17 May 2011 Tinderry Wanderings - Shine for Sophie recce

Map: Tinderry 1:25000

Getting There

This walk was organised and led by me as an FBI adhoc hard walk:

Tuesday 17 May - Tinderry Peak (Shine for Sophie recce) - M/R; M(11). The Michelago community is running a walk on Sunday 29 May to raise funds to support Sophie, a 6 year old local girl who is fighting cancer. The organiser ("Chief of makin' it happen") has requested assistance and the least we can do is to help with a recce to Tinderry Peak next Tuesday. Follow the Round Flat fire trail, then NW over around 2.5km and up 400m to Tinderry Peak. Return similar. Around 11km and 500m climb. Map: Tinderry. Leader: John Evans - jevans@pcug.org.au, (h) 6288 7235. Transport: ~$10 per person.

7 of us gathered in town and drove to Michelago, where we met Cas.

Further Information

Take tape to mark route (tape must be pulled down at the end of the day on 29 May).

Photographs

You can also access all photographs here.

Walk

Track maps: thumbnails are active - click for a larger picture
Track overview	Track 1	Track 2

We met Cas at the Michelago general store and drove around 16km via the Burra Rd (a short distance, then right onto) and Tinderry Rd to the Round Flat Fire Trail.

It turned out that walking to Tinderry Peak (at least via the route I'd prepared) was not to be, as we were first going to check out the Shine for Sophie short walk, all on the Round Flat Fire Trail and East Tinderry Fire Trail to the barbeque location for Sunday 29 May at the junction of the East Tinderry and Woolpack fire trails. Even at this early stage the general consensus of advice offered to Cas was that Tinderry Peak as the objective for the Sunday 29 May walk was not wise for a large, capability unknown group. It was also the case that NSWP&WS would not countenance it. So we discussed various options as we wandered along, first through the N extent of the bushfire area, then into unburnt forest beside the fire trail.

We reached the junction with the Woolpack fire trail. To the W we had views to Tinderry Peak over a knoll with a huge egg-shaped tor and S along the ridge to the Onion.

We were to meet Ranger Sam at SH1337. Just to prove that I still have much to learn and put into practice, we ended up on the knoll to its N, about 400m on! He duly arrived - by truck - and kindly offered hot water all round.

Much discussion as to what could happen on the day and what was suitable. He suggested an unmarked access track which went W off the East Tinderry ft, which meandered pleasantly enough gently to very near the S bend in Groggy Creek. Sam's going to arrange for a botanist to accompany the walkers on the day, so this would be a great area to explore.

He left us to return to process the huge heap of paperwork the walk request had generated. Cas and Max were already urging that we wander over towards the Tinderry ridge - the rest of us certainly agreed.

We took a bearing to a 1450m knoll to the N of Roberts Creek, around 1km and 140 vertical metres away. A pleasant climb through manageable forest. Towards the top as the granite got more serious, whilst we had a caterpillar stop, Wayne went on to suss a route and found the most wonderful series of crawls and a tight squeeze to a shelf with sun and views SE down Roberts Creek and over Round Flat to the Tinderry Road and beyond. A perfect lunch spot.

By the time we we ready to go, Ken had scouted the start of our exit route. This took us through some more caves/crawls and out onto another huge granite shelf, this time with views from the NW (Twin Tinderry) down the ridge to Tinderry Peak and around through the S. (A fair way) below us was Roberts Creek and our way out. With a little bit of W, then turning back S, we found a very nice exit line off the granite and down into the scrub. Damp-ish on the S-facing slope and a steep descent, but most managable. We heard goats. A very pleasant jaunt down to just above Roberts Creek, where we turned SE-ish to follow it.

I took a couple of the lads' advice and we swapped banks via a convenient wombat pad to get us onto the shorter, inner curve. The going even more open and easy, we arrived at a pig trap (no, we hadn't gone in a circle) where I confidently announced that the fire trail was close. Thank goodness it was. Back out the Round Flat Fire Trail.

We stopped for a drink and ice cream at the general store.

Not bad views from lunch on the return leg and Cas sorted many things for 29 May. Perhaps some of us will return on that day.

Thanks Barrie R, Cas L, John H, Ken W, Mary H, Max S and Wayne P. And to Ranger Sam.

Distance: 13.7km Climb: 500m. Time: 9.15am - 3.25pm (6hrs 10mins), with 45mins of breaks and lots of faffing time.
Grading: M/M,ptX; M(11)

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: Tinderry Wanderings - Shine for Sophie recce

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This page last updated 26Aug22