This walk was organised and led by me as a CBC Tuesday walk:

Tuesday 20 January - West Coree Creek Volcanics and Shannons Flat - M/M,WX. A relatively easy walk for Tuesday trudgers to take in a most likely spectacular view. From near the ACT-NSW border on Pabral Road, head east through the bush to the top of a volcanic slab overlooking Coree Creek. Descend to Coree Creek and snip and splash down to the weir on Condor Creek. Have a look at Shannons Flat. Around 9km and 450m total climb. Route not fully known to leader. Map: Cotter Dam 1:25000. Limit of 8. Leader: John Evans – jevans@pcug.org.au, (h) 6288 7235. Transport: ~$5. Further details at http://jevans.pcug.org.au.

5 of us met and drove via Uriarra Crossing, Brindabella Road, Curries Road and Pabral Road to the turnaround on Pabral Road just before it enters the native forest.

See pic 0 for the destination.

Route Card:

1-2; 1.5km and 200m up Pabral Rd to a spur heading NE
2-3; 0.6km and 100m up on 26°M to knoll
3-4; 0.35km and 100m down on 77°M to top of granite
4-5; 0.45km and 200m down around the side of the granite to Coree Creek
5-6-7-8; 1.3km snip and splash down Coree Creek to the fire trail ford, passing the cascades and pool
8-9; continue another 0.5km down Coree Creek to where it joins Condor Creek
9-10; continue 0.3km down Condor Creek to the weir
10-11-12-13-14-1; a 3.8km loop on fire trail down to Shannons Flat and a 100m climb up a ridge and down across Condor Creek to return to the car.

Caught out again. Many thanks to Chris L for the correction and extra information:

This is about the "West Coree Creek Granite..." walk: There may be false advertising here because the rock slopes that you see are not granite but volcanic fallout deposits, just like most of the rocks from about Mt Coree all the way up to Yass. About three years ago I led a trip to Coree Creek and diverted across to this particular outcrop. It is a great spot for a morning tea and views. On that trip we also diverted up a south-flowing creek running into Coree Creek just downstream of the main Coree falls. That little creek has a nice little cascade similar to the one that we visited on the Cow Flat Creek tributary. Further up that little creek you come to a stretch of wonderful tall tree ferns about immediately below Devils peak.

Walk track

Away at a bit after 8am, supposedly on my best behaviour as Linnéa was doing her first Tuesday walk. Things went rapidly downhill (so as to speak) as we trotted up Pabral Rd to the turnoff point. Within the first 50m in the scrub a vine purloined my best reading glasses, I realised after around 100m or so and we went back to look, but no joy. Continued NE up to the 1100m knoll, then the scrappiest, scratchiest patch of regrowth that I've pushed through in a while to finally come out on top of the volcanic slab. Not quite as impressive as when one is looking across to it (see pic 0), but quite a decent view across to the 80r cliff (see pic 1). Time for morning tea.

Then an equally scrappy 200m descent to Coree Creek. We enjoyed a stop for water (none in the creek) with the local water dragon (see pic 2). Great to see the ferns recovering (see pic 3).

A wander down the dry (nearly, except for a few pools) Coree Creek, the cascades and little waterfall and pool looking like cess-pits. Some snipping of blackberries needed in places.

At the fire trail ford of Coree Creek we decided to give Shannons Flat a miss, as my worthy companions had volunteered to have another, better organised search for my glasses. But we did decide to at least go down through the confluence with Condor Creek and down to the weir. An impenetrable blackberry barrier ended that plan around 250m short of Condor Creek, so we retraced our rsteps 50m to another old fire trail and headed back to the car.

We drove up Pabral Rd to the spot at which we'd left it, searched for my specs, but again no joy.

Gave up just before a storm came over (see here), drove to Uriarra Crossing for lunch and so home.

Thanks Henry, Linnéa, Madeleine and Max for humouring me through the scrub, for helping to look for my glasses and for giving me all those excuses (none of which washed with Gay - I'm in the dog house). Linnéa, Tuesday walks are usually more impressive than today - come on a Max organised one next! Henry summed up the day nicely - BTDT (been there, done that).

Distance: 5.5km  Climb: 400m.  Time: 8.10am - 12.40pm (4hrs30mins), with 35mins of stops.
Grading: S/R,X; M(9).

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: West Coree Creek Volcanics