Monday 25th March 2013
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| Summit cairn Tom Thumb |
I parked in the large car park just uphill from Big Bend and set off walking at 0757. It was a beautiful clear day with a mild temperature so all was looking good. I walked back downhill to the Big Bend Trail which descended for 3.3 kms. to a cairn marking the start of Tom Thumb ascent.
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| Big Bend Trail |
The climb to Tom Thumb summit was short and only took about 20 minutes. The views from the summit were very good. After a break I climb back down to the Big Bend Trail and carried on passing the Knights Creek Track on the right before meeting up with the East West Trail. I followed this for a while to the Myrtle Forest Trail junction and was met with a sign saying that the East West Trail was closed due to the fire damage. It had a phone number so I rang the ranger and was told that, indeed , the trail was open and they had missed taking down the sign. Thankful I carried on, now uphill to the Collins Bonnet Track and then more uphill to Mount Connection. As I reached the summit I deviated off track to check out The Lectern and Pulpit Rock, both worthy of a visit, and then back to the main track again. Eventually I reached the Big Bend Trail and completed the final climb to the car.
This was a good walk with great views around the Mount Wellington area. There is a bit of up and down but it is not too bad.
Distance: 15.6 kms.
Time: 6'10"
Ascent: 764 metres
Click here to download GPX track.
Various views from Tom Thumb Summit
Various views from The Lectern
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| On the Collins Bonnet Track |
