361. Lookout Hill Track, Mount Cole State Forest, 11.3km

 U3A Hike No 361




Hike Report By Jan Herperger

What a perfect day for a hike: brisk at the beginning and turning bright and sunny along the way.
After carpooling our way to Richards Campground in the Mount Cole State Forest 16 rugged up 
hikers set off along the Beeripmo walking track for a short way before turning right onto The Glut 
Road. I think this road was thus named because of the Glut of hills along it. No, it was actually one 
big uphill for 1 ½ km and really had our lungs working hard. There were several very welcome 
stops to, ahem, “look at the views”.

Fires had burnt through this area in February 2024 and so it was very heartening to see the bush 
regenerating with gusto. The black trunks of the mighty eucalypts were covered with bright green or
bluish new growth, bracken was growing thickly, tree ferns were abundant, and there were tiny 
grevilleas and gums popping up all over the forest floor. The many different shades of green were 
remarked upon, as well as the bold textures of the blackened bark on the trees. There were many 
fallen trees, a couple of which were across the track and had to be climbed over or detoured around.
Morning tea was enjoyed on a large rocky plateau with wonderful long views of more hills and 
valleys and bushland. After some more uphill walking along the Lookout Hill Track we heard 
Gordon’s welcome announcement of “it’s basically downhill from here” and it was! Down, down, 
down along the lovely Beeripmo walking track with the path ending up going alongside the very 
pretty Cave Hill Creek.

Something that caused us to stop and ponder was the unexpected sight of a wheelbarrow containing 
bags of cement and a tape measure near some metal boardwalk panels. I guess that means that track 
improvement is going to happen imminently.

Lunch was eaten in the middle of the carpark because that’s where the sun happened to be shining. 
It was encouraging to see one family returning from a hike, and another setting off with loaded 
backpacks for a night in the bush. What a fabulous way to introduce children to the beauty of our 
State Forests and create family memories. :-)

A warm welcome to our newest hiker, David, who already knows some folk in our group.

Thank you Gordon for leading us onwards, and Kim, for making sure we all made it to the end.

(Greetings from Andrew, editing this in Istanbul)

Photos By Alan Evans






















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