On Saturday 22 December Trevor, Michael and I did one of the longer walks available in the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve: the Camel Back Trail out to Camels Hump and then on towards the Pierce Trig.
Michael arrived shortly before 8am. We had decided to get away early as the forecast was for a hot day and we were hoping to beat some of the heat.
The first stop was Brothers Oven to get some breakfast for Michael (an egg and bacon roll) and coffees all round. This was takeaway so we were quickly back on the road and heading out towards Tharwa and the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. We were early enough to miss most of the cyclists and only came across three on the narrow, winding road between Tharwa and entrance to Tidbinbilla.
A stop at the visitor centre to get Trevor's car added to my park entrance pass as I had not been able to determine how it could be done online. This provided a last toilet stop, too.
It took us a little longer than it should have to reach the carpark at the start of the walk as we did the complete circuit of the ring road as there is no specific signage for the Camel Back Trail from the ring road and you need to be aware that you need to take Mountain Creek Road to reach the start of the trail. One the second circuit we picked it up and finally reached the carpark.
What a lot of wildlife there was this morning. Yes, I know that it is a nature reserve however there were animals wandering across the road with complete abandon. The 35 kph speed was certainly justified.
At the start of the trail is a log book and we duly signed in and noted that there was another pair of walkers on their way to Camels Hump. That accounted for the vehicle in the carpark.
Our starting elevation was 908m.
The first bit of the trail, some 200m, took us along a path that had logs placed at regular intervals to prevent erosion. We were soon at the Camel Back Fire Trail and the long, hard slog up the trail. According to my stats we climbed 182m in that first kilometre and somehow managed to lose 7m. Yes, there was the odd dip as well as the upwards slog.
I spotted a snake on this section. It took a couple of goes to alert Michael to the presence of the reptile which was slithering across the trail just ahead of where we were. We stopped and let him go and he disappeared into some rocks in the bank at the edge of the trail. Michael thought that the snake was about a metre long. I won't argue with that. I certainly was not going to stop a red belly black to measure him!
The trail leveled out in the second kilometer with only 47m gained. The third kilometer was a little more up and down with a gain of 22m but a loss of 44m. The fourth kilometer saw us slog up a further 114m with enough down bits to add up to a loss of 21m. Yes, at times it was a bit like a roller coaster. The fifth km had a rise of 105m and a loss of 14m. By this stage we had gained some 470m with a loss of 86m - a net gain in elevation of 384m. The final bit of the trail up to the Camel Back sign just below Camels Hump was another fairly step climb as we trudged up to 1343m a further gain of some 51m only there were ups and downs in this section, too.
Michael had spotted the other walkers who had left ahead of us as they descended Camels Hump as we approached the Camel Back sign. There could have been hundreds of people on the trail however the trees and other shrubbery along the trail effectively blocks out the trail except for the stretch you are currently on.
At this point, at the Camel Back sign, my run stats seem to have gone a bit haywire as the climb up to Camels Hump, some 78m above, seems to be missing. Michael and I did the ascent of Camels Hump which proved to be quite steep with no formal track but a whole range of possible tracks which were generally rough and required quite a deal of scrambling on the way up and a great deal of care on the descent. Fortunately there were quite a few small trees crowding our route as they provided handgrips and helped to steady us, particularly on the way down.
Trevor had been trailing behind Michael and me. We kept him in view, his white hat making him easy to pick up against the greens and browns, and took advantage of stops in shaded spots so that we were never too far ahead of him. He climbed slower than we did but his speed was pretty consistent as he plodded up the trail. He left Trevor down below when we did the ascent of Camels Hump. This allowed me to leave my pack behind and we too everything out of Michael's except the bare essentials: emergency kit, water and map.
Back down from the hump we headed on towards Pierce Trig, some 2km further on. About 500m before the Trig we came to a fire trail that headed sharply down hill. We shopped at this junction for lunch. The cup of tea was most welcome even if the water was not freshly boiled but from the thermos.
We eyed off the trail that would take us on to pierce Trig and it, too, seemed to be heading down and we decided to turn around because every down section would require us to climb that same section on the return.
