Travis22
28-06-2009, 10:45 PM
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Mt Terrible Trip Report:
Like all best laid plans hashed out at the last second, Michelle and I were off for a little day trip with no maps and a GPS full of Waypoints that would be helpful to us, should we be heading out to, oh…….. INNAMINCKA!
Bloody hell! It wasn’t the best start to the morning. We had set the alarm clock for 7am and hoped to be on the road by 8am – not early by any means, but it is Sunday!
Having prepared only with the aid of some maps on the internet and a few well placed Waypoints on the GPS, we were set for a great day in the bush.
However, when I finished loading the waypoints onto the GPS, the battery died. The fresh batteries were out in the garage and I wasn’t going out there until we were getting in the car to go (House locked, alarm on and computer long switched off!). So, while waiting for the engine to warm up,w I put a couple of new batteries into the GPS only to find my newly created waypoints were nowhere to be found and the entire set created for our Strzelecki trip still safe and sound and of absolutely no use to us today! Sh!t happens…
Out of the garage and around a few corners we were soon enveloped by heavy fog but little to no traffic, which is always nice, specially when driving a car that takes 2 whole minutes to reach 60km/h from a standing start (haha!).
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3402/3668139784_b67af08dba_o.jpg
Not one to be put off by the lack of maps or Waypoints guiding the way, I was confident in making it at least half way to my proposed goal for the day. This is the summit of Mt Terrible.
Living about half way between Phillip Island and Reefton Spur is a good thing when you enjoy the twisties on 2 wheels, and for today knowing the back roads to Reefton would come in handy given the lack of maps.
For kicks I thought id do a little ‘timed’ run of the Spur – an idea that bought much ridicule from Michelle. "You’ll still squeal" I promptly replied!
Like an eagle stalking its prey I watched the second hand on my Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified Timepiece (ok… my wrist watch!) and on the 12 marker we were off and racing haha.
16.5 minutes, with 2 photo stops isn’t exactly sporting (Be kind, the girl is 31years young) But she was able to make Michelle squeal once or twice!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3561/3667344697_7b41c79306_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2434/3667345127_582a38f726_o.jpg
Approaching Cumberland Junction the Spur was extremely damp and fog was always around the next corner. Michelle had not yet seen the area after the recent fires so it was sobering once more remembering what had gone through the area.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3667345435_557af6b091_o.jpg
Pushing on we were heading into mostly unexplored territory for the both of us. With the tyres still at blacktop pressures, and running 2WD I was surprised how smooth the Warburton - Woods Point Road was (Most have been the recent drive down the Old Strzelecki that’s given me a new perspective smooth and rough), it was however, very damp and loose in some places.
Not really knowing what to expect, or how far we would actually go, I finally decided to pull over at ‘Montys Hut’ to air down the tyres and turn on the GPS because I just love looking at the black and white 1” X 2” screen and trying to actually plan a route off!
Back on the road we were now travelling on 28PSI pillows of luxury when out of the blue, the Blacktop reappeared in front of us and the fog disappeared. What the hell, this was not what I was expecting and where’s my SNOW!!! We were now at Fehring Clearing… Nice enough spot for a quick photo so here it is:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/3667345795_ab14b84d29_o.jpg
Thankfully the Blacktop stopped just as quickly as it had reappeared and we were back in the dirt and there was even a little bit of blue in the sky. However outside of the warm old girl it was bloody freezing. I couldn’t believe there was no snow around, though it was obvious there had been a good covering recently.
Next up was The Oaks, another nice enough spot for a lunch break. There is a largish rock with a plaque on it beside the road and a few tracks heading off into the forest. We didn’t stop long enough to read the whole plaque, though it did seem rather interesting (ok I didn’t read it all, i'm sure Michelle did while I was taking another photo!) It was at this point I was starting to ponder heading into the forest, and the track conditions.
