Tweet
Hi all. Being office junkies, my girlfriend and I decided to get our butts to the top of Mt Toolbranup in the Stirling Ranges located in Wa's deep dark South. First order of the day was to load the Prado. Took several goes to get things loaded in a manner that wasn't going to have us throwing the frying pan at each other each load up time. Last trip was a rush job on loading up and I tell you it was a monumental pain to load up each morning as the Prado load space descended into chaos. My frikkin toothbrush ended up in the Engel and I had old jocks under the drivers seat the entire trip. And I thought road kill smelled bad. :roll: Here's the final cut.
Sorry for the 2 megapixel phone camera images. The budget had to get cut somewhere and I don't particularly like being in photographs anyway. See if you can spot the 4.2 megapixel Canon images.... Bah... the camera phone is just as good!! :roll:
We rolled out of Perth around Midday on Saturday 24th Jan and took a leisurely drive down Albany highway. Laughed at the news reports of the choked up roads around Mandurah. "Poor fools" we thought. The traffic was light and whack job hoons at a minimum. There's plenty of passing lanes on Albany highway these days so tailgaters can soon get their speed fix and you can leave smoke-billowing Kombies far behind with a minimum of fuss. Take the Turn off to Cranbrook and keep rolling onto the Salt River Road which will lead you straight up behind the Stirling Ranges. You'll hit gravel after a couple of miles but the Prado can handle that I'd wager.
We stayed at Trio Park. A farmer has fenced off a few acres at the base of the Stirling Ranges right up by Mt Trio, hence the name. They've built hot showers, a campers kitchen and also a games room with a ping pong table in it! Trees are everywhere so you've got no trouble finding a good spot to set up camp. Here's the road in to Trio Park. The view tells you what you're in for. Pack Weetbix ok. Take it from us.
Set up camp and sit back to enjoy the twilight over the ranges.
Some of the facilities at Trio Park. The shower block. Very important for the ladies. Me, heck I'd just shoo the sheep away from the nearest trough and have a dip but seeing as there's showers about....
Campers Kitchen and the Gamesroom is there behind a flashy camper trailer. Hah! Gimme a tent any day!
Up next Morning and MT Toolbranup beckons! First, some breakfast in the bush. Like I said, damn 2 megapixel Camera Phone! :roll:
With Anticipation building, we set off for MT Toolbranup. MT Toolbranup is the Third highest peak in the Stirling Ranges but is the most difficult to climb. The top is pointed and rocky and creates a very striking view as you drive up to it. Of course, Bluff Knoll is the highest peak but is easily climbed by any old loony in Blundstone boots. Not for kids as there is a lot of scrambling up rock ledges and over large-bouldered scree slopes. An ominous sign lets you know you haven't gotten lost.
As you start the climb, the mountain peak begins to emerge through the tree tops and you realize just how much you've bitten off. Can you chew it??? Seeing your destination loom through the tree tops sorts the men from the boys. There is even a sign part way up basically saying "turn back here if you're a wimp" (Climb becomes difficult from here. Only fit people should go any further). We shouldered arms and battled past the sign trying not to think about it too much.
The sun was merciless! The mountain path filled with treachery! Two intrepid explorers emerged from the forest and gazed upon the mountain's colossal heights. They knew no fear. The mountain sensed defeat, for the explorers were indeed intrepid.
The climb up MT Toolbranup is considered the most difficult and it sure takes it out of you. You start bay walking up a fairly gentle slope through quite a good forested area. You need good footwear though as the path soon turns into loose stones which I think might punish sneakers a little. Steady is the order of the day and you'll make no trouble at all. After a good 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour you'll come to a section of largish scree slope boulders that you need to clamber over. You can't rush here because you'll come a cropper and end up headbutting something you'd really rather not. The trees begin to peter out as you get higher and you're greeted by some imposing cliff faces.
On the way up, don't forget to turn around occasionally to look back. Even the old Camera Phone liked this one.
