Saturday 19th September 2015 – 0720am
As the four of us entered Mount Barney National Park, the wide open landscapes from Yellowpinch began tunnelling to single file tracks and increasing inclines as the gently flowing creek crossing acted as a natural entrance to an iconic hike up the towering twin peaks of Mount Barney. Light breezes floated drizzle onto our heads as we meandered up the South ridge to the first rock slab section. The flat, inclining rock has a decent vein through the middle for grip, but the angled, awkward pitch makes your foot placement important, especially in wet conditions, as one slip could lead to a painful exit off a cliff-side. Two hikers in front of us decided to turn back to the carpark as a result.
After we climbed the the slab, there were some fun boulders to get over requiring a quick route assessment and a bit of strength and traction. The gradient increased, but these large rock obstacles and natural shutes kept you constantly engaged in the ‘now’ which eliminated any realisation of the elevation we were gaining. Soon enough we were like kids again – leaping, pulling up and leveraging our bodyweight through what seemed like a thousand moments rolled into one incredible adventure. The drizzle had passed but as we rounded the bend to the saddle, we were right amongst the clouds. The wind funneled a flow of mist through and over ‘Rum Jungle’ but sunshine began making fleeting appearances. After a light lunch on the saddle, we agreed to tackle the East Peak. From here it was ‘choose your own adventure’ as there is no distinguishable path initially. A rock hopping playground emerged and although we should have been fatigued, we never noticed due to clouds lifting, blue skies unravelling and the jaw-dropping arena of peaks that emerged in full view. This had clarified to us why this mountain is always on the list for serious hikers.
After a couple of false summits and some scrambling to the top, we had reached the East summit which may only be the top of South East Queensland, but it felt like we’d conquered more.
As we began our cautious descent, just 200m from the summit a middle aged female layed under the shade of a small shrub with what looked like a badly fractured ankle. The group she was in had called emergency services but allowed me to clean out some lacerations, remove her shoe and bandage her injury for structural support. Our friend John provided her with some paracetamol but the facial expression of the woman said it all. Her expression almost painted a realisation that the only way out of this exposed peak was by helicopter winching and that this mountain needs to be well respected and never underestimated.
The descent was straightforward apart from a slight accidental deviation from the South ridge which incidentally avoided a couple of the slippery obstacles. As we enjoyed putting our feet up back in civilisation, images on the 6 o’clock news of the woman being winched off the mountain brought a sobering sense of achievement on all of us. I look forward to tackling this one again one day. An unforgettable hike with great company.
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