The previous weekend, a couple of my friends had posted about walking in Rob Roy National Park, so since I had a bit of time to spare that day, I thought I'd give it a go. 

The start of the trail is at the back of Banks. It wasn't too hard to find, you could see the mountain and the trail from the road - a little intimidating! 

The Australian Hiker site (which I usually check before a walk - thanks guys!) lists Big Monks as a grade 4 walk. Mainly because of the first km. With good reason! It is STEEP! It's a 1:6 gradient, and I can't overestimate how steep it is. It took me about 27 minutes to walk that 900m and my heart was pounding. There were a few times I had to turn around and walk backwards as it was hurting my knees. If you're just starting out with mountains, this is not the place to start!

But, eventually, I made it to the top of the steep part where there is a big Kurrajong tree. I sat there and caught my breath and checked out the already pretty spectacular view. I guess that's what happens when you get up high! I could see the Big Monks trig from where I was sitting, and while it looked close-ish, it really wasn't. But the walk was a little easier. Still mostly uphill, but along a rocky fire trail. 

The Big Monks trig from the big Kurrajong tree

I got to a fork where I could choose to go to Rob Roy or Big Monks. I wasn't sure I could make it to Rob Roy, so I chose the closer one. There was another steep part in the final summit, though not nearly as steep as the first part. When I got there I was rewarded with the most magnificent views I've seen yet. You can see all the way across to Namadgi National Park and Booroomba Rocks, and then all the way to Telstra Tower in the distance. 

Not far from the trig there is another Kurrajong tree which was nice to sit under, and people had been doing some creative rock-stacking. 

I sat on the hill for quite a while, enjoying the beautiful blue Canberra day and the magnificent views. 

The way down was nice, with more of a chance to see the views, but quite hard on the knees, especially the last kilometre. I think I was almost as slow going down that hill as going up it! 

Big Monks

Elevation gain - 914m.

Distance walked - 5.48km

Time to trig - about an hour (half of this was the steep first 900m).

Difficulty - hard. Mainly because of the first part. 

Best part - spectacular views.