Dears Ridge

Thursday 23rd April 2015

Large expanse of flat rock in Garden Island Creek

I have had this walk on the "To Do List" for quite some time (since I did Mount Cygnet in 2013) and decided to walk it today. My aim was to walk up the old track which was Garden Island Creek Road and hopefully come back via Clennett Hills thus completing a circuit. It did not all go to plan.
I parked the car at the end of what is now Garden Island Creek Road where there is just enough room for one car at a track junction.

Looking down the creek from flat rock

I set off on the track on the left up to the flat rock section in the creek which was only about 200 metres from the car. I had intended to walk from there up to the main track but the foliage was too wet, and not wanting to get wet so early, I walked back to the track junction and took the right hand fork.

Start of track uphill

The track climbed quite gradually and was easy to follow. I passed the remains of an old building or shack.

Old building foundations

The track kept climbing and was soon high above the creek. I came to a scree slope which headed downwards towards the creek. Someone had pushed a vehicle off the track some time ago and I dare say it will stay there for a fair bit longer, which is a shame. I think the only way to remove it now would be by helicopter as the road is not suitable for vehicles any more. The only recent evidence I saw of any vehicle was a lone motor bike track.

Looking down scree towards the creek

Abandoned vehicle

Up higher the track became more overgrown with some trees across it in various places, but quite easy to negotiate. The track also became steeper but not too bad.

Track up higher

Track crossing Dears Ridge

I eventually reached the top of Dears Ridge and headed down the other side a little, but when no views appeared I retraced my steps back to the top of the ridge and found the track that I wanted to head over to Clennett Hills. It was easy going and fairly flat and I found the track that I had decided to take to head back to the car. However, it soon deteriorated and was very overgrown, and when I ran into a thicket of cutting grass, I simply had to abandon my plan and head back the way I had come. This did not disappoint me too much as I had been expecting that this would be the case.

Clear area on Dears Ridge

There were plenty of fungi on the track as it was very moist and a slight mist came in as I was heading back to the track. I walked back downhill to the car taking extreme care as it was very slippery. I did manage to slip a couple of times.
When I returned home I did find five leeches, much to my wife's disgust.
This was a good walk through some nice forest but it would have been nice to have some views.
Distance: 14.0 kms.
Time: 4'22"
Ascent: 590 metres
Click here to download GPX file.

Sandstone Cliffs opposite car park

Garden Island Creek

Garden Island Creek