Hiking - 2021 02 - Steamers (Main Range NP)

Distance: 13.5km

Temp: 32°c Max, 18°c min

My cousin was interested in doing some hiking so I helped him toss around a few ideas before we settled on Rat-a-Tat in Lamington. 5 bodies all keen and ready to go, until heavy rain 3 weeks prior to the hike closed many of the trails there...  We came up with the Steamers hike as a back up plan despite it being a tad more difficult.  

Day 1: https://www.strava.com/activities/4863136564

With only a short day planned we had a late start and met for lunch before getting to the trail head. It was closer to 2pm before we actually set off. The first 2 km were fairly easy following along an old fire trail, even though some of it was a decent incline. Plenty of cobblers pegs to latch onto clothing as well.  

There had been a fire through here not too long ago and as soon as we turned off the road it was significantly harder. The trail was overgrown with weeds towering over my head. Pushing through thick green scrub in 75% humidity built up the sweat and drained energy fast.  Some plants sharper than others...  

Pace slowed to a crawl on some sections with regular breaks and trying to re-acquire the trail after it disappeared under weeds or a fallen tree. When we reached the top of the ridge I thought it would have been easier but we traded the weeds for Gympie Gympie and stinging nettle. I got hit at least two dozen times.  

Photo by Aaron. That's a lot of Ouchie!

Persevering through we made it to a rainforest section with a lot more open understory and much easier going, albeit steep incline again. Near the top the Aussie scrub broke through again and welcomed us with a grove of Grass Trees.  

From there, and a beautiful view just beyond, we made it to the Steamers Saddle camp. A nice open spot, suitable for 5 hiking tents, 6-7 if you squeeze. With very reliable fresh water just 250m east.  

With the late start we did get into camp a little late but plenty of light to setup and cook dinner. Just dark enough for the torch as I was finishing up eating. We stayed up and chatted (and reduced some pack weight by consuming some port and scotch... ) for a while but were all ready to turn into bed by about 8pm.  

Day 2: https://www.strava.com/activities/4863136411

We had a fairly relaxed morning pack up in camp, letting things dry a little after last nights rain. There were a bunch of Red Triangle slugs about who obviously enjoyed the small shower.  

Before long though we were setting off up to the summit of Mt Steamer. Straight from camp we started the ~260m climb. With a goat trail most of the way it was easier than the hills yesterday, but the soil was damp and rocks were slippery. Just as we reached the top, as luck often has it, a cloud rolled in and obscured our view..  Plenty of Wildflowers along the way though.  

Never mind though, off we went again. Following on a thin ridge line before starting the descent down to the stern. Rainforest scrub here, once again spotted with stinging nettle and Gympie Gympie. Luckily there was a distinct lack of Lawyer Vine ("Wait-a-while") though. A few small rock Cairns letting us know we were on the right path and eventually we made the Stern.   

We ditched the packs at the junction and made our way to probably one of the most scenic lookouts in SE-QLD. Often a bucket list hike for many Brisbane Bushwalkers. The Steamer Ranges. You sit on the Stern and look out over the Mast, Funnel and Prow. Definitely a great view and a nice relaxing spot to sit just feeling the wind blow by.  

Photo by Mike

With the Sun starting to beat down it was time to return to our packs and finish off the hike. As soon as you step off the Stern ridge it's loose dirt/rocks and big steps down. You follow along the base of the cliff mostly and only deviate for short stints before linking back up with it. It's not very far, but it definitely feels it.  

We then passed the Mast, mostly the same again and met the rise up to the Funnel. There was some opportune (or so we thought...) Flagging tape marking 'the trail' down back to Steamer creek so we took a punt and followed it. There was no trail. Waiting through long grass, down a steep slope with the occasional hidden stinging nettle... I got hit a few more times. We decided to traverse over to where we though the actual trail was, through two gullies and lots more long grass. Hot, muggy work. At least we got some light rain about 1/2 way down to cool us off.... 

Eventually we made back to the creek and were on the fire trail out. Just past the NP gate, about 1pm, were 2 keen hikers who apparently spent the day looking for the trail head. They asked it how long it took us and if they had enough time to duck up in the afternoon. We suggested they might want to start fresh another day....  

After the ~7 creek crossings to get out we were back on the bitumen. A quick sit down and Schooner + some chips at the pub in Yangan and then we set off home. 

Hiking – 2015 12 19 – Mt Barney

After doing a day trip to the East Peak many many years ago an overnight hike up Mt Barney, hitting both East and West and camping in the Rum Jungle, has been on my todo list for a long time. The weekend of the 19th, with the company of my brother, I was finally able to tick it off.

Quick Stats;
Full Album - Imgur
(Base) Pack Weight - 6.5kg
Distance - 16.3km
Elevation Gain - 1,319m
Total Moving time - 13hrs
Ticks - 1
Leeches - 2 (only 1 latched on)

Day 1
Despite wanting to start during the cool of the morning I slept in and in the end we only left home at about 7:15. By 9:20 we had our shoes and packs on and were just about to head off. Before we had a chance to lock the car there was a hiker just finishing up her own overnight hike. Chatted a bit about conditions and she let us know that the creek near Rum Jungle was flowing pretty well. This was good news as it allowed me to ditch a little water, as I could filter more at the top.

Thomas had recently bought a new pack (Osprey Exos) so we were only about 1km into the trek before we started making a few micro-adjustments to straps to make it sit better. Getting a pack fitted in a store is great, but until you have hiked a bit in it with a full load, you'll likely never get it quite right. Not too far after, we passed the National Park sign with a good view of the East peak behind it.

