10. Lerderderg Track Stage Four 2017 14.5km
U3A Hike No 10
It was generally agreed that today’s section of the Lerderderg Track, from Blackwood to O’Briens Rd./Gribbles Track, was the most picturesque so far. Most of the route followed a former water race, situated above the Lerderderg River, that afforded views into the narrow river valley, onto stony river beaches and rocky river courses, and over ferny gullies guarded by tall, straight eucalypts.
The section might also be described as the ‘squiggly section’. Following a water race that ever so gently descended through contour lines meant that the track followed numerous tributary valleys, crossed the tributary at a sharp U-turn only then to return to the main valley. At times it was possible for the leaders of the fifteen-strong party, going in one direction, to chat comfortably with the tail enders, yet to get to the U-turn and travelling in the opposite direction, across a steep valley but less than ten metres away. In places the track was quite narrow with a steep slope on one side and occasionally the remains of the water race on the other side. Other items of interest included flora and fauna, springs, log cabins and long deserted evidence of gold mining.
Discussions included the humidity, the diminishing threat of rain, whether or not the Lerderderg River at this stage should be called a creek, and participation in a forthcoming naked bushwalking day.
The final few kilometres along forest roads involved an overall ascent of 100 metres, in steep up and down hill stages. In effect, the route climbed out of the river valley.
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