Once you conquer the boulder scree section you come to the final ascent to the top. This involves quite steep trails and climbing up through washed out crevices in the cliff faces. None if it ever gets precarious but you do need to watch where you put your feet. We took a few rest stops in the last third of the climb because our office-climatised bodies began to protest a little at the constant steep slope climbing. Once you got in a rhythm though it was amazing just how long you could keep going before finding a nice shady ledge to park your behind for a while. If you get up past the scree slopes, for gods sake go all the way to the top! You really won't regret it. The view from the top is simply amazing.
That's Bluff Knoll there in the background with that sharpish peak jutting up into the sky.
You can see that we had quite a bit of haze in the air when we were there. That isn't uncommon in Summer apparently. A lot of it is dust I'd say due to the fact that you're smack in the middle of farming country in Summer time. After rain I'd say would be a good time to climb as the dust in the air would be quite a lot less. We were there in 2004 and went 1/2 way up Mt Trio and you could see that the top on the Mountain was jutting up into the clouds. Freaky stuff but how often do you climb up into the clouds?? This also happened to us at the Porongorups nearby. We walked to the top of one of the peaks there and found ourselves in a dense mist. Not much good for getting a view but I still remember it to this very day.
It took us about 2 and a 1/4 hours to climb to the top of Mt Toolbranup. It's not a big area up there. Maybe tennis court sized. Sat down and had some lunch up there and generally enjoyed the view. It was much easier going down again. Although we did end up with sore feet from the constant pressure you're putting on your toes by going down such a steep slope. Decent footwear! I can't say it enough. Leave the pluggers at home. All up we trundle'd back to the Prado in about 5 hours. That's with a lot of breaks and appreciating the view at the top a while. In all honestly the difficulty of the climb is overstated. You need some level of fitness sure. But if you take your time you'll be just fine. There are around 6 mountains you can Climb in the Stirling Ranges of all difficulties. We read online that many of the others simply don't have a track to the top which is either doable in one day or doesn't require some level of professional skill. The longest climb is Mt Magog which will take you 8 hours. We did that one last year and it is also very rewarding. Stock the fridge with a few coldies though eh. You'll be stuffed when you reach the car again. Unless you're an Ironman...
So here's a view of Mt Toolbranup from Stirling Drive, the scenic road that winds it's way through the Stirling Ranges.
The mark of a good photographer is finding the best places to stop and take photo's. The fact that there's nice shade here has nothing to do with it!!
Like I said. We had a ball there. It's perfect for people just want to get away from it all and leave the city far behind them. The only real issue is which frikkin peak to climb!
Sorry for the 2 megapixel phone camera images. The budget had to get cut somewhere and I don't particularly like being in photographs anyway. See if you can spot the 4.2 megapixel Canon images.... Bah... the camera phone is just as good!! :roll:
We rolled out of Perth around Midday on Saturday 24th Jan and took a leisurely drive down Albany highway. Laughed at the news reports of the choked up roads around Mandurah. "Poor fools" we thought. The traffic was light and whack job hoons at a minimum. There's plenty of passing lanes on Albany highway these days so tailgaters can soon get their speed fix and you can leave smoke-billowing Kombies far behind with a minimum of fuss. Take the Turn off to Cranbrook and keep rolling onto the Salt River Road which will lead you straight up behind the Stirling Ranges. You'll hit gravel after a couple of miles but the Prado can handle that I'd wager.
We stayed at Trio Park. A farmer has fenced off a few acres at the base of the Stirling Ranges right up by Mt Trio, hence the name. They've built hot showers, a campers kitchen and also a games room with a ping pong table in it! Trees are everywhere so you've got no trouble finding a good spot to set up camp. Here's the road in to Trio Park. The view tells you what you're in for. Pack Weetbix ok. Take it from us.
Set up camp and sit back to enjoy the twilight over the ranges.
Some of the facilities at Trio Park. The shower block. Very important for the ladies. Me, heck I'd just shoo the sheep away from the nearest trough and have a dip but seeing as there's showers about....
Campers Kitchen and the Gamesroom is there behind a flashy camper trailer. Hah! Gimme a tent any day!
