Mt. Cougal Hike

Mt. Cougal-we hiked to the top of the left peak

What an incredible adventure!!! When I signed up for the Mt. Cougal Hike, I had no idea what was in store for us. The drive to the hiking site was three hours away, right outside the Gold Coast area. One of my favorite parts of my time here, has actually been just being in a car or bus for hours, looking out my window. I can’t get over the vastness of the landscape here, and the intensity of green everywhere the eye can see. An Aussie girl in the club drove us there, and we had a great time jammin’ to her Australian music. Usually Australian music is just American music played on an Australian radio. However, she had some genuine mixes of Aussie bands with a cool tone and different sound. Just as with our caving adventure, this hiking trip had only a few club members in attendance. It may have to do with the fact that race day was the day before, and most people were just going to bed as we woke up to hit the road.

After several wrong turns and pulling over to ask for directions, we made it to the hiking spot. In the country side of Australia, there’s not much use for GPS or maps, because the roads are unmarked and easily missed because they look like a bike path they are so narrow. We went down the road that was marked as Garden of Eden, and went down what they convinced us was a two-way road. However, there was no way two cars could physically cross paths without colliding, and this was the second windiest dirt road I’ve been on while here. (the winner for windy roads was when our Aussie friend Will took us to Protestor’s Falls, which is located at the end of a few miles of the curviest road ever created.) It felt as if we were doing an obstacle course where there were big orange cones lined up, and we had to weave in and out of each cone without hitting them. 
Oh, and then add a few cars coming the opposite direction. When a car did come up the road, we did have to pull over to the side, which was mostly a ditch so our hearts were definitely pounding. Once safely to the path, we began the six kilometer hike on a steep incline. After a while of incline, I realized we were actually hiking to the top of Mt. Cougal, not just around the area. There were gorgeous lookouts along the way, when the trees disappeared into fields of lush green grass. We passed stalks of cane sugar that seemed 20 feet high. It was like walking through a cornfield on major steroids.

The trail itself was less challenging than the Minyon Falls hike, but at parts it was extremely difficult. There was a stretch were it felt like we were going straight into the air on a vertical incline. Although it wasn’t just a path at that point…we had to climb rocks and boulders to make any progress. At that point we were tired, hungry and our morale was low. 

Thankfully, we stopped for a light lunch by a cave half way up the mountain. Just a short break helped regain our breath, strength and adventurous attitude. I was grateful it hadn’t rained that morning, otherwise the  moss on the rocky path would have been quite challenging to walk on. Just before we got to the peak, the path ended and Sergio said that we’d have to rock climb the rest of the way. With no harness or rope for balance, we scaled huge rocks, using fallen vines as a makeshift rope. If you looked down, there was just a drop off where the cliff’s edge sharply fell into the canopy below us. It helped to not look down. Again, we were challenged both mentally and physically, considering how our bodies and minds were able to put one step in front (or above) the other and keep moving. I became frozen at one point because I truly didn’t feel like I could reach to the next step up on the ledge. By the time our heart rates were similar to an Olympic sprinter, we reached the summit of the mountain. It was well worth the effort, because the view was spectacular. We were at the edge of the volcanic caldera, which is formed by the collapse of land after a volcano erupts. Mt. Warning was that volcano, and we had an awesome view of it from Mt. Cougal’s peak.

We just stood up there and took in the sight for a while, and after we were content and rested, we headed back down the trail. Rock climbing back down was even tougher than coming up, because I kept wanting to face the sky, but we had to face the rocks and scale down just trusting our feet would find ledges. Even though we started early in the day, it felt dark inside the rainforest, as the canopy was thick and kept out most of the sunlight.

During the hike, I got many bumps and scratches, mainly from the surrounding plants and climbing trees. One thing I won’t miss about Australia bushland is the wait-a-while plant, that has tiny thorns that catch your clothes, or your skin. I had so many scratches from these buggers that I became accustomed to looking down and seeing blood all over my hands arms and legs. At one point, there was a vine that I didn’t see low to the ground, and I completely wiped out and fell face down in the dirt. I scraped up my leg a little but it didn’t bother me much.

The rest of the way down was peaceful and quiet, as we all kept to ourselves and got lost in thought. Sometimes it’s nice to just walk with people all around you, and not feel the need to saying anything. 

On the way home, I looked out the window the whole way because the sun was setting against the horizon, making a bright orange sherbet glow against the dark blue sky.

Absolutely amazing last adventure with the outdoor club!!