Tinderry Twin & Tinderry Peak, NSW, Australia

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2015 October: Day trip
   - Tinderry Twin
   - Tinderry Peak
NSW Monaro region, Australia



Prolog - our group

3 of us.

Jeremy Hagan (JH) from Canberra,
and Ruoran Zhou & I from Sydney,
meet up at Michelago at 6am for today's climb.



Whereabouts of Ruoran Zhou

By the way, if you know the whereabouts of
Ruoran Zhou, please contact me.
Or ask her to contact me.
( My email address: mntviews@gmail.com )

Thank you !

Backgroound:

    Ruoran Zhou studied & worked in Denmark.

    Came to Sydney Australia in 2014 (or 2015) ???

    Hobby in Australia:
        Bushwalking / climbing / hiking
    That's how I knew her.

    She left Australia in 2016 ...
        perhaps around Oct/Nov/Dec ???
        to Denmark/China ???

    No one in Australia has heard from her since
    😭



Tinderry Peak & Tinderry Twin

Tinderry Peak, 1619 meters, is the
highest peak in the Tinderry Mountains
of NSW Monaro region.

Tinderry Twin, 1585 meters, is about 2.5 km
(as the crow flies) north of Tinderry Peak.


The best way to climb these two mountains
is a car shuffle, like the way we do it today:

   - Park my car at the start of Round Flat Firetrail.

   - Then hop into JH's car
     and take it to the start of Mt Allen Firetrail.

   - Then walk from one car to the other,
     climbing Tinderry Twin and Tinderry Peak
     in between.



Highlights

1)
Highlight of the day is a friendly
Jack Russell Terrier who joins us for the climb.

She belongs to the house at the start of
Mt Allen Firetrail and must have accompanied
other climbing parties in the past ...
because she knows where we are going
and leads us up Mt Allen Firetrail.

And she is fast,
outpaces even the fast JH by miles 😊

When we go off-trail to climb Tinderry Twin,
we thought she would leave us.

No.

She accompanies us all the way to its summit,
then accompanies us to climb Tinderry Peak
as well.

She is only a small dog ...
really amazed at the amount of energy she has.

In the end, we give her a lift in our car
at Round Flat Firetrail back to her home
at Mt Allen Firetrail.


2)
Near the summit of Tinderry twin, there is a
face-like rock that stands up like a sentinel ...
See Photos #17 & 18.

I thought the rock is un-climbable,
but Ruoran manages to climb it ...
She is an amazing Wonder Woman !


3)
After climbing Tinderry Peak,
instead of making a beeline for the car,
we detour to visit 2 rocky outcrops.

They turn out to have fascinating rock formations,
plus great views to the valleys below.

It will be worthwhile to arrange a separate
bushwaking trip just to explore more
of these outcrops.



Maps

- 1:100,000 scaled 8726 Michelago
- 1:25,000 scaled 8726-4S Michelago
- 1:25,000 scaled 8726-1S Tinderry

The relevant part of the 1:25,000 scaled map
can be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B877-h5SCJaSQ0taNmR2ZlZ0RGc/view?usp=sharing

For what it is worth,
I have reproduced the map here.
But you are better off to download the map
from the above link.

GPS tracklog file & Route

Our GPX tracklog file can be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B877-h5SCJaSVzZkWWhoVjh3Znc/view?usp=sharing

The 1,25,000 scaled map with the tracklog
superimposed on it can be downloaded from:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B877-h5SCJaSTnhxRkhJTXBGNDg/view?usp=sharing

For what it is worth, I have reproduced
the map here (tracklog in brown).
But you are better off to download the map
from the above link.
- 2 red circles, top to bottom:
       • 1st rocky outcrop ...
         Visited by us after climbing Tinderry Peak
       • 2nd rocky outcrop

Summary of our route:

- Park my car at junction of
  Tinderry Road and Round Flat Firetrail.

- Park JH's car at junction of
  Burra Road and Mount Allen Firetrail.

- Walk up Mount Allen Firetrail.

- 3.2 km later, turn into
  West Tinderry Firetrail and walk eastward.

- 1.8 km on the West Tinderry Firetrail,
  and at the highest point of the trail,
  veer off-trail and bushbash in a
  south-easterly direction towards Tinderry Twin.

- Climb Tinderry Twin.

- Bushbash south to climb Tinderry Peak.

- Visit 2 rocky outcrops.

- Get onto Round Flat Firetrail and walk
  to my car at the junction with Tinderry Road.



