Dare's Hill Summit Road to Hallet via Mount Bryan

The best laid plans of mice and men can go a little astray with just a few mm of rain

Road Closed

Rain during the week had managed to make the road to our meeting place "Closed" and a frantic recce on Friday, revealed that alternative routes were not an option.
So here we are on a cold and threatening Saturday, at the designated meeting point, with Plan B having been hatched.
E2E 5 will do next month's walk this month! That's life however it did not stop some grumbles.
A slow drive out to Hallett to meet the bus, with the Barrier Highway having 40 KPH limits due to road works, however our ever helpful bus driver, Leon, new a faster route to our start point, Dare's Hill Summit Road.
The oration from Russell detailing the weekend's changes was followed by Vicki awarding the Heysen Hotshots to Ian Small for his Charlie Chaplin effort the previous month.

Charlie Chaplin  

Then off due west with Mt Bryan in our sights, a 7 km flog along the Dare's Hill Summit Road with a morning tea break at the Mt Bryan East School, one of the Friend's' huts on the Trail.



The classrooms were opened for lessons and some poetry reading took place in the front room, home economics in the kitchen and goose bumps in the playground.

At last the stile off the road appeared, and the increasingly steep slog up to the summit began, albeit with most walkers deviating from the Trail by quite some distance.

With much sweat and not a little puffing, the summit was acquired, however with a wind gusting to 33 kmh creating a wind chill of just 3 degrees, there was some urgency to get off, however not before the view, in all directions, was appreciated. A new cairn with visitor's book was appreciated, as much for its wind protection, as for its information plaques, noting that the mountain was named after Henry Bryan, a member of John Sturt's party, who perished when he became lost.

The throne was duly sat in, and photos taken, then off to find a lunch spot out of the wind, a priority.

As with E2E's previously a rocky area proved to be suitable and the reward was a sunny lunch, appropriately looking back to the conquered peak.

Lunch was followed by the descent down over the Ulooloo Creek, past the seismograph station, the original Heysen Tunnels and finally to Hallett.

The evening for some started with drinks and nibbles at Pepper's Cottage, then off to the Burra Golf Club for Christmas in July and the obligatory Kris Kringle.

The theme was entered into with gusto by many of the group and the present giving was enjoyed by all, though not everyone had been good and not everyone got to sit on Santa's knee.

Judy must have been good!!