29 June 2013 Trig Bagging Orgy
 Old explosives store 1 on Dynamite Trail in Callum Brae NR Maps: Canberra and Cotter Dam 1:25000 Walk Description This walk was organised and led by me as a CBC walk: Saturday 29 June: Trig Bagging Orgy- L/E,X. Drive to the Lanyon Drive/Woods Lane entrance of the Jerrabomberra Grasslands Nature Reserve (East) and walk the 2.2km Dragon's Trail to Mike trig. Drive to the Narrabundah Lane entrance to the Callum Brae Nature Reserve and walk the 8km Grassy Plains Walk through to the Jerrabomberra Grasslands Nature Reserve (West) and Quartz trig. Return via the Callum Brae Bird Walk and Dynamite Trail, an extra couple of km. Next, drive to my home in Duffy, then car pool out the Uriarra Rd to near 'Huntly' to visit Ranger and Walker trigs. 2 walks totaling around 2km and 130m climb. Finally, drive to the boom gate on Mt Stromlo and walk to Brown trig, around 4km and 60m climb. Total around 21km and 300m climb for the day. Maps: Canberra and Cotter Dam. Leader and bookings to: John Evans - john@johnevans.id.au, 0417 436 877. Transport: Drive yourself/car pool ~$4. 6 of us drove around and about parts of Canberra to close to the trigs. Further Information Many thanks to Mr John G, the owner of 'Huntly' and his Manager, Ian H, for their nod to walk on the property. Photographs Click here to access all walk photographs.Track Maps Track maps: thumbnails are active - click for a larger picture
Video Google Earth Track Notes Walk 1 - Mike trig in the Jerrabomberra Grasslands (East) Nature Reserve 2.7km We met at the Woods Lane off Lanyon Drive entrance to the Jerrabomberra Grasslands (East) Nature Reserve. A sign on the gate directed us to a smaller gate just up the fence line, so that we didn't tromp on an Earless Dragon. Excellent signage throughout this new Nature Reserve (which will not be heavily advertised eg. no map on the TAMS web site) in order to protect the habitat of the Earless Dragon. But all kosher to walk there. No pack needed for this little lap, but raincoat certainly was as showers came and went throughout the day. We did a lap of the Dragons Trail and bagged Mike trig. Views to the jail, 'Environa' and into the Parliament House flag pole. 2.7km, 40mins. Walk 2 - Callum Brae Nature Reserve and Quartz trig in the Jerrabomberra Grasslands (West) Nature Reserve 9.1km We drove to the Narrabundah Lane entrance to the Callum Brae Nature Reserve. We set off to the SE on the Grassy Plains Walk. Faffed around a bit at the back of the 'Callum Brae' property, first heading W along the Callum Brae Bird Walk as I only had the map on the signage photograph the Lois P had sent me as a guide. But the little blip in the track was a clue and we did a U-turn and got to the gate at the N end of the link easement through to the Jerrabomberra Grasslands (West) Nature Reserve. A narrow easement with 'Private Property' signs both sides. (Interesting exercise getting access to this area. The NRs are new, so not marked on the Canberra 8727-3N 1:25000 topo map. I found the phone number of the 'Callum Brae' property in White Pages and rang. The lady there told me that there was NR access to Quartz trig but, I fear, misinterpreted a comment I made in trying to sympathise with their loss of property. I then had a look on the TAMS web site, found no map at http://www.tams.act.gov.au/parks-recreation/parks_and_reserves/canberra_nature_park, rang Canberra Connect, sent an email request for help to city.management@act.gov.au, then remembered the wonderful Lois P who sent me a file of the Jerrabomberra Grasslands NR signage - 5MB - from which I could extract the map. A very nice lady rang me last Tuesday as a result of the email and gave me some background on the Jerrabomberra Grasslands NR.) Walked to the gate at the S end of the easement. Then a loop over to Quartz trig. Action revving up at the model aircraft club down on the side of the Monaro Highway. Off the trig to the N, down the spine of rock, and back along a track beside a fence line. Retraced our path to the faffing around area and continued along the Callum Brae Bird Walk. Had a look at a pumping station, then got ourselves to the 3 old explosives stores on the Dynamite Trail. Very interesting - kept the explosives for the nearby Mugga quarry. I must have driven the nearby Mugga Lane for the last 40 years and never known these buildings were there. Back to the cars for morning tea. 9.1km, 1hr 55mins. Walk 3 - Ranger trig on private property 0.8km We then drove to my home and dropped off a couple of cars. In 2 vehicles, we then drove out the Uriarra Road to beneath Ranger trig. (Another bit of a saga to gain access to the private property on which Ranger and Walker trigs stand. Easy enough to Google 'Huntly' - interesting to find that the owner regularly supports charity functions in the gardens of the property. Anyway, tried ring the numbers for a couple of weeks, but no response. So I drove out last Thursday and met the owner, a gracious gentleman. He gave approval-in-principle, but said it was up to his manager. Visited the manager's home across the road and later rang him. He gave the nod.) A quick up and back, for nice views and a trig bag. We were most careful crossing the fences. 0.8km, 20mins. Walk 4 - Walker trig on private property 2.5km Next, we drove further out the Uriarra Rd to a point near the next objective. A walk to Walker trig through beautifully maintained farming country. In one paddock corner, a lot of sense in having 3 gates into adjoining paddocks at the one location. Quite spectacular views from Walker trig all round, particularly down to the Murrumbidgee River and to the N end of the Tidbinbilla Range. 2.5km, 40mins. Walk 5 - Stromlo and Brown trigs on ANU property and ACT Forests 9.2km 2 of our party members had already visited Stromlo and Brown trigs, so I took them back to my place and their cars, whilst the other 3 drove to Mt Stromlo and started lunch. I joined them. Lunch at Mt Stromlo. We then walked the Mt Stromlo Milestones circuit that I'd done on 14 Apr 13, extending it to take in the Canberra Seismic Centre and Brown trig. The walk takes in Stromlo trig, the Duffields' graves, mountain bike tracks, near to the Space Weather Monitoring Site, and a stroll past many of the Mt Stromlo observatory buildings. Excellent views from Brown trig. Back near the cars, we talked to a guy with some extremely fancy cameras taking time lapse infrared photographs of the clouds. Now that's nearly as wild as taking snaps of border markers! So quite a varied day, which party members seemed to enjoy. Sadly, the last CBC walk for Maggie, as she's moving interstate. Seeing the trip was about trig bagging, the results are here - not a competition, but a personal challenge - of course! Summary Distance: 24.4km Climb: 530m. Time: 7.55am - 3.30pm (7hrs 35 mins), with 40mins of breaks + lots of driving. Walk Participants 6 walkers - Mike B, Roger E, Maggie K, Steven S, Edwina Y, me. Back to Walks Index This page last updated 3Sep22 |
