28/7/2006 - Mount Barrow and Mount Barrow Falls
It's been a while since I last posted so this is not before time! The delay has been due to a reluctance to post without pictures. I don't have a permanent spot for my scanner at home and I have not found time to set it up and scan in some pics to go with my posts.
Enough of that! I'm going to post anyway. Maybe I'll add some pics later.
If you are new to my blog and you like pictures, please scroll down.
Last week, I drove to Mount Barrow while I was showing a corporate guest around a rainy and gloomy Tamar Valley. The only walking that the weather and our equipment permitted was a quick lap of the nature trail at the picnic area immediately below the mountain.
We drove to the car park at the top of the road and observed the driving rain and howling gale from inside the car before wending our way back down through the dozen or so hairpin bends. The picnic shelter and hang gliding launch ramp were just visible through the mist.
Previous visits to Mount Barrow have not been so bleak. On several occasions, I have climbed the steps from the car park to the buildings and transmission towers perched on the summit ridge. From here it is a short rock hop along the cliff tops to the summit.
The short ridgeline traverse is a great introduction to the decaying dolerite caps that adorn so many of Tasmania's highest peaks. Ice and snow in winter add to the fun and care must be taken to avoid the north facing cliffs that plunge away close at hand.
Clear weather offers uninterrupted views in every direction. Farmland and forestry operations dominate the middle distance with Launceston and the Tamar valley a little further away. On the horizon, the long, dark line of the Great Western Tiers leads the eye away to the distant Black Bluff and Mount Roland. Bass Strait is visible as are the numerous peaks of the northeast with the Ben Lomond massif brooding beyond the communications tower on South Barrow.
Below Mount Barrow are the Mount Barrow Falls. When I visited 15 years ago, this sizeable fall had no track to it. I accessed the falls via State Forest to the north as part of a mountain bike ride from Launceston.
I have since found the Mount Barrow Road runs through part of the Mount Barrow Falls State Reserve. This is well downstream from the falls so I am not sure whether a good access route exists from this direction. Theres room for more exploring another day!
Check back sometime. I have some photos of Barrow Falls and Mount Barrow. When I can get these photos and a working scanner in the same place at the same time, I will add some relevant pics.
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