The ups and down on the return were a little surprising. We had not recognised just how much down bits there had been on the way out. These became up sections on the way back. The elevation gains and losses by km on the return were:
1: 35m and 31m
2: 49m and 44m
3: 28m and 76m - the first real dint in the elevation that we had gained on the way out
4: 29m and 119m
5: 34m and 120m
6: 44m and 50m
7: 0m and 95m
8 (actually only .6km): 0m and 68m
There were some seriously step section on the return where we had to be careful of our footing as the surface on the trail was quite loose.
I was flagging on the way back and it was not until I got home that I realised that I had not drunk nearly enough water. This was my first outing with the water bladder and I had no idea how much I had consumed until I took the bladder out of the pack and discovered that I had only drunk about 1/2l plus a small cup of tea while out on the trail ... more than 5 hours all up in quite hot conditions. Definitely not enough. I had been conscious of not over hydrating and went the other way. Oops. I need to be aware of this the next time I'm out hiking.
Trevor had done well. While he was slower than Michael and I on the outward part of teh hike he did maintain his pace and he was never too far in our rear. He maintained a good pace on the return journey. Overall he was really pleased with how well he had gone.
It had been a hot day with the temperature nudging up into the mid 30s. The heat reflected up from the surface of the trail added to temperature. Patches of shade along the trail provided welcome relief as did the breeze when it came.
All in all, this had been a tough but enjoyable outing.
Sunday 23 December 2012
Friday 21 December 2012
Helpful phone app
I have finally got around to loading an app onto my phone to track some of my walks. I picked the Runtastic app. The basic version is free. You get voice feedback for the first 2km of the "workout". To get voice feedback beyond the 2km mark requires the Pro version for which there is a charge. I'll make sure that I am happy with Runtastic first before shelling out money on the Pro version ... although it does have some useful features such as being able to add images during your workout ... tempting when climbing mountains!
Yesterday (Thursday 20 December) was the first trial. I did the walk home from Cooleman Court via the Stanhope Highway. Not only did I get an accurate distance record but also details of height gained and lost across. The details of the activity, you can nominate whether walking, running or any one of about 30 other forms of activity you are doing, can be stored and referenced later. It was good to see the profile across the route I took although the pace did look a little lumpy. Still, overall it was great to see the statistics.
In the evening I walked to the end of Marconi Crescent, one of my regular night walks, and managed to loose the data before it was uploaded. Bother!
Not to be defeated, I did a shorter walk to work out what went wrong and this time managed to save and upload the stats.
This morning (Friday 21 December - even if the uploaded stats is insisting that the date is still the 20th ... I need to work out how to set the time zone ... which I finally managed to do so that activities are now recorded against the correct day) I went out with Trevor on his morning Inkster Street walk so that he could get an accurate measure of the distance he walks each morning. It turned out that the circuit was exactly 5km.
I'll add statistics from other regular walks as I do them.
Yesterday (Thursday 20 December) was the first trial. I did the walk home from Cooleman Court via the Stanhope Highway. Not only did I get an accurate distance record but also details of height gained and lost across. The details of the activity, you can nominate whether walking, running or any one of about 30 other forms of activity you are doing, can be stored and referenced later. It was good to see the profile across the route I took although the pace did look a little lumpy. Still, overall it was great to see the statistics.
- Distance: 6.09km
- Elevation (gain/loss): 164m / 129m
In the evening I walked to the end of Marconi Crescent, one of my regular night walks, and managed to loose the data before it was uploaded. Bother!
Not to be defeated, I did a shorter walk to work out what went wrong and this time managed to save and upload the stats.
This morning (Friday 21 December - even if the uploaded stats is insisting that the date is still the 20th ... I need to work out how to set the time zone ... which I finally managed to do so that activities are now recorded against the correct day) I went out with Trevor on his morning Inkster Street walk so that he could get an accurate measure of the distance he walks each morning. It turned out that the circuit was exactly 5km.
- Distance: 5.00km
- Elevation (gain/loss): 63m / 63m
- Distance: 12.64km
- Elevation (gain/loss): 65m / 65m
I'll add statistics from other regular walks as I do them.
