Mt Gingera, Namadgi National Park, ACT

At the start of this track is a sign - “Very Steep” it reads. I brace myself, but I have done “steep” before. And besides, one of my earliest lessons as a writer was to never use the word ‘very’.  Something is steep. If it is steeper than steep then the writer’s job is to find a better word, not add ‘very’. 

As we begin walking, there is no warm-up. The acclivity starts metres from the carpark as the track begins its climb of 900m in elevation from the wall of Corin Dam outside Canberra, ACT, to the 1,855m summit of Mount Gingeri on the edge of the Bimberi Wilderness. The first 500m in elevation is the boldest and most sudden. Fortunately there are excellently wrought steps. Not too big, not too small. Slowly but surely we gain height as the morning wears on. I have hours, and many steps, ahead of me, to come up with a better word than ‘very’ steep.

But, climbing from the dam to the top of the range, makes it difficult to think. My brain is consumed by breath pounding to the rhythm of the mountain ascent. Fortunately there is plenty to see —as a distraction: wild flowers right beside my feet as I focus on the ground, not daring to look up and check the incline ahead. There are three different types of yellow pea, purple hovea and white beard heath, delicate mountain caladenia orchids, creamy candles (Stackhousia monogyna) and purple violets.

As we gain height I notice also, in my peripheral vision, that the trees have changed. Snow gums become the dominant species and indicate we are getting close to the ridge top. It is a beautiful sight to see the grassy open rise marking our arrival up and onto Stockyard Spur. We pause for a quick snack and then cross the clearing. Here the walk changes from a single foot-track onto an old four wheel drive trail. It makes the walking more sociable - I'm in in the left wheel track and Caz walks in the right. Sometimes we swap. The flatter terrain also allows me, finally, to think and let my thoughts wander. They first rest on the surrounding, decorative forest - a stunning carpet of yellow pea flowers, lattice walls of muted grey and white tree trunks, dappled light, shifting glimpses of blue sky and the movement of birds. Language is often far from my mind when I walk; it is all about experience not description.

And the climbing is not over. A couple more short but demanding uphills appear as the track winds peacefully along the range. We originally tried to walk this track in winter but the access road was closed due to snow. Now I am grateful we have left it until Spring. It is still tough to know which I would prefer -  a pretty blanketing of the white stuff or this spectacular, showy forest of flowers. 

Once up, the other beauty is the view. Bare granite peaks fill the distance and blue hills roll away to the horizon. Eventually, we reach the intersection of our trail with Mount Franklin Road.  You can use this road as alternative access to Mt Gingera, driving from Canberra up onto the range and saving the ‘very steep’ hike. But where’s the fun in that!  We turn left (south) onto this solid, wide, hard-packed road. Road walking always feels like a bit of a grind but it is only 1km until we reach somewhere pleasant to rest - Pryor Hut, a quaint three-room emergency shelter with massive stone fireplace. The log book in the hut contains wonderful comments from other walkers with many of them waxing lyrical about the views from the summit of Mt Gingera, rating it the best viewing point in the ACT. So we quickly throw our packs back on and set off south along Mount Franklin Road for another kilometre. Where the road swings sharply left, at a gully with a culvert, a foot track heads up to the right. This is the final ascent to Mt Gingera, another 180m rise in elevation. 

The summit is as promised - a spectacular view point. The NSW/ACT border cuts Mt Gingera in half, running along the length and centre of its flat summit - the mountain’s western fall drops into NSW; its east into the ACT. From atop the wind-worn granite boulders we can see all the surrounding mountains whose names I do not yet know (Ginnini, Bimberi, Coronet, Namadgi, Orroral) and west out to Tantangara Reservoir. It is worth exploring the entire summit and its network of faint foot pads. Each open rock, be it the actual summit cairn to the left (south), or the sharper rocks to the right, offer differing views. From the cairn, the view is primarily east and south with Canberra clearly visible. And, there are even more wildflowers at the summit - a dense covering of yellow flowering phebalium with patches of purple hovea. Behind the granite high points, also lies the prettiest snow gum garden of soft, luxuriant grass beneath elegantly twisted trees.

With such beautiful and peaceful surroundings I have completely forgotten about the steepness of the ascent and, consequently, am too distracted to come up with any earth shatteringly accurate alternative for “very" steep. Very is, quite rightly, considered by many the most useless word in the English language. Mark Twain once said: "Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

Yes, the walk to the summit of Mt Gingera is damn steep. And as a description of the walk, that works. This is perhaps, one of the few times I am prepared to accept the role of ‘very’ in the English language. My old newspaper editors would be rolling in their graves to hear me supporting 'very'.  But, climbing Mt Gingera is definitely, at times, more than just ‘steep’, it is also, definitely, worth the effort and the return will be worth the declivity.

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