Black Hill Reserve Walk - May 2020

There are some nice water features on the Circuit Track.

Back at the beginning of 2015 lightening strikes started a bushfire that pretty well wiped out the small Black Hill Reserve. Mr Fiasco walked up here in the immediate aftermath of the fire and while his post and photos were top shelf as usual, the park itself was still looking pretty second hand. Now if Mr Fiasco was struggling then I had no hope when it comes to knocking out something readable, so I decided to give Black Hill a miss for awhile. Anyway, after driving past this little park many, many times over the intervening years I finally decided to head in a check it out this afternoon.

There is plenty of parking at the start of the walk.

Black Hill Reserve is a small little park and I was pretty well planning on covering the lot of it this afternoon. After waiting for a light passing shower to scud through I jumped out of the ute, grabbed my pack and set off to explore a little. First off today I walked a short track, imaginatively titled the Revegetated Track. I was using some of Mr Chapman's notes and map today and he suggested that this track was a little faint and hard to follow, so with him being the master of bushwalking understatement I expected to be basically off piste along this bit of the walk. Happily for me I found a nice grassy track that was simple to follow,  and after all our recent rain there was even a couple of decent water features to check out.

Revegetated Track heads off beside the boundary fence. 

Revegetated Track - and here I was thinking they were talking about the bush!

The bush along the Revegetated Track is recovering nicely from the bushfires.

Black Hill from the Revegetated Track - yes, it is a fairly small hill.

Revegetated Track skirts around this dam... we've had some good rain in the last few months.

Fifteen minutes or so after leaving the ute I climbed up to meet an old 4wd track, this track is called the Circuit Track and I now followed it back south towards the car park for a couple of minutes before I came to another track junction. I left the Circuit Track here and climbed up Ridge Track towards the summit of Black Hill. Now when I say that I climbed well I suppose that is factually correct however the climbing is pretty short and easy, I'm guessing a bit however I think that the climb from the car park to the summit was probably only 150 metres so it's not overly arduous. Before arriving at the summit I took a short side trip out to the north to check out the Northern Lookout with its views over rural farmland and vineyards and across to the distant Mt Alexander.

The view north west from the Northern Lookout.

Looking up towards the summit ridge of Black Hill from the Northern Lookout.

It must of bee a very hot bushfire that ripped through here - the bush on the ridge is still trying to recover.

Tearing myself away from the Northern Lookout I climbed a few minutes and once again dropped off the Ridge Track to check out the Eastern Lookout - judging by the nomenclature, Captain Obvious had something to do with naming these features I'm thinking. Eastern Lookout featured more big rocks and rural views, although the views along the ridge line towards Black Hill were mostly of scrappy regrowth. Leaving Eastern Lookout I rejoined Ridge Track and climbed up to the Black Hill summit, although to be honest I'm not too sure where the summit actually is, as the ridge itself is a bit of an undulating affair.

Climbing Ridge Track towards Eastern Lookout. There has been a lot of good work done rehabilitating this park.

Just before Eastern Lookout I dropped onto this big rock to check things out...it would probably make a nice spot for lunch on a good day.

Eastern Lookout

While I might of struggled to identify the walk's high point the summit ridge still made for a fairly pleasant walk this afternoon, the regrowth was still looking fairly scrappy however there was always the big rocks and rural views to keep me interested. After ten minutes or so Ridge Track started descending as I dropped back down to rejoin the Circuit Track. Once back on the Circuit Track I set off on my anti clockwise circumnavigation of Black Hill. To be honest I think that at least until the vegetation on the summit ridge grows back a bit more then the Circuit Track is the best walk in this little park.

The Ridge Track passes by numerous big granite boulders.

Ridge Track

Back down on Circuit Track... this was arguably the best walking of the day.

The Circuit Track stays fairly close to the boundary of Black Hill Reserve as it makes its way around the park. Initially most of my interest was in the rural views along with the occasional photogenic dam. Heading around the eastern side of the park I found myself passing through areas littered with huge granite boulders again, although with the occasional light shower passing through and a temperature in the very low teens than I wasn't really lingering.

Circuit Track water features.

Circuit Track.

Rural land and native bush views from Circuit Track.

After passing through an old gate and avoiding a couple of walking tracks climbing up towards Black Hill off to my left, I arrived at the the fence marking the northern extremities of the park. Once again navigation was pretty easy as I followed a walking track beside the fence line, this short section of the walk was actually a bit rougher than the rest of the walk had been as I once again passed by numerous big boulders. After ten minutes or so of rougher walking I picked up a 4wd track again and shortly afterwards met the end of my earlier route, the Revegetated Track. After passing by the start of Ridge Track off to my left I ambled the last few minutes along the Circuit Track back to the ute... it was time to head home.

Circuit Track.

I eventually reached this fence line at the northern extremities of the park.

I got some long range views north towards Mt Alexander from some granite outcrops along the northern boundary.