While stopped I also took the chance to scan through the map on our GPS and although I couldn’t remember the track names (there’s bloody hundreds in this area!) I was able to remember distinct shapes/paths and directions of the tracks I wanted to take into Mt Terrible. With a little squinting, I was finally able to recognise a few tracks on the GPS, and I quickly placed a few waypoints on them because I knew if I lost them I'd never find them again… Once again, planning a trip / route on an old GPS with a TINY black and white screen is not recommended at all and something I generally avoid at all costs.
Reaching Mt Terrible was still far from a given. We had yet leave the safety and security of the Warburton- Woods Point road, let alone come across tracks to Mount Matlock, and with the heavy fog it could easily be missed.
Pushing on, we rounded one corner in particular that looked well bloody spectacular! Was a fantastic place for a ‘pit stop’ and a couple of photos. The whole area has been HEAVILY worked over during the last fire season and the evidence is there for all to see.
Some people might enjoy looking at a giant communications tower but I was simply awe struck by my surroundings here. I guess the combination of the light conditions together with the fog throughout the area made for a magical atmosphere, and believe me, the photos do not do the scale of the work here any justice. We all know how much flatter steep hills can often look in photos!
FYI - Mt Terrible is located roughly in the center of this trip, located just below and a little to the east of Lake Eildon. To access Mt Terrible you could come from either 'above' (Mansfield) or 'below' (Reefton etc). All in all, the "LOOP" is approx 500km in distance. Their are other options, like cutting across under Lake Eildon and coming down the Maroondah Hwy as opposed to the Melba when coming from Mansfield, timewise id say its much of a muchness!
I guess you could say its about 2ish hours drive from Melbourne to either end to start the 4x4ing. Not bad at all if you ask me!
Pushing on, we rounded one corner in particular that looked well bloody spectacular! Was a fantastic place for a ‘pit stop’ and a couple of photos. The whole area has been HEAVILY worked over during the last fire season and the evidence is there for all to see.
Some people might enjoy looking at a giant communications tower but I was simply awe struck by my surroundings here. I guess the combination of the light conditions together with the fog throughout the area made for a magical atmosphere, and believe me, the photos do not do the scale of the work here any justice. We all know how much flatter steep hills can often look in photos!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2552/3668152348_162eb6e2ef_o.jpg
Mt Terrible Trip Report:
Like all best laid plans hashed out at the last second, Michelle and I were off for a little day trip with no maps and a GPS full of Waypoints that would be helpful to us, should we be heading out to, oh…….. INNAMINCKA!
Bloody hell! It wasn’t the best start to the morning. We had set the alarm clock for 7am and hoped to be on the road by 8am – not early by any means, but it is Sunday!
Having prepared only with the aid of some maps on the internet and a few well placed Waypoints on the GPS, we were set for a great day in the bush.
However, when I finished loading the waypoints onto the GPS, the battery died. The fresh batteries were out in the garage and I wasn’t going out there until we were getting in the car to go (House locked, alarm on and computer long switched off!). So, while waiting for the engine to warm up,w I put a couple of new batteries into the GPS only to find my newly created waypoints were nowhere to be found and the entire set created for our Strzelecki trip still safe and sound and of absolutely no use to us today! Sh!t happens…
Out of the garage and around a few corners we were soon enveloped by heavy fog but little to no traffic, which is always nice, specially when driving a car that takes 2 whole minutes to reach 60km/h from a standing start (haha!).
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3402/3668139784_b67af08dba_o.jpg
Not one to be put off by the lack of maps or Waypoints guiding the way, I was confident in making it at least half way to my proposed goal for the day. This is the summit of Mt Terrible.
Living about half way between Phillip Island and Reefton Spur is a good thing when you enjoy the twisties on 2 wheels, and for today knowing the back roads to Reefton would come in handy given the lack of maps.
For kicks I thought id do a little ‘timed’ run of the Spur – an idea that bought much ridicule from Michelle. "You’ll still squeal" I promptly replied!
Like an eagle stalking its prey I watched the second hand on my Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified Timepiece (ok… my wrist watch!) and on the 12 marker we were off and racing haha.
