Johnny Boy's Walkabout Blog

Wednesday 2 November 2022: Old Codger’s Walk. A walk to the bakery near Booroomba Rocks and maybe Deadmans Hill.

Summary

From Garmin Connect – Distance: 17.85km | Climb: 835m | Time: 5:20 moving + 1:26 of stops = 6:46 | Grading: L/E-M; H(12).

Photographs Photographs are available here.

gpx File The gpx file is available here.

Track Notes

I was last at Booroomba Rocks on 27 Oct 22, and before that on 2 Apr 22. Last on Deadmans Hill on 22 Aug 16.

Plenty of potholes in the Boboyan and Apollo Roads. But a non-rainy day had to be used. Parked at the Honeysuckle Creek Camping Ground car park. Away at 7.41am.

10 or 11 muddy patches on the AAWT between Honeysuckle Creek and Booroomba Rocks car park. Sank to the boot laces in two of them, trying to walk through rather than around and broadening the track. Several raised runways and sets of stepping stones. If you’re into them, there’s a photo of each in the photo album and they’re marked on the map segments below. Here’s just one of each.

Arrived Booroomba Rocks car park at 8.46pm, 4.3km in 1:05.

The next leg was up to the Booroomba Rocks cliff. A bit of frost about near the top and cold in the strong wind.

1.3km in 32mins. The usual fabulous view.

Next leg was up to the top granite around SH1396, named ‘Granite Dome’ by Matthew Higgins. Plenty of cairns, a couple of old ones I have marked gone, and a couple of new ones.

Took a line starting a little to the west from last week which gave a little less scrub and onto the granite sooner. Picked up a footpad NE of SH1372, which was followed through the gully and up to ‘New cairn 2’.

There’s plenty more photos of cairns and footpads in the photo album and they’re marked on the map segments below. Snow on the Brindabellas.

It was frickin’ freezing in the wind on the exposed granite and I put my feathers on over 3 layers, plus gloves. The minimum temperature recorded on my Garmin tempe was 2°C. With an estimated wind speed of 35kph and using a Wind Chill Calculator, the apparent temperature was around -4°C.

The objective of this little trip was to view the ‘granite loaves’, recently visited on a combined bushwalking clubs’ Wednesday Walk. I wasn’t on that trip. I was given the location on condition that it not be exposed. So the location metadata has been removed from nearby photos and the track doctored to delete the part around the bakery. All I will say is don’t approach from above, use the nearby ramp.

After my visit, I spent some time trying to exit via more direct routes.

Two failures, on the second I said to myself “don’t be a fool by yourself”, retreated on my hands and feet like a spider and exited the same way I came in.

Next, I popped up to the top. Freezing.

Great views all round.

A fraction further to a view I’d not seen before.

I began the reverse back down. A reptile stepped over with care. Perhaps I’ll always wear gaiters from now on.

Arrived back on the Booroomba Rocks track at 10.52am. Down at the Booroomba car park at 11.18am.

It was a bit early to go home, so I decided to head up to Deadmans Hill. Pleased to find the star pickets still there, marking a point on the route.

It certainly is a varied ‘footpad’. The best navigation technique is to keep an eye on the gap in the mature trees.

1.8km in 55mins, with a 160vm climb. The approach to the top swings across the north and comes in from the NE.

The top is a scrubby, wattle regrowth ‘donga’. Took some time to find the three old collimation tower support blocks, which are only 10 or so metres apart. A geocache up there includes in the description “This cache up on Deadman’s hill, takes you to the site of the former microwave passive repeater site that allowed Honeysuckle to communicate with Tidbinbilla. From here (top of the old tower here) you could see Tidbinbilla and the site of the Collimation tower (that was on the Orroral ridge near GC1M53T) for the Honeysuckle NASA Tracking station.“

By 12.35pm I was getting a bit weary, so sat down on the side of the route for a 10min smoko. Rang home.

I was back down by 1.28pm. A large group of Rangers in the car park.

Wandered back along the AAWT, back at the car by 2.28pm.

Relive the Trip

 

Track Maps

Here’s where I went. On Topoview2006 map for overview, 1 and 3 © DEPARTMENT OF LANDS PANORAMA AVENUE BATHURST 2795 www.lands.nsw.gov.au Used with permission. 2 © BKK Enterprises Pty Ltd, Mona Vale NSW 2103 www.gpsoz.com.au Used with permission.

The Alltrails map is here, where you can pan and zoom. If you zoom right in, you’ll see that the Deadmans Hill location is misplaced. Beat O put in a correction to OSM months ago, but I guess AllTrails have not updated their map yet.

inReach Tracking

Here’s what my dear wife at home sees, via the Garmin inReach 10-minute tracking points sent in real time. If anyone is interested, you can see the same on my Garmin Explore MapShare page at share.garmin.com/JS2VF . This is a static link, so you can go there at any time and see where I am out in the bush. Same deal as above with Deadmans Hill location.

Party

Just moi.

 

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Thursday 27 October 2022: Booroomba Rocks. Near Booroomba Rocks.

Summary

Distance: 9.2km | Climb: 250m | Time: ~4hrs | Grading: S/E-M; E(6).

Photographs Photographs are available here.

gpx File The gpx file is available here.

Track Notes

I was last at Booroomba Rocks on 2 Apr 22.

We parked at the intersection of Apollo Road and the Booroomba Rocks access road, as the gate was closed.

Walked in the road. Climbed to the Booroomba Rocks cliff, passing the big boulder.

Views and morning tea. Chilly in the breeze.

We headed up to SH1372.

Fine views to the Granite Dome.

We called it a day there and reversed back out and down to the car. I haven’t laughed so much in years! Great friends.

Relive the Trip

 

Track Maps

Here’s where we went. On Topoview2006 map.

Party

4 walkers. Eric G, Max S (leader), Phillip S, me.