Thursday 20 December 2012
The Mount Taylor climbers Christmas breakfast
Last year I discovered that there was an annual gathering of people who climb Mt. Taylor. Of course, you have to climb the mountain to attend as the gathering is at the top. The only draw back is the early hour: 6am. Signs had been posted on the eastern and south eastern access points to the Mt Taylor Nature Reserve. I couldn't resist the opportunity to meet some of the other climbers so I attended the 2011 gathering even though I had a number of other activities scheduled from 7am onwards on that day. The surprising thing was that there were people at the function who I had known from my previous lives - some I had not seen for many years. It was good to catch up and also to meet the other "regulars" who stomp (or run, yes run) up and down the mountain that dominates my back yard.
This year I had not seen any notification of a pre Christmas gathering on the mountain top until well into December with the date set for Thursday 20 December. This year both Trevor and I decided to attend. Trevor has been plodding up and down Mt Taylor on a regular basis for a while now so was very much entitled to attend.
The invitation suggested champagne and strawberries however we opted for coffee. It was a good chance to check out my swish new thermos - the one that will be accompanying us on our upcoming walks. Yes, it did work! The coffee remained hot and it was easy to pour from it.
Trevor generally drives to the base of the mountain while I tend to walk. The walk takes almost 30 minutes. Today I opted to join Trevor in the car. We parked just off Colquhoun St and entered the Reserve on the south western side. This gives access to "my" track up the mountain. I'll have to get some photos to show this route. It meanders across a meadow and across a generally dry creek bed before reaching the Western Powerline fire trail. The route turns up the fire trail until you reach the highest point and then you turn off the first trail across a meadow before hitting the first of the real climbs. This track is unformed and provides a real workout for your stabilisers.
This morning, when we reached the Western Powerline fire trail we were delighted to see a large mob of kangaroos spread across the meadows on either side of the trail as well as occupying the trail itself. They were a bit flighty and hopped way as we trudged up the track.
It was a very pleasant morning. The temperature was warm enough for t-shirt only and a slight warmish breeze was not a problem.
My track is not a commonly used one although it is surprising just how often I have met people using it as I am going up or down. On some of the other trails up the mountain you would be surprised not to come across other climbers no matter when you are using them. This is not the case with the route from Colquhoun Street. The only person we encountered going up or down was a runner actually using the Western Powerline trail and not climbing the mountain.
When we arrived at the top just on 6am there were already a number of people there enjoying the views and the delights of the clear early morning light. The last of the dawn pinkness was fading from the scattered clouds and the citty spread out below us like a huge forest with just the odd scar (Woden town centre, the hospital complex and civic as well as the major arterial roads) announcing that this really is an urban area. Most of the buildings are camouflaged by the mature trees they are such a feature of Canberra's suburban landscape.
People kept on arriving at the top of the mountain by a variety of the many available routes. Some came singly, others in pairs and a few groups had also made the climb. As each new person arrived there were introductions and, finally, someone arrived with sticky labels so that we could all name ourselves which meant that introductions became much easier.
The crowd started to thin around 7am and we headed down leaving a couple of stragglers behind.
All in all it was a pleasant way to start the day even if a couple of hours more sleep would have been advantageous.
This year I had not seen any notification of a pre Christmas gathering on the mountain top until well into December with the date set for Thursday 20 December. This year both Trevor and I decided to attend. Trevor has been plodding up and down Mt Taylor on a regular basis for a while now so was very much entitled to attend.
The invitation suggested champagne and strawberries however we opted for coffee. It was a good chance to check out my swish new thermos - the one that will be accompanying us on our upcoming walks. Yes, it did work! The coffee remained hot and it was easy to pour from it.
Trevor generally drives to the base of the mountain while I tend to walk. The walk takes almost 30 minutes. Today I opted to join Trevor in the car. We parked just off Colquhoun St and entered the Reserve on the south western side. This gives access to "my" track up the mountain. I'll have to get some photos to show this route. It meanders across a meadow and across a generally dry creek bed before reaching the Western Powerline fire trail. The route turns up the fire trail until you reach the highest point and then you turn off the first trail across a meadow before hitting the first of the real climbs. This track is unformed and provides a real workout for your stabilisers.
