Mt Pearson and the 9M high rock you can see from space

After a friend showed me the 1:25,000 map of the Mt Pearson State Reserve and specifically a point about 1.2km from the Mt Pearson Trig marked as "prominent 9M high rock" by the map makers, I just had to go and investigate it. We organized a trip to the trig and to place a Geocache at the rock location so others can come here and enjoy this interesting and unusual feature.

The Geocache at the rock has detailed route information so there is no need to put it all in this blog entry as well. The day we walked it was very hot and even though we took heaps of water we had to ration it on the return trip. Once on the ridge lines you go up and down through several saddles and eventually reach the trig point after about 4km and 400M of climbing. Plenty of Southern Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea)  but only a few orchids in bloom.

The view is very restricted by trees but Binalong Bay beaches, houses and Grants Lagoon can be clearly seen from the trig high point. Be careful if you climb the trig as the pipe work is very loose and not to be relied upon to pull one selves up. By changing position a few times you could see Moulting Bay and some of the St Helens area. We stopped for lunch looking out to Binalong before retreating to a saddle / gully and starting the trip out to the rock.

Sharon decided to wait for me as the heat had taken a toll on her (and me). Off I went following the worst route I could have on the way over to the ridge and down to the rock. The rock is an impressive slab sitting upright on another rock slab. Pictures do not show the scale of it and you really need to stand next to it to appreciate it. After placing the Geocache and a few pictures I took a much better route back to Sharon but I was still very hot on my return. Sharon was asleep in the shade on a rock slab when I got back!

The return trip was uneventful as the majority of it is down hill. Two places require careful attention to go left instead of down the wrong spur. Both would be easily recoverable and one would meet up with the track at the other end anyway. Watch out for all the leaf litter, twigs and limbs that make walking slippery at times. The area was burnt a few years ago and it is still very evident in places but it has recovered well.

This may be a good walk to save up for winter or do it when more orchids are in bloom as there are many in the area at the right times of the year.