This walk was organised and led by Max Smith as a private walk:

Tinderry Exploration - Hard. From Burra Rd follow Mt Allen and Jacobs Creek Fire Trails to a convenient spot from which to follow a tributary of Michelago Creek to the N of Tinderry Peak. Then, from the saddle below Tinderry Peak the route is N to below Twin Tinderry and on to the West Tinderry Fire Trail and back to cars. The purpose is to explore the creek and environs below Tinderry Peak with possibility of rock outcrops, scrub, goats and pigs – views probably limited! Distance – about 18 km including 8km off track. 1000+m total climb. Maps – Tinderry and Michelago. Bring plenty of water as there will not be any running water. Weather for Canberra ‘Saturday Possible late shower, windy. Min 7 Max 20’. Meet at my place by 7am. Expect a long day as off track will be slow in parts. This should be a great warm-up for Max’s blackberry snipping wander up Coree Creek next Tuesday. Drop me an email or ring my mobile if you’d like to announce your intentions, or just turn up by 7am.

3 of us met at my place and we drove via Michelago to the parking area opposite the Mt Allen property on the Burra Road.

Walk

As promised, Max gave us the lot on this trip - rock outcrops, scrub, goats and pigs. He even threw in a wombat, running water and huge views. The Tinderrys is one of his favourite areas and it boasts wonderful unburnt country. I think Max has walked most of the ridges, so today's walk was literally up an arm of the Michelago Creek to the saddle between T and TT.

A different dog wandered across from the Mt Allen homestead to welcome us this time, not the usual little fellow who follows you half way up the track. This one was on for a game of stick chasing.  As described above, we gained the Mt Allen Fire Trail and puffed up it, then turned S along the Jacobs Creek ft for 3.5km (actually, to where the Tinderry Nature Reserve border crosses the fire trail). Here we turned ESE generally along the TiNR border, down and then up to the West Tinderry Fire Trail. This we crossed (not the last fire trail to be crossed today) and headed down to the junction of Michelago Creek and a tributary arm. Generally open, dry sclerophyll forest in these lower parts of the Tindery Mountains.

The first km or so up the creek was pretty scrubby with plenty of tea-tree scrub in the creek line to force through. A lovely spring a little away from the creek at GR03314798 (MGA94). We stopped a little further up for morning tea, with excellent granite walls over the other side of the creek.

Continuing up the creek, we followed the E arm which went directly into the saddle between Tinderry Peak and Tinderry Twin Peak. Fairly slow going. At the 1150m contour  (marked Photos on the Google Earth track) we spent some time climbing up a lovely granite wall on the S side of the creek line for great views up the way we'd come (see pic 1).

The route up the creek to this point had been through slightly damp terrain. We were surprised to find the creek running most of the time. But between the 1200 and 1400m contours it dried out a little and it was just an ever onwards slog up and up and up.

Our next brief photo op was from the little knoll immediately N of the saddle we'd finally reached. Nice granite tors which we were forced to gain by circling in from the E. Great views S to Tinderry Peak (see pic 2) and W over the Michelago Valley to the Clear Range.

We wandered another kilometre or so the the N, hoping that lunch would soon appear. We spied our goats on this leg. Views to Tinderry Twin Peak and the more open slabs of SH1475. Forced through band of scrub, walked the open heath lands of the SH and found a sheltered spot out of the rising wind for lunch. We sat facing E, looking out over the Queanbeyan River area to the Tallaganda National Park. A few steps around to the S from our sheltered rocks gave views back down to the Michelago Valley (see pic 3).

Tinderry Twin Peak was near and inviting, but we didn't have an extra hour up our sleeves (whereas Max did have something extra up his sleeve for us), so we headed NW and W across the N side of TT to hit the West Tinderry Fire Trail a mere 30m from a cairn on the side of the trail (this leg produced the pig, or so Max said). We followed the ft about 600m N, then our leader invited us to take a W ridge, paralleling the fire trails, back down to the car.

This we agreed to, the going being the typical open and dry forest of these lower, W facing slopes. And thankfully too, as my out of condition body was beginning to tire. Back to the car by 4.45pm and another doze for me on the way home.

Timings
 

An excellent and hard walk, all promises fulfilled. Thanks Max, and Madeleine.

Distance: 17km  Climb: 1300m.  Time: 7.50am - 4.45pm (call it 9hrs), with 40mins of stops.
Grading: L/R:H(14)

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: Tinderry Exploration