I managed to negotiate the final steep climb onto the summit of Mt Woowoonga just before the rain arrived.
The Mt Woowoonga car park is a fairly low key spot...
... and the track started of fairly low key too!
Grabbing my pack I picked up a fairly overgrown track through some long grass and headed for the mountain. It actually looks like the car park maybe just outside the boundary of the national park as after negotiating the long wet grass I passed through a fence line and arrived at the national park visitor information board, and from there on I was on a good track again...for awhile! The track more or less immediately started to climb the flanks of the mountain although with a few switchbacks the going wasn't too bad, although what was worrying me a little was the dark clouds that were building up around me.
Once inside the park boundary and climbing the track became a little more obvious.
I'm guessing that not many punters head out here to go walking, so I was pushing through a few spiders webs this morning.
I even had the perennial Feral favourite - yep, a fallen tree right in the zone of aggravation!
After thirty minutes or so of climbing I passed a convenient bench that came with a sign warning that only experienced walkers should venture any further... game on! From the bench onwards things did indeed get a bit rougher, the track was still climbing the flanks of the mountain only now it was a little steeper and also had a bit of wet scrub for me to push through. After around 15 minutes or so of steep climbing my track reached the crest of the spur that would lead me all the way to the summit. Once on the spur things were still pretty steep however the scrub eased off a bit and at the same time the higher I climbed the rockier things became.
Once I'd passed by the bench the track got a little tougher.
The dark clouds where starting to roll in.
There are track has markers where necessary.
Once on the spur the forest opened up a bit, however the climbing was still fairly steep.
Arriving at the summit of Mt Woowoonga I managed to get a photo or two before the looming rain arrived in earnest. I'd been thinking of pushing along another ridge to reach Mt Goonaneman, however the rain curtailed those plans today. After waiting forlornly in the rain for awhile in the hope that it would blow through I eventually accepted reality, grabbed my pack and retraced my steps back down to the ute. The walk down was fairly uneventful although it was slippery - deciding not to climb higher was probably the right decision in hindsight.
Arriving on the summit I managed one photo before the rain got too heavy and I stashed the DSLR in it's dry bag.
I waited on the summit for twenty minutes or so hoping that the rain might blow through.
Dropping back down through the now wet scrub.
Being in Queensland I was still warm - even if I was soaking wet.
The Dirt.
According to my GPS I walked around 4.6 kilometres and climbed about 499 metres on what I'd call a medium grade walk. While the track is steep in spots it's never a scramble and it's mostly well defined. This is a walk I found on Alltrails although the walk on the App actually describes the track going to the slightly higher summit of Mt Goonaneman. There is a small picnic area at the car park with a shelter, tables and a water tank - I didn't notice a toilet though. I got through this walk with the Alltrails App along with my GPS topos - actually the hardest navigation was probably locating the start of the track.
Relevant Posts.
The track is a little overgrow in spots...
... and my gaiters weren't going to help me much here!
Back on the good track near the bottom of the mountain.
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