The Dirt.
I've got to be honest here Black Hill Reserve is still nowhere near back to it's pre bushfire best I don't think. While it's still a nice spot to visit the scrappy regrowth along the summit ridge still needs a couple more years to get back to it's best. Now while the summit ridge arguably wasn't at its best the Circuit Track is a good walk, with its mixture of native scrub, rural land, dams and big rocks it's a nice walk. I walked 6.7 kilometres today and climbed 186 metres on this easy walk according to my GPS. It looks like there is a Friends of Black Hill Reserve Group up here that does a power of work to keep this park looking good, the facilities and walking tracks are very good and they deserve a lot of credit I'm thinking. I used the notes and map out of the House of Chapman's book Day Walks Melbourne along with my GPS topo this afternoon.

Relevant Posts.
Cobaw Forest Walk, Cobaw State Forest, 2018.

Mt Alexander Walk, Mt Alexander Regional Park, 2018.

Arriving back at the car park on Circuit Track.

There are some good facilities at the start/end of this stroll....

... and also a good map.

First Arrow Camping Cave to Stirling Range Retreat, Stirling Ridge Walk, Stirling Ranges National Park - December 2011

Watching the sun setting on Ellen Peak from the Stirling Range Retreat tonight, once I'd finished the walk.

I woke up bright and early in my cave. Unfortunately my thermo rest had developed a leak overnight, still I had slept pretty good considering I'd spent most of the night lying on lumpy rock. With my next water source still an indeterminate distance away it meant that brekky was a couple of muesli bars washed down with a mouthful of warm water, however the view made up for the menu somewhat. Pulling on my boots I was feeling pretty stiff this morning after yesterdays effort, however I was pretty keen to try and finish the walk today as the weather was heating up.

I've just scrambled on the First Arrow summit. 

First up this morning I had to finish the climb over First Arrow, from the cave it was only a short scramble and I was on top. The descent into the saddle before Second Arrow was easy, the climb was fairly straight forward compared to the scramble up First Arrow. Once again, the descent off Second Arrow was a pleasant ramble down to the saddle before Third Arrow. From the saddle I had a short climb to the rock faces of Third Arrow, a tall chasm split the cliffs which was the ongoing route. Before climbing the chasm I followed the cliffs around to the south for 5 minutes and then climbed steeply up a gully to the only semi reliable water supply on the walk. High up in the gully there is a barrel which collects drips from the cliffs, conscious of the scarce supply I only used 1 litre, that would give me a little buffer, as I didn't expect to find any more on the walk.

The view west from Second Arrow over First Arrow to Isongereup Peak.

There is a barrel collecting rain water drops high up this chasm on the Third Arrow - back in the day it was the only semi reliable water along the length of the ridge. I'd check with the local ranger about the current situation if I was heading back now though.

After returning to my pack at the bottom of the chasm I climbed the central gully which deposited me onto the north side of Third Arrow where I was now fully exposed to the sun, and it was certainly heating up. The route then followed the cliffs, passing between east buttress and east pinnacle before meeting the summit ridge. The route from here down past Little Arrow and over the rounded summit of Bakers Knob was again easy walking, the actual summit of Bakers Knob is slightly to the south of the main pad. Basically I just headed for the saddle between Bakers Knob and Pyungoorup Peak making my way through the low scrub via the route of least resistance, once again there were a few spots along here where pitching a tent would be possible I guess.

My climbing gully that got me onto the eastern side of Third Arrow.

I was in the shade now for awhile.

Things were staring to get a bit warm now... it was around this spot where I decided I'd definitely  finish the walk today and not spend an extra night on the range.

On leaving the saddle the route got a lot rougher, I had to traverse the south side of the cliffs of Pyungoorup Peak. This involved trying to stay as close to the bottom of the cliffs as possible while manoeuvring around various topographical obstacles. The scrub was fairly anti social along the traverse and I managed to cut my hand on some sword grass which didn't improve my mood. Still, on the positive side I was now on the south side of the cliffs so at least I was in the shade. Just over half way along the traverse I passed a roomy cave which would make a good camp... providing there was no weather coming in from the south. After the cave there was a narrow section on grassy ledges with some fairly serious exposure to negotiate. Soon after the narrow ledges the route climbed up to the main ridge through some thick head high scrub to gain the ridge crest again.

The eastern end of the range is the most rugged section of the walk.

Once on the ridge it was an easy stroll down to the saddle before Ellen Peak. I now had a choice of climbing over Ellen Peak or traversing the cliffs on the north west side. The temperature was now well into the 30's and after taking stock of my water supplies I decided that it would be prudent to bypass Ellen Peak and traverse below the cliffs. The route stayed close to the cliffs, passing over rock ledges and through She Oak groves, eventually meeting the summit route on a spur leading down to the north east.

I decided to sidle the cliffs of Ellen Peak on the north side.

Ellen Peak still remains un finished business for me ... you've gotta have dreams!

The hard walking was pretty well over now although I still had a long way to go... first up I had to drop down to meet a 4wd track near that cleared land.

