Gog Range

[Bap]

Does anybody have any idea of how to get to the top of the mighty Gog Range?

[stepbystep]

Does anybody have any idea of how to get to the top of the mighty Gog Range?

I know some guys that went the wrong way , and someone else that said they drove up there

[Bap]

Driving sounds good.

[stepbystep]

seriously tho contact Mark he and a few others went up there and should give you some tips....

[ILUVSWTAS]

There are 3 tracks. 2 to the summit, and one (the road) which does not go to the high point, I believe Rachel went to this one.
Im not sure where the tracks start, I think from either end of the range as the cliffs on the sides are quite steep.... I dont recommend going that way....

[stu]

Yeah, in our usual fashion we just followed roads to as close as possible to the northern side (about 1km away from memory).
We bashed easily (open forest) to the base of the range then followed some very steep lines to the top, including a couple of 'no-fall' climbing sections that were far harder / more dangerous than anything on Federation or similar hard peaks. At one point if the lead climber had fallen he would have taken all of us with him as we were all climbing up in a straight line, sans ropes...not the smartest idea really
Still, was a fun day, if much longer than originally anticipated.

Attched is the summit sign - does seem the range is littered with tracks including the obvious west-east track.
Not much to see from the top i'm afraid as it is in the tree line.

untitled.JPG (112.69 KiB) Viewed 15034 times

[Bap]

Thanks for all the help, where abouts is this sign Stu?

[ILUVSWTAS]

Thats the summit marker.

[Bap]

Oh ok thats what i'm looking for.

[Taurë-rana]

There are 3 tracks. 2 to the summit, and one (the road) which does not go to the high point, I believe Rachel went to this one.

They really should learn to put trig points on the summit! How else do you know you're there?

Yeah, in our usual fashion we just followed roads to as close as possible to the northern side (about 1km away from memory).
We bashed easily (open forest) to the base of the range then followed some very steep lines to the top, including a couple of 'no-fall' climbing sections that were far harder / more dangerous than anything on Federation or similar hard peaks. At one point if the lead climber had fallen he would have taken all of us with him as we were all climbing up in a straight line, sans ropes...not the smartest idea really
Still, was a fun day, if much longer than originally anticipated.

Sounds like fun, wouldn't mind a go at it.

[ILUVSWTAS]

They really should learn to put trig points on the summit! How else do you know you're there?

By using a GPS or if your old school, a map.

Yeah, in our usual fashion we just followed roads to as close as possible to the northern side (about 1km away from memory).
We bashed easily (open forest) to the base of the range then followed some very steep lines to the top, including a couple of 'no-fall' climbing sections that were far harder / more dangerous than anything on Federation or similar hard peaks. At one point if the lead climber had fallen he would have taken all of us with him as we were all climbing up in a straight line, sans ropes...not the smartest idea really
Still, was a fun day, if much longer than originally anticipated.

Sounds like fun, wouldn't mind a go at it.

I wouldnt recommend it.

[Taurë-rana]

I wouldnt recommend it.

Was it really that bad?

[Bap]

I'm proberly going to go have a look at it on Saturday so I'll let people know what I find out there, hopefully no Dragons.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Read Stu's post again Rachel. He says MUCH harder than anything on Fedder, i've not done fedder yet so I cant say, but yes, it was pretty scary.

[Taurë-rana]

Fedder's not that bad, it's just airy, except for one spot in the gully which is slippery. That's why I made the comment. I got scareder climbing the Sentinels going up the cliff instead of the track.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Well in that case dont go up the North face of THE GOG!!

[stu]

I'm sure there's much, much easier lines up the North face of the Gog,
we just chose to 'adventure it up' & just went straight up, dealing with whatever we came to, cliffs included.
It was probably only grade 12 or 13 climbing, but 1 slip & bye bye
But remember, Feds is only classed as grade 4 or 5 from memory?

[Bap]

Which is the best way to acesss the Gog Road from the West via Paradise and union Bridge roads, from the East over Kellys Bridge or from the North via Dynans Bridge Road.

