I hiked up to the lookout on Clear Mountain this morning. It’s pretty steep in places – even on foot, so it’s a good workout, and the views are worth the effort.
I started walking up the “Pineapple Break”. Perhaps it was called this because it borders a former pineapple farm. But I like to think it’s because pineapples grow wild by the side of the trail. Note to self: Come back here when it’s pineapple season 🙂
On the way up, there are myriads of jump ramps along the steep tracks built by crazy down-hill mountain bikers. There’s no way you’d get me launching off one of these things!
Looking down towards Lake Samsonvale while a large spider waits for breakfast.
A butterfly flutters into view as I enjoy the views from the top of the mountain.
A container ship is just visible out on Moreton Bay.
One of the many streams trickling down the hill
The best part of today’s hike was enjoying new tracks I’d never tried before and great views of my local area from the top.
Total distance: 5.82 km Total climbing: 426 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 01:26:36
Lachlan and I took a long 25km hike through D’Aguilar National Park yesterday. This is the toughest walk either of us have ever done. The track included over 1,100 metres of vertical ascent and some hair-raising scrambles over washed out roads, but the experience was worth the effort.
We started on the Westside Track across the road from “Maiala” at Mount Glorious and headed north towards Lawton Road. After a couple of kilometres we had to stop and pick off dozens of leeches from our shoes and socks. I was really glad that I had covered my ankles and socks with insect repellent beforehand.
Recent rain has washed away parts of Lawton Road.
Most of the time it’s easy to walk around the washouts, but in a couple of places we had to scramble over ravines to get from one side of the road to the other.
The problem is compounded by the steep drop-off on one side of the road, and steep cliffs on the other side, which make it difficult to find a safe place to cross.
One thing’s for sure, we would never have been able to take a mountain bike over a couple of these wash-outs!
A Carpet Python sleeps in the afternoon sun in the middle of the road.
Apparently snakes don’t understand road safety guidelines.
We saw dozens of these striking Crimson Rosellas (Platycercus elegans) along the way.
Unfortunately they’re quite shy, so it was impossible to get close enough to get a decent photo.
Lawton Road winds slowly westwards up Northbrook Mountain. I felt dwarfed by these huge boulders which over-hang the road.
From the end of Lawton Road we headed south along England Creek Road. This is the view westward towards Wivenhoe Dam. The road follows a long southward ridge down from the heights of Northbrook Mountain to the valley below. There are great views east and west of the ridge line.
Lachlan takes a quick break to take in the view looking east from England Creek Road.
These caterpillars were clambering over each other forming a strange squirming heap which didn’t appear to be going anywhere.
Eventually we reached the bottom of the ridge line and crossed England Creek which flows west to Fernvale where it eventually joins the Brisbane River.
This was the about the lowest elevation of our hike, and the creek here is pretty – clear water, gravely banks, and lots of small cascades as the water splashes over the rocks.
After walking 18km, we started the final 7km up-hill trek up Joyners Ridge Road.
For me, this was the most physically demanding part of the walk. I was in pain most of the way, and could hardly walk by the time I reached the top.
Some of the views from Joyner’s Ridge Road are stunning. Here’s a view westwards as the sun was starting to go down.
After the long climb back up, we eventually made it back into the rain forest. Full of Strangler Figs, Blackbean and Piccabean Palms, this place is magical as the sun is going down. The pain in my knees and hips was intense, but it didn’t matter – we were in paradise.
The gruesome details:
Total distance: 24.6 km.
Total ascent / descent: 1170m
Total calories burned: 4833 kcal (10 “Big Macs”)
Total distance: 27.49 km Total climbing: 1563 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 06:46:54
Although I’ve ridden some of the trails around Camp Mountain before, this is the first time I’ve ridden to the summit.
I took the long gruelling climb to the top via the “long track”, followed by a fast bone-jarring ride back down along the “short track”. If you speak to anyone who’s ridden up Camp Mountain, and you tell them you’ve ridden up it, the first thing they’ll probably ask you is “Did you go up the long track or the short track?”. The long track is “easier”, because you take longer to reach the top, so it’s not as steep. Even so, it’s a tough climb and I had to walk a short bit that was steep and washed out from recent rain.
The short track is really steep. I had to be really careful riding down it. I think anyone who has ridden UP it must be incredibly fit. (You know who you are :))
There are some spectacular views from the lookout on Camp Mountain, including this greate view of the city.
I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself after completing the gruelling climb to the summit.
These tall, straight, blue gums look like something out of a Jackson Pollock painting.
Total distance: 56.54 km Total climbing: 1186 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 04:45:57
I know this sounds crazy, but deciding where to ride is a spiritual experience for me.
It forces me to think about where I’d really like to go, which means I have to listen to my “inner voice”. I often feel like I’m being “drawn” towards a particular place, and I just go there. Perhaps the spiritual part of all of this is feeling a connection to the land, and responding to that connection.
The end result is I fall in love with most of the places I visit, and come home really happy.
Some of the beautiful open eucalyptus forest that surrounds Dunlop Lane in Kurwongbah. As I’ve written before it’s an old road – blazed over 170 years ago, but unlike most old roads, it has retained its magic.
Looking over one of the gates on Dunlop Lane into the “Slickers” horse riding ranch. Lilly loves visiting here. So do I (but for different reasons!).
Lake Kurwongbah as seen from one of the quiet tracks that lead off Scout Road in Kurwongbah. It’s amazing what you see when you follow a dirt track to see where it goes 🙂
Total distance: 49.36 km Total climbing: 799 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 05:39:02
In Aboriginal Dream-time stories from this area, “Taggan” was the spirit of the Rainbow.