The challenging section of the walk was now over however I still had 17 kilometres to go in the heat of the afternoon. Initially the track heads steeply down to the south east before swinging south, then south west. My feet were giving me a hard time on the descent although I was able to take my mind off them a bit with the view as I headed down the spur. The further down I went the higher the vegetation got, near the top there was low heath and wild flowers, towards the bottom it was more Mallee scrub. After an hour I decided to break out my GPS for the first time on the walk, to see how far I had to go before I reached North East fire track... not far was what it told me. Sure enough, 10 minutes later I met the fire track.

Ellen Peak on the left... Isongerup Peak on the right... the Arrows are in the middle and Bluff Knoll is out of frame on the right.

Looking back up towards Ellen Peak.

Dropping lower down the scrub started to get higher.

I now had 13 kilometres to go, mostly along the North East Track, a management 4wd track that heads due west along the base of the range. It was now early afternoon and I wasn't really looking forward to my afternoons death march into the setting sun, changing into my walking shorts I resigned myself to a very hot and dusty afternoon trudging along a fire track. So it was with some disbelief that when I reached the first creek I found that not only was it flowing but there was a pool of water deep enough to soak in. I spent the next hour soaking in Woolaganup Creek, coming out only to grab something to eat or take a photo before slinking back into the welcoming embrace of the cool water.

I was looking for North East Track now.

The range was receding in the distance over my shoulder.

I've just come out on North East Track, all I had to do now was to turn left and keep trudging.

Suitably cooled and rehydrated it was still with some reluctance that I eventually had to leave Woolaganup Creek however I still had 12 kilometres to go. The hot fire track was hard on my feet, the small rocks felt like they were cooking my soles. The views to the south helped to keep my mind off the pain in my feet to some degree though and I was able to tick off all the peaks that I'd spent one and a half days crossing. Once again I found the GPS useful as it helped me break the fire track into bite size chunks. After 3 hours of weaving my way along the fire track looking for shade, I arrived back at Bluff Knoll Road, my walk back enlivened a bit by big mobs of Kangaroos and Emus grazing along the way. Just before arriving back at Bluff Knoll Road I crossed Ongarup Creek and once again found some flowing water, for a walk where I was really only hoping to find water at the barrel on the side of the Third Arrow I'd actually found water in 5 different spots... that was a real bonus.

Finding water in Woolaganup Creek was a real bonus this afternoon...

... and finding enough water to soak in was even better!

The walk was coming to an end now, I crossed Bluff Knoll road to the walkers registration booth and signed out, taking the obligatory 'after' photo as well. All that was left was to hobble along the bitumen road a bit, cross over Chester Pass road and head into the Stirling Range Retreat to pick up my car. After getting a cabin for the night I headed straight for the shower. That night I kicked back in the cabin, appreciating the cold water from the fridge and re-lived the walk through my photos. I love the euphoric feeling I get after I have pushed myself a bit on a walk and I slept well in the clean bed that night.

Back at Bluff Knoll Road my death march walk along North East Track has just finished.

The Dirt.

I walked 20 kilometres and climbed around 700 metres on today's hard walk. Over the two days of my Stirling Ridge Walk I walked 29 kilometres and climbed 1950 metres on what is a tough stroll. Water today was available at the barrel on the side of Third Arrow, Woolaganup and Ongarupo Creeks with the barrel on Third Arrow being the most reliable (check with the ranger before setting off). I really enjoyed The Stirling Ridge Walk although this is not a walk for the inexperienced. There are sections of good walking and fire track, but most of the time you will need to find a route through cliff lines and scrub, often without much sign of a traditional style of track. To complete this walk you need to be self sufficient, competent with navigation, and have a reasonable head for heights. Now although I tackled the walk in summer, it would be far more comfortable in Autumn or Spring, summer is only for the experienced and even then you have to get lucky and be flexible with the weather. It is also worth noting that a lot of parties take three days to complete this walk.

On this walk I carried a PLB and a GPS as well as a map and a compass, I used a Telstra mobile which had coverage most of the time (I was able to call my wife while relaxing in my cave). I carried 9 litres of water and had to ration it carefully, the surface water I found cannot be relied upon. I also wore old work clothes to protect me from the scratchy scrub and some canvas gardening gloves (which I wasn't wearing when I cut my hand on the sword grass). Depending on your confidence on steep ground some parties may need a length of rope for pack hauling around First Arrow (5 meters should be enough). I also used two sets of route notes for the walk, Bushwalking in Australia by John and Monica Chapman, and Mountain Walks in the Stirling Range by AT Morphet. Both these books are highly recommended.

The cabin at the Stirling Range Retreat was pretty basic but it did have a good shower, a clean bed and cool water in the fridge and that was all I really needed to make me happy tonight.

Before attempting this walk you need to get approval from the ranger in charge of The Stirling Range National Park. You can organise transport to and from the walk through the Stirling Range Retreat, and it is well worth spending a night or two there before or after the walk as the owners are extremely knowledgeable on the Stirling Ranges and they run a very friendly resort. Finally remember that these are my recollections of a walk that I did almost ten years ago so expect things to be a little different on the ground now.

Relevant Posts.

Bluff Knoll Carpark to First Arrow Camping Cave, Stirling Ranges National Park, 2011.

Sunset over the Stirling Ranges National Park, I'm looking forward to coming back here one day.