458. Frith Gully-Mt Misery Loop 11.4km

March 27, 2025

U3A Hike No 458

Hike Report By Terry Bowring

On a cool morning 16 enthusiastic hikers commence the Frith Gully-Mt Misery Circuit hike, in Enfield State Park, from Incolls Road near the corner of Misery Creek Road. We walked along Misery Creek Road for a short distance before turning onto a bush walking track.

Now it was predominately walking in single file.

This is where the real hike commenced along the narrow, dry, frequently rough and uneven, bush track through the gum forest. The track was along the side of the hills and gullies with some gullies being crossed. The track was rutted due to use by dirt bikes and several mine shafts were visible on both sides of the track.

By morning tea, jackets and jumpers were off as the temperature rose and a beautiful day emerged.

After morning tea, we arrived at Surface Point Picnic Area which contained a Chinese Pioneer

Memorial. The memorial is in memory of the Chinese workers who worked and died in the area during the gold rush. In this area there was surface gold which was extracted through sluicing, a process that uses water in the sluice boxes to separate the gold from the dirt using gravity separation.

We then proceeded a short distance along Misery Creek Road before again joining a bush track.

Up until now the track, except for some undulations and gully crossings, was predominately

downhill. A short distance along the track the uphill section started. This included 5 steep gully

crossings and a continuous uphill climb for the last hour of the hike.

The hike distance was recorded as 11.4Km. While challenging, it was a fantastic hike.

Thank you, Gordon (Hike Leader) and Mark (Whip).