On the second day of our Striling Ranges Hiking Trip we decided to climb Toolbrunup Peak. My friend Curtis had warned us that Mt Magog was incredibly steep so we decided to go for the easier one of the two. To say were were given bad information was an understatement.
Before we set off however, I made sure to take some photos of the ranges from our accommodation. It was bloody cold at sunrise, running around, getting ready as quick as I could whilst also taking lost of photos.
By 9:30am, we had parked up and started the climb up Toolbrunup. It’s started pretty tame but became a little rocky and steep at times, but definitely manageable. It was pretty cold, so the big coat was out, but I had the foresight not to bring the big bag and stuck to just the hydration bag. Took the DSLR because, the phone just doesn’t do the job! It was pretty cloudy and the gravel soon turned into smaller rocks and boulders, but we were were treated to some good views pretty early on, plus the mountain was all ours! Good job too, because it later turned out that we needed the headstart!
Then suddenly the path stopped and we were faced with a wall of rocks. It felt almost vertical, but I am exaggerating. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t intimidated by the climb, and will admit that several times up the climb we discussed not bothering. It was cold, every surface was wet and slippery and visibility wasn’t fantastic. Going up hill was one this but going down was another challenge we were anticipating. Thankfully it was one long climb, it was separated into segments, but they weren’t short, and the breaks in between the rocky climbs were replaced to muddy slopes. We came close to quitting on one very slippery muddy slope, but of course out of no-where a hiker walked past us and made it look much too easy. We had to keep going, but a lot of the climb required us to use both hands and feet. Unfortunately, Rebecca's phone quit by throwing itself onto a rock.
We managed to reach the top in just over 2 hours, having climbed 556m to a total elevation of 978m. The top was spacious enough to walk around on. Full disclosure, there was an even higher skinnier section which we didn’t attempt. Maybe next time! I was happy with what we had achieved though. Toughest climb I’ve ever done.
Once we decided to go back down, droves of hikers started arriving. Clearly people who climb the mountain completely unfazed, dressed in just t-shirt and shorts.
It was a bloody good hike and well deserving of the Level 5 (out of 6) difficulty rating. A Level 6 usually involves actual climbing equipment and ropes.
After the hike we drove west onto the dirt track with the intention of climbing the short central lookout hill. Surprisingly steep in places, but easy enough to climb. The drive there was much harder with the many natural rumble strips that were present on the entire stretch of the road.
Once done, we had a quick stop at the western lookout – not nearly as impressive as the central lookout, and then drove further west, joined the Albany Highway and drove home – with one stop for alpaca.
