July ... mid winter and fog

July commenced with a reasonably sunny day although it was rather cool first thing in the morning. Frosts had finally arrived. This is tolerable as a frosty morning is generally followed by a sunny day. Early on in the day it is just a matter of rugging up to keep warm. Alas, the same cannot be said for foggy mornings particularly if the fog hangs around for most, if not all, of the day.

The second day of the month was a foggy one. At 1pm the fog still covered the top 2/3rds of Mt Taylor. It did lift, sort of, in the late afternoon but was back well before 5pm. A truly miserable day. Not to be deterred I headed off to the gym on foot for my Wednesday morning PT session. It did take a while to warm up and I ended up needing to stuff my gloved hands in my pockets as the fingers remained stubbornly cold. Heading home a little after 10 o'clock there were quite a few people out and about even though the temperature had only nudged up to 5 degrees.

On Thursday (3rd) I headed down to Cooleman Court after I returned home from my session at the family history centre. It had been another cool day and the late afternoon air was still chilly and damp. Having done more shopping than I had intended my backpack on the return home was decidedly heavy. The sunset provided an interesting light show and distraction from the weight I was carrying.
 

 I was a little surprised to find this woman perched amongst the rocks when I reach the Stanhope Highway

The sky to the south (between the trees) was a soft pink

Friday was a lovely day with a glorious clear blue sky. There were lots of people out and about taking advantage of the nice day.

There was still some snow up on the ranges

A beautiful sunny winters day

On Saturday 5th I was busy doing some swimming stuff and did not venture out until late in the day. I decided to walk up and around McQuoids Hill and then along the Urambi Hills. The weather looked like it might turn nasty so I was prepared for rain which did not eventuate.

Some of the gates in the various paddocks are the worse for wear. Here is one I came across where the wire across the gate had taken a beating and the whole frame of the gate had certainly seen better days.

There was a sizable mob of roos grazing on the lower slopes of the hill. They didn't seem to be bothered by me as I made my way up to the summit. The following photos are views from the top of McQuoids Hill.

I came across a couple of flocks of small birds. They appeared to be Scarlet Robins and Yellow Rumped Thornbills. There were also wrens in a couple of spots.

Leaving McQuoids I picked up the Canberra Centenary Trail along Kambah Pool Road, heading towards the river. The track was decidedly wet and muddy in places. 

Fortunately the weather held and I had a very pleasant walk.

On Sunday afternoon I decided to tackle another part of the Canberra Centenary Trail. The final section starts at the Tuggeranong Town Centre, heads towards the Monaro Highway along Isabella Drive and then heads northish along Isaacs Ridge, past the Mugga quarry, across Red Hill and finishes at Parliament House. I did not set out to walk the whole section, close to 30km, but to at least do a fair bit of it before heading home. While the forecast was not brilliant with rain expected and dark clouds racing across the sky once again the weather held.

On leaving Tuggeranong, the path meanders along beside a pond and then a storm water drain which has been built on one of the local creek beds. This meanders along the side of Isabella Drive. About 5km into the walk I reached Fadden Pines. This is a pine plantation right in the middle of suburbia.

The path about to enter Fadden Pines

The suspension bridge across Isabella Drive over to the Chisholm Shopping Centre

Unfortunately for me there should have been a sign indicating a left turn prior to reaching the suspension bridge. Alas I did not come across it and I continued until I passed under the Monaro Highway, trekked north until I was able to get back to the highway and cross it at its junction with Isabella Drive. 

With the day rapidly coming to a close I headed back to my starting point in Tuggeranong and called Trevor who picked me up outside of Brother's Oven.

I can only state that the Canberra Centenary Trail has been a particularly frustrating trail to walk.

After a fairly miserable week with cold mornings, the odd wet day and freezing winds it was good to have a pleasant day On Sunday 13th. When I ventured out around 10 o'clock, later than I had intended, there was still frost about. Not deterred I drove to Tuggeranong, grabbed some breakfast and then headed off to do Section 7 of the Canberra Centennial Trail. This was the bit that I had hoped to do about half of last week but failed miserably in my attempt.

