“The Little Eldons”

Part 3 of 4

Rocky Hill

Day 3 - Bowl Camp to Rocky Hill (and Camp Hill)

Date: 17 April 2022

Photo credits: Ben Wells, Tracey Orr, Simon Kendrick, Jess McDonald

Rocky Hill would be the easiest side trip on our four-day Easter adventure. It really was just a hop, skip and jump from our camp in the Pencil pine-lined amphitheatre below. Having climbed to the saddle below its eastern spur the day before (on the way to Pyramid Mountain) we knew that a lovely little pad led most of the way from the saddle to its spacious summit.

To save repeating the early parts of the Pyramid Mountain essay, we will pick up our Rocky Hill trip report from the top of the climb out of ‘Bowl camp’. Bowl camp isn’t marked on any maps, rather its a name I gave our campsite below Rocky Hill, in the most delightful bowl-like area.

Not wishing to make the mistake of a too-leisurely start again (as we had the day prior) and with rain forecast from 3pm onwards, we set off from camp at 7:30am sharp. Rocky Hill would be a doddle compared to yesterday’s long, tiring, but ultimately rewarding journey. That said, we also intended to push on to Camp Hill from Rocky Hill, and that would definitely take the doddle out of the day!

As with most things, the more you do it, the better you invariably become at the thing you are doing! During the three days we spent at camp, we repeated the short steep climb from our campsite up to Rocky Hills ridgeline, and back down again four times. Today’s trip to Rocky Hill was only our second ascent, but already we were finding the going easier. Picking up better pads, longer clear sections of pineapple grass and avoiding most of the denser scrub.

Whilst at camp the night prior Jess had spied a great pineapple grass lead up the climb, slightly west of our previous day’s line. It worked a treat, avoiding most of the scoparia. Though near the top of the ridge, it did land us in hobbit-ville, under some horizontal for a while, but minutes later we were using rock to breach the rim and soon after were standing on the ridgeline pad leading straight to the summit.

Although the stiff wind necessitated a buff to keep the chill off our faces, the sky was clear and our morning’s exertions were soon rewarded with great views all round. It would have been rude not to spend a few minutes just enjoying the views and that’s exactly what we did. Looking down to our glorious campsite below and then turning 180-degrees to look upon The Eldons behind. Far off to our west was Pyramid Mountain. Oh how glad I was that we had chosen to put Pyramid Mountain first on our trip itinerary! It would have been a thoroughly exhausting way to finish up our trip if we had left it until last.

Yesterday, Rocky Hill had been hidden in morning mist as we stood here. By the time we returned late it was obscured by darkness. This was the first time we could see the summit itself and the gentle climb to get there. Jess and I set off following the very noticeable pad with Simon and Bender as always taking their time, snapping away with their cameras.

The pad wound upwards through stunted vegetation which for the majority of the route to the summit was no higher than our ankles. In the very few spots where the vegetation covered the track, it was only for mere steps. After yesterday’s challenges, we were all thoroughly enjoying the easier going.

Even strolling, taking photos and chatting we quickly reached the base of the small rounded “hill” that we would climb to reach the summit. Here, the pad disappeared but it was no longer necessary, as patches of gravel and exposed rock made weaving around the now slightly higher vegetation easy.

In less than an hour we were on the summit of Rocky Hill, our hands on the small rock cairn centred in one of the few patches of vegetation on the summit. Its broad, gravelly summit itself was nondescript but the views in every direction were anything but!

We downed a quick snack while soaking up our fill of the landscape. To our south the distinct shape of Frenchmans Cap - as always - rose above all else in the distance. In front of it, the layers of mountainous terrain appeared in various shades of blue, caused by the low morning light scattering across the sky. The Eldon Range looking just as magnificent to our north. What a vantage point!

Even with the cold wind whipping around, it would have been lovely to stay on Rocky Hills summit for the day, just enjoying the views - but we had another peak to visit.

Laying just a few kilometres west of Rocky Hill lies its fiercely-guarded cousin - Camp Hill. With our bird’s eye view we could see what our future held for the next few hours. Steep descents, even steeper climbs and - thrown in for good measure - some of the thickest, densest and nastiest-looking scrub of the trip. And we thought we had eaten the biggest frog yesterday…