This morning, when we reached the Western Powerline fire trail we were delighted to see a large mob of kangaroos spread across the meadows on either side of the trail as well as occupying the trail itself. They were a bit flighty and hopped way as we trudged up the track.
It was a very pleasant morning. The temperature was warm enough for t-shirt only and a slight warmish breeze was not a problem.
My track is not a commonly used one although it is surprising just how often I have met people using it as I am going up or down. On some of the other trails up the mountain you would be surprised not to come across other climbers no matter when you are using them. This is not the case with the route from Colquhoun Street. The only person we encountered going up or down was a runner actually using the Western Powerline trail and not climbing the mountain.
When we arrived at the top just on 6am there were already a number of people there enjoying the views and the delights of the clear early morning light. The last of the dawn pinkness was fading from the scattered clouds and the citty spread out below us like a huge forest with just the odd scar (Woden town centre, the hospital complex and civic as well as the major arterial roads) announcing that this really is an urban area. Most of the buildings are camouflaged by the mature trees they are such a feature of Canberra's suburban landscape.
People kept on arriving at the top of the mountain by a variety of the many available routes. Some came singly, others in pairs and a few groups had also made the climb. As each new person arrived there were introductions and, finally, someone arrived with sticky labels so that we could all name ourselves which meant that introductions became much easier.
The crowd started to thin around 7am and we headed down leaving a couple of stragglers behind.
All in all it was a pleasant way to start the day even if a couple of hours more sleep would have been advantageous.
Monday 17 December 2012
Cameras and other gadgets and another walk
After our walk in the Flinders Ranges Trevor has been looking at what he can do with his camera. He decided to get a tripod, too, so that he could experiment with panning for panoramas and other features. The first tripod was very cheap but did provide some good experience and a set of requirements for tripod #2. Yes, there is now a #2.
This weekend we (Trevor, Michael and I) are planning to do the walk the Camel Back Trail and on to Pierce Trig. This will allow Trevor and I to check out our packs and make adjustments ahead of our Great Alpine Walk. It will be the first time I have used my water bladder and I want to see how I fair.
I have also acquired a rugged thermos so that we can have a cuppa while out on the trail.
The Camel Back Trail is quite a hard walk with an uphill slog for most of the walk out. From the start of the trail, the Camel Back carpark in the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, to the point just below Camels Hump (at the "Camel Back sign") is just a little over 6km. The ascent to Camels Hump is a steep finale to the trail according to Graeme Barrow's guide book "Exploring Tidbinbilla on Foot" and is in addition to the walking distance.
The Pierce Trig is 2km further along the trail from the Camel Back sign.
All up the walk is some 16km plus the climbs to Camels Hump and the trig point.
Hopefully Trevor will take lots of photos so that we can show you the spectacular scenery we have been promised.
With the temperature on Saturday expected to be in the high 20s and some cloud cover it should be a good day for walking.
This weekend we (Trevor, Michael and I) are planning to do the walk the Camel Back Trail and on to Pierce Trig. This will allow Trevor and I to check out our packs and make adjustments ahead of our Great Alpine Walk. It will be the first time I have used my water bladder and I want to see how I fair.
I have also acquired a rugged thermos so that we can have a cuppa while out on the trail.
The Camel Back Trail is quite a hard walk with an uphill slog for most of the walk out. From the start of the trail, the Camel Back carpark in the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, to the point just below Camels Hump (at the "Camel Back sign") is just a little over 6km. The ascent to Camels Hump is a steep finale to the trail according to Graeme Barrow's guide book "Exploring Tidbinbilla on Foot" and is in addition to the walking distance.
The Pierce Trig is 2km further along the trail from the Camel Back sign.
All up the walk is some 16km plus the climbs to Camels Hump and the trig point.
Hopefully Trevor will take lots of photos so that we can show you the spectacular scenery we have been promised.
With the temperature on Saturday expected to be in the high 20s and some cloud cover it should be a good day for walking.
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