You will be pleased to know that I succeeded this week. I did start about 1.5km from the start of the section but made up for this by continuing past the end point to pick up a bus back to Tuggeranong and my car. According to the write up the section is 28km and people should allow 9.5 hours. Yes, 9.5 hours plus time for breaks!! I will confess that I didn't do the loop up onto Isaacs Ridge. Michael and I did that on a previous outing and I was concerned about my late start. Was I going to run out of daylight?

Wanniassa Hills Nature Reserve

The track with evidence of the passage of bikes

Water lying across the track

As the walk proceeded I striped off layers of clothing. The day was warm and sunny and I was walking fast. At one stage a family of five riding bikes joined the trailed and I passed then 5 or 6 times before leaving them behind. Yes, they were on bikes and I was walking.

There are a number of memorials dotted along ACT roads commemorating road fatalities.

The track along Isaacs Ridge

Mt Taylor (on the right) as views from Isaacs

Looking up Mt Mugga Mugga towards the scars caused by the quarry

 I had been hoping to pick up a coffee along the route but no such luck. Having decided not to go to the Chisholm shops this time I thought that I should be able to get something at either the Red Hill shops or the Red Hill Lookout. No such luck. Both closed.

There may not have been coffee at Red Hill but at least I had company: Captain James Cook

A random seat on Red Hill

Looking down towards Parliament House and beyond from Red Hill

Waiting for the bus on Commonwealth Avenue at the end of my walk

All up I walked 26.96km at 5.8kph. It had taken me 4 hours 40 minutes and 05 plus 13 minutes breaks.

On one of my walks up Mt Taylor I came across kangaroos happily grazing near the track and completely unfazed by my passage.

After another week of fairly ordinary weather I was pleased to have a fine day on Saturday 19th. Trevor and I headed off to the National Library for lunch and then I walked home along the south western shore of Lake Burley Griffin before picking up the Canberra Centenary Trail. There was a section that I had done a very hit and miss attempt at following a few times and I thought that I would knock it off today. I can report that I did make it to the end of section 5 which is listed as Stromlo Forest Park. I could see the Park but the trail didn't actually enter the Park. The best I can say is that it followed the Cotter Road albeit on the other side of the road to the Park. So much for the naming of Sections!!!



Having achieved what I had set out to do I then walked along the top side of Duffy and picked up the track along Cooleman Ridge. By the time I was coming around Mt Araway the light was fading. A was a little surprised when a creature scurried across the track in front of me. Was I even more surprised when I realised it was a wombat. I have seen wombat burrows in a number of places but this is the first one I have encountered out and about.

The sunsets continued to provide some glorious colour across the month. Here are just a couple of shots.

Looking west from the horse paddock just south of Mt Arawang

This photo was taken on Mt Taylor at the top of the 2nd zag on the Richmond Fellowship Track

Views from the Urambi Hills trig point ... looking down onto Lake Tuggeranong

and looking across the Tuggeranong town centre

A rainbow brightened up an otherwise miserable morning as I walked to the gym

There was some extremely windy weather at the end of the month. These trees on the top of Mt Arawang would normally be upright

I was certainly in for a surprise as I walked around the base of Mt Arawang. The eastern side of the mountain was sheltered. These slopes were dotted with kangaroos and there were many more roos in the paddock between the mountain and the road. The difference between the sheltered eastern side and the rest of the mountain was dramatic as the wind buffeted those hardy souls who were out and about.

Then I cam across my wombat again. This time, rather than scurrying off,  he or she meandered down into the ditch beside the track and happily munched the grass while I took photos. The whitish patch of the side looks like it is clay caught on the coat.

Yes, there really is a wombat on Mt Arawang

On the 30th I managed to reach the 5 million step mark for the year to date. That was a bit of a "WOW" moment when I realised that I had achieved that mark.

Stats for the month of July:

Distance walked: 381.49km (an average of 12.31km per day)
Elevation gain: 6636m (with an average of 214m per day)
Steps: 775819 which was an average of 25026 per day

June .. winter coolness and sunny days

Ah, June 1. Winter has formally arrived.