Timeline & Distance

Start at Mt Allen Firetrail trailhead

06:54    0.0 km  Mt Allen Firetrail trailhead
                          (junction with Burra Rd)
07:42    3.2 km  At junction of Mt Allen Firetrail
                          & West Tinderry Firetrail
08:06    5.0 km  At highest point of
                          West Tinderry Firetrail

Rest

08:10    5.0 km  Leave West Tinderry Firetrail,
                          start bushbashing to Tinderry Twin
09:26    6.6 km  At Tinderry Twin summit

Morning Tea

09:54    6.6 km  Leave Tinderry Twin summit
12:20    9.4 km  At Tinderry Peak summit

Lunch

12:56    9.5 km  Leave Tinderry Peak summit
13:51  10.8 km  At 1st rocky outcrop

Slowly passing through

14:02  11.1 km  Leave 1st rocky outcrop
14:22  11.6 km  At 2nd rocky outcrop

Explore around and take a rest

14:39  11.7 km  Leave 2nd rocky outcrop
15:45  13.9 km  At Round Flat Firetrail

Rest

15:50  13.9 km  Resume walking
16:06  15.0 km  Here, dog chases a wild goat

Watch dog chasing wild goat

16:09  15.1 km  Resume walking
16:19  15.8 km  Finish at
                          Round Flat Firetrail trailhead
                          (junction with Tinderry Rd)

===================================

Total:  9 hrs 25 mins
           15.8 km  Distance is from Google Earth



Pictures - Mt Allen Firetrail

1)  Locked gate at start of Mt Allen Firetrail.
- If not for the locked gate,
  JH could have driven his car in.
- The board behind the locked gate says:
       Tinderry Nature Reserve
       Authorised vehicles only
       All flora and fauna protected

2)  Nearing the end of Mt Allen Firetrail,
     and looking back.
- Mountain in the middle of the pic:
       Mt Michelago

I climbed Mt Michelago almost 9 years later,
2026-June.

A nice little saunter, worthwhile climbing.

(If you climb it from Monaro Highway,
return trip is under 3 hours.)



West Tinderry Firetrail

3)  Now on West Tinderry Firetrail.
- This pic is funny 😊 ...
  JH is tall, but not such a super giant
  compared to Ruoran 😊

4)  About 1 hour 15 minutes of walking
     (5 km, and 550 meters gain in elevation),
     we reach here, the highest point
     on the West Tinderry Firetrail.
- Having a quick rest ...
  Now Ruoran stands taller 😊

After the rest, we'll veer off the trail
and bushbash towards the south-east.



Bushbash to Tinderry Twin

5)  Bushbashing towards Tinderry Twin ...
     the peak in this pic.

6)  Passing over this slab of rock.
- Upper pic: Ruoran
- Lower pic:
       • Tinderry Twin is directly in front.
       • JH is taking photos ... see Photo #7.

7)  The slab of rock also gives us a good view
      towards the west and south-west.
- 3 arrows, left to right:
       1  Mt Clear, 1603 m,
           right on NSW/ACT border  (red)
       2  The small township of Michelago  (green)
       3  Booths Hill, 1583 m  (red)

8)  We are closer to Tinderry Twin.

9)  Passing by a bunch of rocks.
- Ruoran loves climbing up rocks.
  She is having fun ...
  like a toddler finds a jar of candies.

10)  If there is a rock,
        you can't stop Ruoran from climbing it !

11)  Close to the top of Tinderry Twin.
- I thought once we climb up these rocks,
  we would be at the summit ...

12)  ... We've climb up the rocks of prev pic ...
       but no, this is not the summit.

13)  The summit is in front ...
        so still is a bit more of climbing to do.

14)  Philotheca myoporoides
       (Long-leaf Wax Flower) ...
       found near the summit.
- Previously known as Eriostemon myoporoides

Tinderry Twin summit and a face-like rock

Tinderry Twin summit ... 1575 meters.


15)  We arrived at the summit of Tinderry Twin.
- Upper pic:
       • Ruoran
       • Green arrow:
              The small township of Michelago
- Lower pic:
       • Me 😊
       • Red arrow:
              Mt Michelago,
              the mountain in Photo #2 ...
              I climbed it almost 9 years later,
              2026-June.
       • Blue circle:
              Rock that looks like a face ...
              Photos #17 and #18

A Jack Russell Terrier, belonging to the house
at the start of Mt Allen Firetrail,
also walked with us to the summit.

She must have accompanied other bushwalkers
in the past ... because she seemed to know
where we were going.

She led us up Mt Allen Firetrail 😊

When we went off-trail to climb Tinderry Twin,
we thought she would leave us.
No, she accompanied us all the way to here.

She will accompany us to climb
Tinderry Peak as well.

She is only a small dog ...
Really amazed at the amount of energy she has.

In the end, we give her a lift in our car
from Round Flat Firetrail back to her home
at Mt Allen Firetrail.



16)  JH and the Jack Russell Terrier.
- Red arrow:
       Mt Michelago, the mountain in Photo #2 ...
       I climbed it almost 9 years later, 2026-June.

17)  Still at the summit ... a face-like rock !
- Green arrow: The small township of Michelago
- Red arrow: Mt Michelago
- Typical Ruoran, leaving no rock unclimbed.
  She manages to climb up this rock
  which I thought was un-climbable.

Strange that no one has ever mentioned
about this interesting face-like rock at the summit.

Wonder why ?



18)  Closer look at "the face".

19)  Still at the summit ... Facing Tinderry Peak.
- Tinderry Peak has a rocky top ...
  We are going there next.

Bushbash to Tinderry Peak

20)  Now bushbashing to Tinderry Peak ...
        the red arrow.

21)  Plenty of rock scrambling.

22)  Plenty of Oxylobium ellipticum
       (Common Shaggy Pea)
       throughout the slopes of the Tinderries.