Not too long after the sign we passed Cronan creek camping spots, pulling into #10 to make some final adjustments to Thomas' pack. It's a really nice spot here, close easy walk from the car park. Would make a really good 'introduction to Hiking' spot I think if anyone is keen to give it a go, but not ready to take on a big challenge. Another few hundred meters and we reached the turn for the South 'Pheasants' Ridge and begun our ascent.

By 11:30 I was more than ready to stop for lunch. We found a nice little shady spot at around the 690m elevation mark. Muesli bars and Beef Jerky for me. Easy, tasty, quick, light. Before too long we re-commenced our climb, only ~430m up to go! As we were nearing the saddle we passed a group of 4 heading down. They had come up the South-East ridge this morning, over East peak and were happy to be making their decent.

Some bits on the trek up were steeper than others. A few sections required what I would call almost climbing, but most was a scramble at best.

We arrived to an empty Rum Jungle just before 2pm (4.5 hours from the carpark), dropped our packs and explored the area a little. Relatively clean site, considering. Some rubbish around, which was disappointing, but not much. We headed down to the creek (~200m north of Rum Jungle) then followed it upstream for a little while to get some good water to filter. I use a Platypus Gravity filter, which filled our containers pretty quickly. A few people suggest drinking from clear flowing creeks near the tops of mountains is safe... but for the minimal effort it takes to filter (especially as people would 'tend to nature' at the peak) this hiker suggest you always filter. Even if it looks good.




After a quick afternoon snack we were about to set off to the West peak. Thomas noticed a leech had attached but it dropped off fairly easy. Heat (Lighter/Match) or salt works really well if they're being stubborn. The track to the peak was a little hard to follow at times, finding an odd piece of flagging tape occasionally suggesting a route. Without packs we were travelling a little bit quicker! From the rum Jungle we had made it to the highest point on Mt Barney (1359m) in under 50min. Mostly covered in shrubs obstructing the view south, but North and West had a pretty good view, including parts of Maroon Dam.






Just under 35min to make it back down to camp. After setting up our tents and getting settled in the wind started to pick up a little and brought with it a nice cool breeze. I took the easy route for dinner this weekend and had a freeze dried meal, Spaghetti Bog. Thomas opted for noodles. We were cooking as the light was starting to fade. From our vantage point in the rainforest section it was starting to get pretty dark, but looking up at the peaks it was still bright. Amazing how much light the different vegetation blocks out.

After dinner I ran my hand down my shin to feel an all too familiar pain (though I wish I didn't know it quite so well...) A Tick had latched on, just above my sock line. Quick tug with the tweezers (hint: Grab as close to your skin as possible and pull straight out) removed the little bugger, head and all. Directly after it was squished into a rock until it split into two. I hate ticks, but you have to expect them from time to time. There has been heaps of lizards darting off logs/rocks as we get close. Plenty of spider webs to push through and all the other usual animals. About 20m away from camp Thomas found a carpet python slithering through the undergrowth. It wasn't a real big one, just over a meter probably. Was happy to have a few pics taken before it moved on.




With the fading light and a pretty full day it wasn't long before we retired to our tents. Thomas dozed off soon after his head hit the pillow, I could tell by the fact that his snoring was adding to the ambiance of the other sounds of nature.....

Day2;
Sun was up by about 5:20 but I rolled over trying to sneak in a little bit of snooze time. I slept pretty well last night, was maybe a little hot in the bag... but too cold out of it. Waking a few times but falling asleep again fairly quickly. We took our time once again in the morning (I need a good 4-5 nights of camping before I become a morning person) but eventually walked out of camp just after 8am. First destination; East Peak.

With packs a lot lighter (2/3rds of the food eaten!) it only took about 1hr 15min to get to the summit of the East Peak. West peak, a few meters higher and after a full day of hiking was 25min faster to get up... Packs make quite the difference, even without food weight. It's not just the weight, but it's easier to maneuver, push through scrub, climb and hop across rocks etc etc.

Survey Marker East Peak

View (West to North) from East Peak

After a 30min break up the top we began our descent on the SE-Ridge. At one point we followed a 'kinda looks like the trail' path which had been worn, obviously worn by a few other people heading the wrong way... Where most other people would say we got lost,  I prefer to say that we were taking the scenic tour of Mt Barney that would be rarely seen by your average punter... After reconnecting with the trail I quickly remembered from my last time why the SE-Ridge is called Medium-Hard. A few places we had to take off our packs and pass them down as climbing down those sections was totally impractical otherwise.

After taking another short 'alternate route' about mid way down we arrived at the base trail by 1:45. From there it was just a short (~3k) walk back to the car. We considered also hitting Yellow Pinch... but decided to save something for next time...

All in all another great weekend hiking!

Lesson/Improvements for next time;
Find a better Bladder for my Dirty Water filter bag. - I've never really been happy with it (except the cost) as it was just an old bladder with a broken lid I retrofitted. The line-out points up, so the hose kinks a little restricting flow. Ok when full of water but could be improved.
Cord for Camera Pouch - To help keep water out if/when I'm caught in the rain.
Midnight snack - Suggestions? (I think dried fruit would be good)
Pillow Pouch - (Ask mum to) sew a pillow pouch into the sleeping bag hood. I usually just sit it in the hood but it's always been a little fiddly and my new pillow is a bit slippery compared to the old. Yes, Yes, I don't like sleeping on my spare clothes crammed into a stuff sack. Thanks for the suggestion (for the thousandth time.)