The month started with a day of drizzle. Not the sunny days we often get through winter. The upside was that the overnight temperature was mild. In the late afternoon, after the rain stopped, I walked to the gym and back. There was almost no breeze and I was treated to wonderful reflections on the lake.

Monday saw low cloud caught along the river and in the valleys between the ranges:

With the sun going down before 5pm it certainly makes for a challenging time fitting in walks if you are busy in the middle of the day. My short Mt Taylor circuit provides sufficient metres of elevation to meet my daily target and I seem to be doing this walk quite regularly in the gathering gloom. I do carry both a torch and a headlight but only use them if darkness has actually fallen. I'm always surprised at just how many people I encounter coming up the mountain in relatively poor light with no means of illuminating the track. Given the unevenness of the surface it is not something that should be tackled after dark without a light.


Coming down Mt Taylor on Wednesday night (4 June) I was passed by a guy on a bike without a light. Obviously some people have a death wish!

Friday (6 June) started off heavily overcast however the cloud cleared to a lovely sunny day. It was quite warm in the sun except when the chilly breeze caught you.Trevor and I lunched at Woden and I walked back via the Mt Taylor summit. The climb up was quite warm and I kept thinking that perhaps it was time to strip off only to reassess when hit by the breeze. It is winter, after all.

I had had an email from Michael suggesting that perhaps we could do a walk over the weekend. I think he may have been put off when I suggested the 28km final section of the Canberra Centenary Trail as he declared himself feeling off and not up to doing a walk.

With no walking partner I amended my plans and decided to tackle Mt Wanniassa. There is both a Wanniassa Hill and a Mt Wanniassa, for good measure. It was a glorious day with temperature around 15C.

After lunch I set off initially skirting around the base of Mt Taylor. Rather than take my usual track I picked the lower one which runs along the bank of the drain. The track is fairly narrow but quite OK as long as you don't meet someone on a bike.

This track runs parallel to Sulwood Drive. The only issue was the occasional fence with no clear passage. Others had obviously encountered this problem and used their initiative as this stick holding the wire apart atests.

My route continued to meander along beside that road until just before it reached Erindale Drive. Having studied my map before I set out I had discovered an underpass that would allow me to get across to the other side of Erindale Drive.

The very welcome Erindale Drive underpass

Once through the underpass I meandered around Wanniassa Hill and eventually picked up the track that lead to the summit of Mt Wanniassa. There were some pleasant views from the top.

On the way down I passed a couple of waterholes.

Varying my return route I decided to follow the powerlines. There is a firetrail running between the lines and this leads back to the southern edge of Mt Taylor. The only issue was getting through fences and I was thankful that the roos had created gaps under the fences which allowed me to get through rather than tracking along the fenceline looking for a way through. Kangraoos do their uses!

Speaking of kangaroos - I did encounter quite a few roos, some quite large. Some of them were very wary and hopped off at speed when they saw me coming. Others just watched me tramp by. Here are some kangaroo photos.

Mother and joey in the pouch

All in all the walk to Mt Wanniassa and back was a pleasant 17km walk.

Late on Sunday afternoon I headed off to climb Mt Arawang. The light had a golden tinge.

Looking across McQuoids Hill and Mt Neighbour from Mt Arawang

Looking towards the western ranges from Mt Arawang

The Queen's Birthday long weekend seemed to come and go. The Monday (9th) had looked threatening off and on throughout the day. I finally ventured out around 3:30pm, complete with rain jacket but the rain stayed away as I did a circuit from home to the summit of Mt Taylor and back. I was treated to a lovely sunset and quite interesting light effects.

On Thursdays I volunteer at my local Family History Centre. The 12th was no exception. On the way home I called past the swimming pool at the Australian Institute of Sport, commonly known as the AIS, and by the time I did some urgent swimming things after I got home it was already dark and I had not managed to do a walk. I decided to walk to Mt Taylor and up and down the Mannheim St track.

Even with a full moon there are definitely places where the track is dark and I took my trusty headlight to illuminate the way in the unlit sections of my walk. I was not the only person going up and down the mountain. The other people I encountered were walking without lights and just appeared out of the darkness. No, they did not have guide dogs, either! The track is rough in places so walking it without a light can be quite dangerous.

