Mount Barney (A washout)

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I've been feeling the 'daily grind' quite a lot lately. Upcoming commitments and expenses (including my own wedding) mean little scope for travel this year and while this is an exciting time in itself, I still yearn to get away from the city from time to time and reconnect with nature.

So early on Friday morning I drove the 2hrs to Mount Barney National Park, planning to hike up the mountain (via the rather stylishly-named mezzanine ridge) and spend a night at (near) the summit before returning on Saturday. A sort of mini-adventure to recharge the spirit I guess. So off I went, driving into clearing skies after a week of patchy rain, and things were looking good.

Leaving the car at the Yellow Pinch area, I set off along the fire-road to the south side of the mountain. I've never been up Mezzanine ridge before but I had a hastily-printed route description and the not-very-helpful parks map in case I couldn't find it. It's nice walk along Cronan creek, around the base of the South-East ridge and I took my time, enjoying the feeling of just being out in the forest - seemingly the only hiker out on a Friday morning.

Following the trail for the South ridge, the hill gets steeper and eventually the road becomes a single-track, in this season almost overgrown with lush foliage. The mountain isn't so popular in the Summer due to the heat so I guess the route hadn't had much traffic recently. As I walked, the skies darkened and a few light showers washed over me. Then it started raining properly. This was an issue for me as the mezzanine route includes - features, actually - at least one section of steep, exposed knife-edge scrambling which I wasn't too keen to do in the wet. Not knowing what the weather would do I played it safe and continued up the less exposed South ridge (peasants ridge) instead. And up, and up and up. It felt good to be in motion - breathing heavily but enjoying the workout as I hauled my overnight pack up winding trail, rough-hewn rock steps and the occasional rock slabs.

So showers had given way to rains, which in turn gave way to storms. By the time I was 1/2 way up the mountain I was soaked through - boots and all. Still - I had wanted an adventure right? I continued into the now raging tempest to a point about 4hrs into the hike where I stopped to eat. Huddled under what little protection there was, I considered the situation. Yes, I was after a remote camping experience but did I really feel like enduring a (potentially) cold, wet night alone in the tent?

Not really...

I argued the point with myself and eventually decided to retreat. And with the decision made, I wasted no time in charging back down the mountain... for about 30 minutes when I noticed that the sky was clearing again.

Of course it was.

Again with the indecisiveness. I sat and waited, thinking it over. I might be missing amazing clear night skies, an equally gorgeous sunrise... or a miserable night followed by a hasty retreat at dawn. No way to tell what the weather will do, so what other factors are at play here? Well I was starting to tire, for one.

And that was it - the thought of now retracing my steps back up the mountain (including several slippery slabby sections) was more than I could take. I continued my descent, arriving back at the creek after about an hour. Pausing to sit on a log, I made the horrific discovery that my legs were covered in that most loathsome of creatures - leeches.

No, not just leeches, leeches. Surely some of the vilest, most disconcerting beings in existence. 9 of them, that I could find. Overcoming my revulsion, I peeled them off one by one with a pocketknife blade and flung them as far from me as possible. I then proceeded to move off at an accelerated pace - stopping only once I was outside the forest and beyond the reach of those sickening little things.

By the way, I don't like leeches.

I stopped to lie in the grass as the sun came out again, bringing peace and tranquility to the area and my heart. It occurred to me that I would have been at the summit now, had I not turned back. It was therefore with smug satisfaction that I glanced up and noted that the peak was still swathed in cloud - just a few miles and a world away from my sunlit field. The moment was short-lived however and I was soon moved along by the relentless showers racing up from the south. I hauled myself out to the car park, congratulated myself on having prepared a change of clothes in the boot and drove off into the clear blue skies to the north.

So I can't exactly call this mission a success. I think it's important to take what you can from these things though, especially when putting yourself at the mercy of nature - I mean, what can you do really? It was an adventure - cut short, but an adventure none the less. And it put the fire in me for a repeat attempt - though I think I'll pay closer attention to what the weather is doing next time...

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Photos

Mount Barney
With a clear summit! SE ridge is on the left and Logans ridge on the right.

Driving
Driving into Mt Barney National Park.

Stream
Stream crossing on the road in.

Warning
"Climatic changes are common".

Narrow Trail
Lush rain forest on the lower half of the mountain.

Mushroom
I didn't try to eat this.

Action shot
Mini-tripod selfie in between showers.

Rock 1
Short sections of rock scrambling make the route interesting.

Slick Rock
Not so great in the wet. Some thoughtful soul has fixed a knotted static rope down this section.

Disgustipating
No need to say anything.

Blue Skies
Fine weather on my retreat, adding insult to injury.

Barney Panorama
On the way home I stopped by the aptly-named 'Barney View Rd'.