Up next Morning and MT Toolbranup beckons! First, some breakfast in the bush. Like I said, damn 2 megapixel Camera Phone! :roll:
With Anticipation building, we set off for MT Toolbranup. MT Toolbranup is the Third highest peak in the Stirling Ranges but is the most difficult to climb. The top is pointed and rocky and creates a very striking view as you drive up to it. Of course, Bluff Knoll is the highest peak but is easily climbed by any old loony in Blundstone boots. Not for kids as there is a lot of scrambling up rock ledges and over large-bouldered scree slopes. An ominous sign lets you know you haven't gotten lost.
As you start the climb, the mountain peak begins to emerge through the tree tops and you realize just how much you've bitten off. Can you chew it??? Seeing your destination loom through the tree tops sorts the men from the boys. There is even a sign part way up basically saying "turn back here if you're a wimp" (Climb becomes difficult from here. Only fit people should go any further). We shouldered arms and battled past the sign trying not to think about it too much.
The sun was merciless! The mountain path filled with treachery! Two intrepid explorers emerged from the forest and gazed upon the mountain's colossal heights. They knew no fear. The mountain sensed defeat, for the explorers were indeed intrepid.
The climb up MT Toolbranup is considered the most difficult and it sure takes it out of you. You start bay walking up a fairly gentle slope through quite a good forested area. You need good footwear though as the path soon turns into loose stones which I think might punish sneakers a little. Steady is the order of the day and you'll make no trouble at all. After a good 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour you'll come to a section of largish scree slope boulders that you need to clamber over. You can't rush here because you'll come a cropper and end up headbutting something you'd really rather not. The trees begin to peter out as you get higher and you're greeted by some imposing cliff faces.
On the way up, don't forget to turn around occasionally to look back. Even the old Camera Phone liked this one.
Once you conquer the boulder scree section you come to the final ascent to the top. This involves quite steep trails and climbing up through washed out crevices in the cliff faces. None if it ever gets precarious but you do need to watch where you put your feet. We took a few rest stops in the last third of the climb because our office-climatised bodies began to protest a little at the constant steep slope climbing. Once you got in a rhythm though it was amazing just how long you could keep going before finding a nice shady ledge to park your behind for a while. If you get up past the scree slopes, for gods sake go all the way to the top! You really won't regret it. The view from the top is simply amazing.
That's Bluff Knoll there in the background with that sharpish peak jutting up into the sky.
You can see that we had quite a bit of haze in the air when we were there. That isn't uncommon in Summer apparently. A lot of it is dust I'd say due to the fact that you're smack in the middle of farming country in Summer time. After rain I'd say would be a good time to climb as the dust in the air would be quite a lot less. We were there in 2004 and went 1/2 way up Mt Trio and you could see that the top on the Mountain was jutting up into the clouds. Freaky stuff but how often do you climb up into the clouds?? This also happened to us at the Porongorups nearby. We walked to the top of one of the peaks there and found ourselves in a dense mist. Not much good for getting a view but I still remember it to this very day.
It took us about 2 and a 1/4 hours to climb to the top of Mt Toolbranup. It's not a big area up there. Maybe tennis court sized. Sat down and had some lunch up there and generally enjoyed the view. It was much easier going down again. Although we did end up with sore feet from the constant pressure you're putting on your toes by going down such a steep slope. Decent footwear! I can't say it enough. Leave the pluggers at home. All up we trundle'd back to the Prado in about 5 hours. That's with a lot of breaks and appreciating the view at the top a while. In all honestly the difficulty of the climb is overstated. You need some level of fitness sure. But if you take your time you'll be just fine. There are around 6 mountains you can Climb in the Stirling Ranges of all difficulties. We read online that many of the others simply don't have a track to the top which is either doable in one day or doesn't require some level of professional skill. The longest climb is Mt Magog which will take you 8 hours. We did that one last year and it is also very rewarding. Stock the fridge with a few coldies though eh. You'll be stuffed when you reach the car again. Unless you're an Ironman...
So here's a view of Mt Toolbranup from Stirling Drive, the scenic road that winds it's way through the Stirling Ranges.
The mark of a good photographer is finding the best places to stop and take photo's. The fact that there's nice shade here has nothing to do with it!!
Like I said. We had a ball there. It's perfect for people just want to get away from it all and leave the city far behind them. The only real issue is which frikkin peak to climb!
Snaga
Comment