Mt Cougal epic fail

I was intending to write a post about this, but somehow I got preoccupied over the last couple of weeks with a small matter of three broken bones and a 12 hour concussion. A few weeks ago (five days before the crash actually) a friend and I decided to attempt a climb of Mt Cougal. Getting to the start was easy enough, a simple ride up Tomewin to the end of Garden of Eden Road (plenty of pictures from this section in the archives), but the rough walking track to the summit of Mt Cougal would be a different matter.







It started with a steep climb through some dense forest with nothing to grab hold of except a barbed-wire fence -- then we were walking through giant cane grass. Eventually, however, the views opened up toward Mt Warning and the Tweed Valley, and Mt Cougal. This was a particularly pleasant and easy stretch. Here the fence proved a beacon, leading us along the ridge. Stray too far from it and the long grass could obscure a long, fast descent.







The track returned to the forest for another steep climb, but this one was a little wider than the earlier one, and thus quite a bit easier to navigate. The cool, dry conditions meant there were no leeches to feed. Personally, I quite enjoy these sections, where the rainforest canopy above makes the whole area feel like a giant cathedral. We also had fun trying to guess the location of the side track that apparently leads to Boyds Butte -- another peak on the range, but one considerbly less dramatic than the cougals.



We eventually made our way to the top of this section, and the end of the fence. All that was left was the final rocky scramble to the summit of Mt Cougal. The only problem was the information we had gathered on this section didn't really tell us very much. There is, by all accounts, a section of the final rock scramble that is quite passable, but somehow we missed it. We spent probably two hours wandering around the base of the rock, but we simply didn't find what we were looking for. With the short days, we eventually decided to call it a day here and walk home, with the intention of being off the track before dark.





The walk back was pleasant, and a lot quicker than the walk out, given that most of it was downhill. Frustration at missing the peak soon gave way to simply enjoying the surrounds. The only minor moment of embarrassment came when we bumped into a Canadian guy who had done the walk, and told us that there was an easy way up the final rock scramble, but we had somehow missed it! We did vow to one day return and finish the hike, although personally I think the views we did see at the end of the fence were just as good as we would have got at the Cougal summit.

Unfortunately, my crash and the resulting injuries have put paid to the plans in the foreseeable future, but the dry season here runs until October. There may be a chance to crest this summit once more in the future.