Return to Britannia Range VK3/VC-011 and Mt Bride VC-009

Now that 2016 has clicked over I get to do return visits to some of the nearby summits that I activated for the first time last year. I love the Yarra Ranges summits for their natural beauty, relative accessibility and the cool mountain environment that the tall eucalypt ecosystem creates.  On January 9th 2016 I decided to try out my new gaiters (thanks Santa) on a mountain on which they would be needed…  Britannia Range.  Setting out late in the afternoon I drove to Warburton then south on Mt Bride Rd to the junction of Britannia Range Track.

Mt Little Joe VK3/VC-027, Britannia Range VC-011 and Mt Bride VC-009

Mt Little Joe (VK3/VC-007), Mt Bride (VK3/VC-009) and Britannia Range (VK3/VC-011) form a popular same-day activator’s 10-point trifecta, all south-east of Warburton.  Getting to all three peaks is relatively straightforward.  On the day of my visit (31st May 2015) I decided to tackle Mt Little Joe first as the access descriptions and a few of the bloggers described several ways up and a particularly steep part of the climb.  Best to try this first up, not after having done two other ascents. I drove toward Warburton, picking up Old Warburton Rd on the Melbourne side, and looked for the sign to Back Stairs Track on the left (north) side of the road, about 1 km past Mount Bride Rd.