Scotch College

Tackling the Tanglefoot Track

Great autumn weather, towering mountain ash forests, sunlit tracks and great company all made for a memorable Old Scotch Bushwalking Club walk on 29 April. Thirty-three club members trekked the Tanglefoot Track, and then tackled the ascent of Mount St Leonard.

Hazy 360 degree views were the reward, with the towers of Melbourne dimly visible in the far distance. This area of state forest is not far from Toolangi - about 90km from Melbourne.

The track passes through magnificent mountain ash forest, interspersed with myrtle beech and blackwood trees, and an extensive understorey of tree ferns in the gullies. It was not a difficult walk, but had some very slippery sections after recent rains.

Some people tumbled over, but thankfully there were no serious injuries.

Perhaps 'Tanglefoot' was an apt name?

We crossed over creeks on little bridges, and after passing a wooden seat labelled 'Lauders Rest' at about 1pm, we took the hint - and stopped for lunch. A feature of the lunch break was the number of leeches ready to attack us: they also realised it was lunchtime.

After completing this section of the walk (approximately 9km), we continued on to the start of the summit track leading to Mount St Leonard - a further 2km. This was quite steep, but from the fire tower on the top, the views of the mountains and the Yarra Valley were worth the effort, despite the mist.

Throughout the walk, club communications officer Layton Moss was very busy with his GPS tracking system and maps, and at one stage he informed us that the track we had taken did not match the map! Despite that, we managed to reach our destination without drama. The weather was perfect - blue sky and sunshine all the way - and everyone had a great day.

Bushwalking Club Member, Pam McLeod