It was quite a pleasant evening. The temperature was hovering around 9 and there was no wind. The almost full moon hung big and bright in the sky. Oops, were those other people on the mountain about to become werewolves?

On Saturday (14th) Trevor and I went over to Duffy to help while garden clean-up activities were underway. Following an afternoon coffee I headed home via Cooleman Ridge.  The weather had appeared to be OK however I was confronted by the sight of rain across the ranges when I crested the ridge. I did not have my rain jacket or the disposal poncho with me. Fortunately the rain often clings to the ranges and today that was the case. Apart from the odd spot I managed to make it home without being rained on.

I encountered scattered kangaroos on my amble. One group contained quite a few charcoal coloured members. These darker roos appear mostly in the group that occupies Cooleman Ridge, Mt Arawang and the surrounding grasslands. I have seen the odd one over on Mt Taylor, too, but the majority appear to be in the Cooleman Ridge group.

On Sunday I spent the day out at the AIS at two swim meets. By the time I got home and started the process of checking all the paperwork and results I was knackered and did not manage to get out for a walk.

Monday was mulching day at Duffy, a follow up to the Saturday gardening. By the time we got home and I did some swimming things it was getting on. I did head out with both torch and headlight and it was dark enough as I started down from the top of Mt. Taylor to warrant the use of my headlight.

And then came Tuesday, also know as "Astriday", a day when formal walks are difficult to fit in. June is starting to look a bit pathetic.

Wednesday (18th) was chilly when I headed off to the gym. There was frost on the ground. The air was still. There weren't very many people out on foot or bike until I neared the town centre. By the time I headed home the temperature had risen to 9, the frost had burnt away and the day was sunny and clear.

At lunch time we went to Woden and caught up with our travel agent as well as checked out presents for Astrid. I headed home on foot via Mt Taylor. Today I took the time to exit the park at the foot of the Richmond Fellowship Track so that I could read the notice detailing the reparation work being done on the trail. Whoever placed the sign was rather shortsighted, I was going to say downright stupid, as many people who climb that trail enter through points all around the mountain with only a small percentage passing the place where the notice was placed. It would have been sensible to place the sign on the bridge across the drain and the bottom the bottom of the trail. Anyway, the repair work on the trail is due to be completed by the end of the week.

I had made good time on the walk and climbed up to the summit on the Mannheim Street trail. A group of small birds were flitting around up on the top and I encountered more on the way down. Alas, I still don't have a photo of the small bird that Trevor and I have been attempting to identify.

The trig point on the top of Mt Taylor set against a glorious blue sky

View from near the top of Mt Taylor looking down to Lake Tuggeranong and the town centre

In June there are a surprising number of plants in flower. Most are yellow. The one that really stands out is the golden everlasting. It was putting on a great display at the time Astrid was born and is an obvious Astrid floral emblem.

Thursday are are always difficult days to fit in walks and climbs. On the 19th I decided that I would head off to Officeworks at Tuggeranong around 4pm and, to get in some elevation metres, go up to the Urambi Hills trig point on the way. There are so many ways to get to the trig point that the problem is choosing the route. It is not a difficult climb and the views across to the river and the ranges beyond are worth the effort reaching the trig point. On the way up I came across a fox. I hope thefoxes are attacking the rabbit population which seems to be expanding rapidly.

The new shoes appear to have addressed the problem I was having with my feet, knees, hips and more. It does reinforce the advise that the correct shoe is critical. It is just a pity that my pretty pink shoes were obviously wrong for my feet and gait.

On Fridays Astrid has a swimming lesson at 10 o'clock. This week Trevor and I took advantage of the lovely morning and walked down the swim school pool which is a little under 3kms from home.

After lunching at Brother's Oven at Tuggeranong I headed home via the Urambi Hills trig point. I'm still trying to work out the best route up from the town centre side. I'm sure I followed roo tracks as I climbed up onto a ridge leading to the trig point. I'm just pleased that the blackthorn thorns are relatively soft at this time of the year as I encountered many of these potentially nasty plants encroaching onto the rather narrow tracks that I was using.