16.5 minutes, with 2 photo stops isn’t exactly sporting (Be kind, the girl is 31years young) But she was able to make Michelle squeal once or twice!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3561/3667344697_7b41c79306_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2434/3667345127_582a38f726_o.jpg
Approaching Cumberland Junction the Spur was extremely damp and fog was always around the next corner. Michelle had not yet seen the area after the recent fires so it was sobering once more remembering what had gone through the area.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3667345435_557af6b091_o.jpg
Pushing on we were heading into mostly unexplored territory for the both of us. With the tyres still at blacktop pressures, and running 2WD I was surprised how smooth the Warburton - Woods Point Road was (Most have been the recent drive down the Old Strzelecki that’s given me a new perspective smooth and rough), it was however, very damp and loose in some places.
Not really knowing what to expect, or how far we would actually go, I finally decided to pull over at ‘Montys Hut’ to air down the tyres and turn on the GPS because I just love looking at the black and white 1” X 2” screen and trying to actually plan a route off!
Back on the road we were now travelling on 28PSI pillows of luxury when out of the blue, the Blacktop reappeared in front of us and the fog disappeared. What the hell, this was not what I was expecting and where’s my SNOW!!! We were now at Fehring Clearing… Nice enough spot for a quick photo so here it is:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3382/3667345795_ab14b84d29_o.jpg
Thankfully the Blacktop stopped just as quickly as it had reappeared and we were back in the dirt and there was even a little bit of blue in the sky. However outside of the warm old girl it was bloody freezing. I couldn’t believe there was no snow around, though it was obvious there had been a good covering recently.
Next up was The Oaks, another nice enough spot for a lunch break. There is a largish rock with a plaque on it beside the road and a few tracks heading off into the forest. We didn’t stop long enough to read the whole plaque, though it did seem rather interesting (ok I didn’t read it all, i'm sure Michelle did while I was taking another photo!) It was at this point I was starting to ponder heading into the forest, and the track conditions.
While stopped I also took the chance to scan through the map on our GPS and although I couldn’t remember the track names (there’s bloody hundreds in this area!) I was able to remember distinct shapes/paths and directions of the tracks I wanted to take into Mt Terrible. With a little squinting, I was finally able to recognise a few tracks on the GPS, and I quickly placed a few waypoints on them because I knew if I lost them I'd never find them again… Once again, planning a trip / route on an old GPS with a TINY black and white screen is not recommended at all and something I generally avoid at all costs.
Reaching Mt Terrible was still far from a given. We had yet leave the safety and security of the Warburton- Woods Point road, let alone come across tracks to Mount Matlock, and with the heavy fog it could easily be missed.
Pushing on, we rounded one corner in particular that looked well bloody spectacular! Was a fantastic place for a ‘pit stop’ and a couple of photos. The whole area has been HEAVILY worked over during the last fire season and the evidence is there for all to see.
Some people might enjoy looking at a giant communications tower but I was simply awe struck by my surroundings here. I guess the combination of the light conditions together with the fog throughout the area made for a magical atmosphere, and believe me, the photos do not do the scale of the work here any justice. We all know how much flatter steep hills can often look in photos!
FYI - Mt Terrible is located roughly in the center of this trip, located just below and a little to the east of Lake Eildon. To access Mt Terrible you could come from either 'above' (Mansfield) or 'below' (Reefton etc). All in all, the "LOOP" is approx 500km in distance. Their are other options, like cutting across under Lake Eildon and coming down the Maroondah Hwy as opposed to the Melba when coming from Mansfield, timewise id say its much of a muchness!
I guess you could say its about 2ish hours drive from Melbourne to either end to start the 4x4ing. Not bad at all if you ask me!
Pushing on, we rounded one corner in particular that looked well bloody spectacular! Was a fantastic place for a ‘pit stop’ and a couple of photos. The whole area has been HEAVILY worked over during the last fire season and the evidence is there for all to see.
Some people might enjoy looking at a giant communications tower but I was simply awe struck by my surroundings here. I guess the combination of the light conditions together with the fog throughout the area made for a magical atmosphere, and believe me, the photos do not do the scale of the work here any justice. We all know how much flatter steep hills can often look in photos!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2552/3668152348_162eb6e2ef_o.jpg