Wandering up the shady side of Black Mountain

Saturday 18 January: Mt Painter to Botanic Gardens morning walk – S/M. A walk to beat the heat – a 7.30 am start for a walk through three Nature Reserves – Mt Painter, Aranda Bushland and Black Mountain, climbing Mt Painter and then up the shady-ish (in the morning) side of Black Mountain, finishing in the coolness of the Rainforest Gully in the Botanic Gardens. Around 9.5 km and approx 3 hours walk, with a couple of kilometres off track. The main elevation gains are ~ 100 metres up Mt Painter (yes, it’s a trig) and about 240 m up Black Mountain (no trig). The leaders will have put in a car swap before the walk. Non-drivers can wait in the Botanic Gardens cafe while the cars are retrieved. Bring lots of water and a snack. No need to book. Maps: the TAMS maps for the 3 nature reserves at www.tams.act.gov.au/parks-recreation/parks_and_reserves/canberra_nature_park. Leaders: Linda G and Peter C. Transport: Drive yourself; meet at 7.30 am where the dirt road turns east off Coulter Drive, about 850 metres north of the junction of Coulter and William Hovell Drive, near the gold star on this map: https://goo.gl/maps/cg2JU. Let Linda know if you can offer or need a lift.

7 of us met at the appointed time and place.

Further Information

Unfortunately total fire bans prevented Kaz’s Hannels Spur trip.

Summary

Distance: 9.7km | Climb: 410m | Time: 7.30-10.10am (2hrs 40mins), with 5mins of breaks | Grading: M/E-M; M(8)

Track Map

Photographs

Photographs are available, where you can start a large sized slide show.

Google Earth

Download the Google Earth .kmz file here.

Track Notes

Got there early and found geocache GC2XK0B C1 up the track. That was it for the morning as 2 DNFs followed. Once again proved that geocaching on someone else’s walk doesn’t work.

We wandered up the management trail towards Mt Painter, meeting Barb V on her morning constitutional. She joined us to Mt Painter. Mrs walk leader kindly allowed me to search for a nearby cache – which I didn’t find. Caught up with the others and Mac K out for his constitutional as I reached the N corner of the Cook Horse paddocks.

Under Bindubi St and across the Aranda Bushland NR to under Caswell Dr and the flanks of Black Mountain.

Some nice tracks and off-track up the W side to cross the hat band track and find morning tea. Again I had a DNF of a nearby cache. Punishment (rightly so) was 30 seconds of morning tea.

Up a bit of the road and car park, then N off the top and down to the back of the Botanic Gardens. Closed.

So a fence line walk to the car at the front. Cafe open.

Thanks Linda and Peter. First lift back to the cars and home to crook wife.

Party

7 walkers – Peter C (co-leader), Vin F, Linda G (co-leader), Peter J, Bob L, Steven S, me.