I'm going to try and climb the Eastern end as It looks to be the Highest???

[ILUVSWTAS]

here

[ollster]

I got scareder climbing the Sentinels going up the cliff instead of the track.

How'd you miss the track on that one?!

[Taurë-rana]

I got scareder climbing the Sentinels going up the cliff instead of the track.

How'd you miss the track on that one?!

Didn't, looked like more fun climbing the cliffs, and it was. Just probably a bit silly. On the way back down we came down a gully and I have memories of hanging off trees over a waterfall to get down. Much more interesting than the track. It was rather a long time ago though.

What were the tracks like on the Gog? Mountain bikeable? I've driven a bit further than the Granta Pools, but that was a while ago too.

[lyndoor]

Hi Guys

We farm on the northern side of the Gog Range. I have been up to Granta Pools, you can drive so far from the eastern end, then there are boulders across the road preventing you continuing on unless by bike or foot.

Taurë-rana wrote:
What were the tracks like on the Gog? Mountain bikeable?

A section of the Tassie Trail follows the northern foothills of the Gog. It comes off the Lobster Creek, for memory, & travels along the southern side of the Mersey to Gregory's Road then cross country to Union Bridge Road below the northern foothills of Kenzies Hill. (If I have interperated the book correctly!) Haven't done it myself but I do know that there are not many Tassie Trail markers.

[Bap]

Got up to the top of the Gog range yesterday, There is alot of active logging going on on the Gog Road at the moment with gates along the road.
I decided to follow the creek up where the falls are (there are a few overgrown 4WD tracks heading up) and then headed arcoss to the top from there along the range, along a "track". Quite easy going and no insane Cliff lines.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Nice work Bap!!

You can see on your map there where the "O" in GOG range is? Just below the summit?? Thats about where we went up. Anyone who can read a map will be able to tell the contour lines there look quite close together.....

[tastrekker]

Check out the entries on this blog for an amusing account of their trip up the western (non) summit:
http://jawapro.com/viewthread.php?postid=670
http://jawapro.com/viewthread.php?postid=671
http://jawapro.com/viewthread.php?postid=672

[ILUVSWTAS]

Check out the 19th to 23rd September entries on this blog for an amusing account of the trip up the western (non) summit: http://jawapro.com/

Oh dear......................

[billshep]

I did a lot of walking on the Gog a few years ago mainly east of the Falls(Grid Ref 532046). The Dragon sign is mine! There was a steep but safe track up to the ridge a couple of kms east of the highest point. It was taped but may well be overgrown by now(Grid Ref 562053). There is an excellent walk east along the ridge to a point where it narrows sharply, looking down into the Mersey gorge(Grid Ref 568038.This is actually better than the summit which is in forest. There was a marked route from the summit west to the Falls.

Access along the Gog Forest Road is limited by locked gate. Forestry's Jane Becker may have a key. I used to take a bike along the road.Yes there are formidable cliffs at many points, and scrub. Try to follow the marked tracks. I am no longer going there as tied up with the Wilmot tracks.
Bill Shepherd

[rohjoe]

Hi all.
I visited Gog Range earlier this week with koolix and can confirm the existence of a straightforward taped track (already mentioned by billshep) which avoids any scary issues with cliffs. The track along the top of the range leads directly to it. We followed the track down for as long as we could before heading through the bracken to where we parked.
Luckily the Gog Road gate was open so we were able to drive right to where we wanted to start from.
The image below shows our route (GR AG66). The red line was on a formed track/pad.
Cheers,
Rohan

[Taurë-rana]

Just wondering if anyone has been up Gog recently - I'd like to know what's happening with logging and access.

[tas-man]

Just wondering if anyone has been up Gog recently - I'd like to know what's happening with logging and access.

I was checking out NearMap recently and noticed that their high resolution coverage over Launceston has been extended west over the Gog Range. When you zoom in close it is "very interesting" what activity can be identified, indicating that there is regular access happening to this part of the range. This image is dated 28th December 2011 so anyone exploring this area will need to keep their eyes sharp to avoid people involved in these activities.