23)  Approaching closer to Tinderry Peak.

Climbing up to Tinderry Peak summit

24)  Now climbing up to the summit.

25)  Yellow arrows:
        How I climb up towards the summit.
- I have trouble in climbing up the cliff ...
  Just below the vertical yellow arrow on the right,
  I keep slipping down.  In the end I make it !
- Left pic: JH

The others are much better rock climbers.
They are ahead of me.
So I don't know which way they climb up.



Tinderry Peak summit

The dog accompanies us all the way
to the summit of Tinderry Peak 😊 ...
with the help of JH when climbing up some
of the steeper cliffs.


26)  Summit of Tinderry Peak, 1619 meters.
- Upper pic:
       Judging by the big metal bolts on the rock,
       at some point in the past, there must
       have been a large trig planted right here.
- Lower pic: Ruoran and the dog
- We have lunch at the summit.
  I gave the dog a quarter of my salmon sandwich.
  She eats it with relish.

27)  JH and I.

View from Tinderry Peak summit

View from the summit of Tinderry Peak is superb.


28)  Facing Tinderry Twin ... towards north.
       (The triangle-shaped mountain
       at the centre of the pic)
- It is always a pleasure to see a mountain
  you've just climbed ...
  We came from Tinderry Twin 2 hrs 15 mins ago.

29)  Scene towards south-east.
- Red arrow:
       Rocky outcrop ... east-south-east ...
       We'll be heading there next.
       The rocky outcrop turns out to be
       a very interesting place ... see pics later.
- Yellow arrows:
       The way we'll descend the summit
       (Once we climb down the rocks,
       we'll go east to the rocky outcrop.)

30)  Continuation to the right of previous pic.
- Red arrow:
       Mt Clear, 1603 m, right on NSW/ACT border
- Green arrow: Michelago ... the small town

Climbing down Tinderry Peak summit

Lunch is at the summit.
After lunch, we climb down the summit.


31)  Looking back at where we came from.
- Left red arrow:
       The summit ... Photos #26 and #27
- Right arrow: Tinderry Twin
- JH is carrying the dog ...
  There are a few tricky areas which are
  difficult for the small dog to climb over.

1st rocky outcrop

32)  About to enter the rocky outcrop
       mentioned in Photo #29.
- The large boulder in both pics below
  are the same boulder.
  I'm standing in the middle and looking at
  the boulder in both directions.

33)  A large flat slab at the rocky outcrop.
- JH
- Large boulder: Same as the one in previous pic
- In the previous pic, I was at the right side
  of the boulder looking at it side-on.

34)  A nice view from the flat slab.
       (I'm at the same spot as the previous pic.)

35)  Lots of boulders around the flat slab.

36)  Ruoran posing.

37)  Next, we walk towards the red rectangle.

38)  Large round-ish boulder in both pics below:
       They are the same boulder.
- Upper pic:
       • It is the red rectangle of previous pic.
       • Red rectangle:
             We are heading there next ... Photo #39

39)  This place is the red square of Photo #38.
- Upper pic: JH
- The large long bouder is broken into
  several segments.

40)  The same broken boulder of previous pic.
- Ruoran

41)  Looking back.
- Ruoran
- Red arrow: Tinderry Twin

42)  More boulders in front.

43)  Another large boulder split in two.
- This rocky outcrop is a fascinating place !

2nd rocky outcrop

We are now at the 2nd rocky outcrop ...
which is about 20 minutes away
from the 1st rocky outcrop.

From satellite image, this place is large.
And we only have time to explore a portion of it.

It is worth another trip just to come here
and spend more time exploring around.


44)  From the 2nd rock outcrop ... looking back.
- Main mountain in this pic: Tinderry Peak

45)  Plenty of large boulders around here.
- Lower pic: Ruoron

46)  More large boulders.

47)  Nice view from the rocky outcrop.

48)  We take a short rest here.
- Ruoran, JH

To car at Round Flat Firetrail trailhead

49)  Heading to my car at the trailhead ...
        ie Round Flat Firetrail.
- Ruoran in front

Around here, there are wild goats.

The dog chases them around.
Amazing that after climbing up two peaks,
she still has so much energy to chase the goats !


50)  The dog runs down this goat.
- I don't think the goat is dead.
  There is no blood.
  Probably it is either fainted
  or pretending to be dead.

After this incident, JH puts the dog on a leash.

Don't want her to chase more goats.

Want to make sure we can give her a lift
back to her home at the start of Mt Allen Firetrail.



Post Script
Please help to locate Ruoran Zhou

If you know the whereabouts of
Ruoran Zhou, please contact me.
Or ask her to contact me.
( My email address: mntviews@gmail.com )

Thank you !

Backgroound on Ruoran Zhou:

    Ruoran Zhou studied & worked in Denmark.

    Came to Sydney Australia in 2014 (or 2015) ???

    Hobby in Australia:
        Bushwalking / climbing / hiking
    That's how I knew her.

    She left Australia in 2016 ...
        perhaps around Oct/Nov/Dec ???
        to Denmark/China ???

    No one in Australia has heard from her since
    😭

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