Whenever the end of the rainbow touched the water, Taggan would leave small crystal stones, and the Aborigines seemed to know exactly where to dive for these prized stones.
Only one or two older, experienced men in a tribe would be allowed to have these stones which they believed gave them special powers to bring thunder, cure disease, or bring rain.
These special men were called “Turwrans”.
One of the great Turrwans of our area was Dalaipi. The local people looked on him as their Rain Maker.
Tom Petrie tells of how Dalaipi wanted to make rain come once, and dove into the North Pine River with his tomahawk to look for a “taggan” stone quite close to where I took this picture today.
The North Pine Tribe believed that in winter, the flying foxes hid under the water where the “taggan stops”, and that they waited till the warm weather came back before returning.
Today I couldn’t see any rainbow spirits, or flying foxes, but I thought a lot about Dalaipi and this place that was special to him.
I’m still healing from a crash last week, so I have decided to avoid riding on rough trails or single tracks at the moment to let my shoulder heal.
Today I rode to Mount Pleasant in the hills behind Dayboro. This rural area is nestled in a valley created by the North Pine River between Mount Mee and Mount Byron.
What I enjoyed most was having a few hours on the bike on quiet rural roads to daydream and get in “The Zone” while covering a reasonable distance (80km). The hills were mostly gentle, although I managed to ascend a total of 1,048m during the ride.
Andrew Petrie reported a stand of Bunya Pines in this area when he visited it in the 1830’s. I’ve got some ideas about where that stand might have been. As you ride along the road, there are some quite mature specimens poking out from behind the hills about 300 metres from the road. These two Bunyas are quite young – perhaps 60 to 70 years old.
Some time in the next year I hope to come back here again and ride through the rainforest up to Toogoolawah in the Brisbane Valley. But the management roads in the rainforest are closed at the moment due to damage from a lot of the heavy rain we’ve had lately.
I’m happy to wait 🙂
Total distance: 80.65 km Total climbing: 1131 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 04:53:22
I crashed the bike riding down the Goat Track from Mt Nebo this week. I got some pretty bad scratches, and suffered a painful shoulder injury which will need a week or two to recover.
Rather than mope around the house, Liz and the kids agreed to come for a hike through one of my favourite mountain biking places. We drove up to Mt Tibrogargan and hiked 8.8km around the Trachyte Circuit in the Glasshouse Moiuntains.
Liz and the kids walk along one of the many trails with Mount Tibrogargan hunched over pensively in the background.
We wound our way up towards the Jack Ferris Lookout which has some great views of the valley.
Liz and Beerwah – two legendary mothers.
Harrison enjoys the view of Tibrogargan from the lookout.
Lilly checks out Mount Tiberoowuccum from the lookout.
This blue healer cattle dog was sitting eagerly on the back of a ute driving past us. Suddenly the driver stopped, turned around, let the dog off, and started driving again.
The blue healer happily ran along in front of the car – rejoicing in his dogginess.
And the driver seemed pretty happy that he didn’t have to walk while his dog got some exercise.
Harrison and Lilly celebrate finishing our walk.
Well done team. 8.8km, 548m ascent, just over 2 hours. Thanks so much for a great time.
Total distance: 9.73 km Total climbing: 673 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 02:48:15
I found a decent looking route on Garmin Connect (thanks 1aggers) that I thought was worth a try, and set off from Matthew Flinders park.
This place appeals to me from a historical perspective because it’s where Matthew Flinders camped in July 1799 while exploring the Moreton Bay area aboard the Norfolk, which makes it one of the earliest places in our region where European contact was first made. The story goes that Flinders sailed up the Pumicestone Passage and then up Glasshouse Creek before coming ashore and hiking to the base of Tibrogargan. It was too sheer for him to climb, so he took the easy option and climbed Mt Beerburrum instead.
Whenever I visit the Glasshouse Mountains, I’m always mindful of the Aboriginal Legend of the area, and the timelessness of family conflict, disappointment and forgiveness (or the lack thereof). I don’t know what it is, but when you spend the day in front of these large monoliths, the legend becomes more than a quaint story. It takes on a power of its own. I could understand Tibrogargan’s rage, Beerwah’s disappointment, and even Coonowrin’s reticence.
So all of this was going through my head while I tried to complete this difficult ride today.
I started off on the Trachyte Track – a beautiful single track around the base of Tibrogargan. But watch out – it has stairs in some places making it a challenging ride at times.
The Trachyte Track winds through the forest up the northern slopes of Mt Beerburrum to Jack Ferris Lookout, which has some great views of some of the other mountains, including Tiberoowuccum and Ngungun – two of the smaller ones.
I then bit off a bit more than I could chew when I tried riding over “The Twins”. These two pert mammarian hills seem harmless enough. But I ended up dragging the bike up the steep rutted track on one side, then carefully walking it down the steep rocky track on the other side. But I did ride some of it 🙂
I then bashed north through some narrow muddy forestry roads until I reached the main lookout which has some excellent views of the mountains.
From there I headed up to Beerwah then down some steep but picturesque tracks towards Coonowrin. All along this section, Beerwah towered over me as a rode. It was almost like she was looking over my shoulder.
Towards the end of this track, the wet weather and the 4WD’s have taken their toll. The track is terribly rutted, making it impossible to ride (or drive) through. My “Giant” bike was dwarfed by some of the ruts in the track.
Total distance: 40.92 km Total climbing: 935 m Average temperature: NAN Total time: 05:30:20