On Saturday (21st) I was up early to cook fairy cakes and scones for Astrid's birthday party. Following the party I headed out to the Ginninderra swim meet which was being held over the weekend. I did manage to do over 20K steps but, alas, clocked up no tracked kms. Even so, this took me over the 4 million steps for the year mark.

Sunday was Astrid's birthday and the family was going out for lunch. It was a glorious winter's day in the national capital. There had been some fog around early on but this had cleared early and the day was clear, sunny and warm. I headed over to Duffy on foot climbing up to the Mt Arawang trig point on the way. The route I took was a little over 6km.

Have Astrid opened her present from us and had given it a pretty good workout, I think she thought that the scooter was a great present, we headed off to Cooleman Court for lunch. After lunch I walked home and then headed out to the swimming pool to help pack up and to collect all the bits of equipment that I had delivered on Friday afternoon. At least I managed to get in a reasonable amount of kms between the swimming and birthday related activities.

Monday dawned a gray day which threatened to get more miserable as the day went on. After meeting my cousin Robert and his wife Virginia for lunch at the National Library and spending some time down in the newspaper section Robert and I emerged to a very wet, cold, miserable afternoon. So much for going for a long afternoon walk. After dinner I headed out into the chilly evening and did the Marconi Crescent walk. There were no people out walking dogs or just walking. The wind was gusty with a decided chill to it. Even so, I felt so much better for having done the walk.

On Tuesday the weather was awful, too. I did manage to get in a couple of short walks rugged up in my rain jacket. Even then it was decidedly miserable.

On Wednesday 25th we were heading off to Victoria for a family dinner. I had walked to the gym, done my PT session and then met Trevor at Brother's Oven for a coffee before heading off.

Thursday, in East Gippsland, was a fine day with the temperature expected to reach 15 degrees. I figured that it would be a great opportunity to walk a longer section of the East Gippsland  Rail Trail, namely the section between Bairnsdale and Bruthen. Trevor dropped out at Bruthen and I walked back to Bairnsdale. All up I walked 30.61km. It was a good walk and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will cover this section of the Rail Trail in a separate post.

We were still down in Gippsland on Friday and I headed off for a late afternoon walk and headed towards Eastwood. I found a network of trails leading through a wetlands reserve. I was impressed that the city was preserving its wetlands rather than just draining them. There were a heap of birds in the area who obviously call the wetlands home.

I was treated to a brilliant sunset.

On Saturday afternoon Trevor and I headed out for a walk. I had intended doing the full wetlands trail but turned the wrong way when we reached the highway and ended up tackling the riverside walk. 

The signage for the various walks was impressive and really puts the ACT tracks to shame.

Our first challenge was crossing the river. There is a suspension bridge for trail users. We encountered a family crossing the bridge who were seeing how much sway they would get by jumping up and down on it. That was not pleasant.

The suspension bridge across the river for trail users

The trail meandered along the edge of the river.

Quite a lot of effort is going in to regeneration.

When I got to the turnaround point I decided to head up into Eastwood rather than walking back along the river. Not only are the wetlands being preserved in a reserve but there were a number of other places where examples of wetlands have been retained and incorporated into the suburban landscape.

As I walked backed to Sue's along Phillips Lane I couldn't help but observe the local wetland. On the previous evening the calling of the birds on this stretch of water was raucous as I passed by as the light was fading. It was much quieter in the daylight.

Sunday (29th) was chilly when we arrived home and by the time I dealt with some emails the sun had gone down and I had not done any tracked walking. Solution: walk to Tuggeranong and have dinner; go to the gym; walk home. While it was cool it was pleasant as I was suitably attired in warm layers.

Monday, being the 30th and the last day of the month, was catch up day. I was short quite a few metres of elevation gain for the month. There had been a couple of lean climbing weeks that I needed to be made up. It was definitely a day of Mt Taylor climbs. In the end I managed to do 715m for elevation gain for the day. This amounted to 3 and a bit climbs up Mt Taylor.

Stats for the month:

Distance: 335.07km (average 11.17 per day)
Elevation gain: 6009m (average 200m per day)
Steps: 740,158 (average 24,672 per day)

By the half way point for the year:

Distance: 2,163kms
Elevation gain: 42,259
Steps: 4,256,992