A last hike in the Grampians on a hot
day, way too hot to be walking uphill in the burning sun, but, we can
be stupidly stubborn sometimes. Chimney Pots is a big many tiered
rock buttress accessible off the Glenelg River Road. The track is
not where marked on the topographic map, but is actually about one
kilometre further east along a short spur road that parallels the
Glenelg River Road.
It all starts casually enough strolling
along a good trail, crossing a dry creek and then climbing gently
until you reach a junction where you can either circle Chimney Pots
in a clockwise or counter clockwise direction. We went clockwise,
which was really silly as we panted up the steep track in full sun
and came down in shade.
Heading clockwise, you bump along the
bottom of a cliff for a short distance and then climb steeply until
you crest a shoulder and traverse around the north side still
climbing. Another junction is reached and a short scrambly side trip
leads out to a fine viewpoint on a big prow of rock just below the
final cliffs of the Chimney Pots. It was interesting to see Mount
Abrupt and Mount Sturgeon, both of which I had walked up from this
angle and there are many interesting rock outcrops on the hillside
north of Chimney Pots.
Back at the junction, the track climbs
a short distance to crest the ridge and then heads downhill through a
shady, green and very pretty valley to the main track.
Viewpoint at Chimney Pots
No comments:
Post a Comment