Geehi Bushwalking Club: Yaouk Bill Walk Report
Eight bushwalkers tackled the peak known as Yaouk Bill on the southern side of Yaouk Valley on a clear sunny day last weekend. Tracking south through private property (permission required) for three kilometres on a four-wheel drive track we found a NPWS sign proclaiming the Yaouk Nature Reserve. A morning tea break was shared on a saddle beneath beautiful unburnt gums before the team turned east to start a steep climb through country that had felt the full blast of the Black Summer fires. Burnt stumps and shattered rocks were clothed in a blanket of metre high regrowth making track identification challenging near the top of the ridge. Boulder scrambling as we climbed ever upwards brought us to an open spot for lunch with views of the snow covered Jugungal beckoning in the distance.
Burnt scrub and boulders looked intimidating for the final 600 metres remaining to the summit but an accessible route was found to get us to the final stretch of open granite slabs leading to the cairn at the summit. 360degree views to the Brindabellas, the Kybeyan Range, the Main Range, Mt Jugungal and Tabletop Mountain made the ascent well worth the effort. After the obligatory group photos an easier route marked with cairns was discovered for the return journey circling to the northwest which lead back to the main track. We covered 12.4 kms in total, climbed 585m and still managed to get to the Adaminaby pie shop for a well-earned coffee just before 4.00pm.