Upper Munra Question

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Guy
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Upper Munra Question

Post by Guy » May 28th, 2012, 2:05 pm

So we hiked up Munra Ridge to the Moffet Creek Trail for the first time yesterday & I have a question about Upper Munra. Referring to the map below we stayed on the ridge as far as Munra -J1. Here we saw a flagged junction with a boot path heading off on the West side of the ridge. Since we were in a hurry to get up to Moffet Creek we decided to take the junction rather than investigate the possibility of staying on the ridge. The side trail skirted a short section of the ridge then rejoined in at Munra - J2.

Question is could we have stayed on the ridge line & not taken this detour?

Thanks.

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Last edited by Guy on May 28th, 2012, 3:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Don Nelsen
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Re: Upper Munra Question

Post by Don Nelsen » May 28th, 2012, 2:41 pm

Guy,

Here is the section of the map in question with an earlier track merged onto yesterday's track. I've blown up the map x3 from the other I posted and added a scale off to the left for reference. I don't remember scaling that ridge as anything too difficult. I think our traverse on the flagged trail was harder, but then I'm 7 years older now :( I'm curious to see what others who have done both routes say.

dn

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Guy
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Re: Upper Munra Question

Post by Guy » May 28th, 2012, 4:51 pm

Thanks Don - Now I've got to go back & check it out!

Also I dug up Pablo's thread about the Powerline trail (436). A Munra Tanner loop using this connector would be a few miles shorter than what we did Yesterday.

Cheers.
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Peder
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Re: Upper Munra Question

Post by Peder » May 28th, 2012, 5:37 pm

This detour to the west was to avoid the outcrop? I have gone around the outcrop on the left (east) where there is a (relatively) steep game trail. I seem to recall an expert (Zach/Chameleon?) saying that the detour to the west is more difficult. By using the powerline trail 436 you would have avoided a lot of trail maintenance and come home earlier and less tired! :o
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Guy
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Re: Upper Munra Question

Post by Guy » May 28th, 2012, 5:55 pm

By using the powerline trail 436 you would have avoided a lot of trail maintenance and come home earlier and less tired!
I cunning plan I wish I had though of earlier Peder! It would have been easy to disappear into the mist at the end of Munra Ridge, leaving all the hard work for my trail friends :lol: :lol: ..

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Eric Peterson
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Re: Upper Munra Question

Post by Eric Peterson » May 28th, 2012, 6:14 pm

When Bosterson and I did the Munra ridge hike up to the powerlines I also noticed a lot of flagging and a lot
of brush! Was also thinking of brushing that section out as well when it was suggested that you
guys would use this route to get to the Moffet Creek cleanup, but I didn't make the epic hike!

Another time perhaps to go back in there and do some work! :)

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Guy
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Re: Upper Munra Question

Post by Guy » May 28th, 2012, 7:26 pm

Yeah, that final bit of Munra would take some work Eric, not only clearing a route but then ensuring that you could find it again! That area is so wide & flat that the few travelers that go that way have dispersed leaving no boot path. There is also some errant flagging including for some reason an East West line! We did spend about an hour working on some of the Munra obstacles on the way up though.

I expected to be in worse shape today considering all the trail work while still wearing my pack but actually I feel OK - I did sleep in till 6:15 though!!
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mandrake
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Re: Upper Munra Question

Post by mandrake » May 29th, 2012, 10:54 am

Per the rock outcrop on upper Munra: I seem to remember staying on the ridge and scrambling up some dirty gully up there on one outing many years ago. Last time I was up there (few weeks ago), I followed the flagging along the west side just out of curiousity to see if it was any better. There was a bit of a flagged boot track around the west side of the ridge, then it gave out abruptly. From there I just thrashed on up and got back on top of the ridge again; didn't seem too bad insofar as a bypass of the rocky area.

The ridge does get extremely brushy when it flattens & broadens out before reaching the powerlines. The worst of it can be avoided tho' by staying climber's right / west side of the ridge in open forest. It is a lot faster going that way. I did find some sporatic flagging through this area.

Take good beta if going down the powerline trail -- the upper part is not easy to find. There is some very steep & loose terrain up there.

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rick6003
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Re: Upper Munra Question

Post by rick6003 » June 3rd, 2012, 10:20 am

Guy, You can climb straight up the outcropping, its steep but pretty easy. At one point you have a choice of climbing up the slab rock or squeezing up through a chimney from here its a short climb to the point.

On my last hike up we went to the top of the climb them came back, I knew about the trail on the West side but have never took it. My hikers didn't want to descend the way we had just came up so I looked down that west side and decided that the East is much more open and lots of trees to bounce from. We took the East side and its not a bad down climb at all.

@Mandrake, I will try the woods route sometime, I have always skirted the ridge line and came out on a old road covered with Rhodies till you hit the Powerlines.

Were doing this next week again, but looping over to Wauneka Point and down thru the Gap. My intro to scrambling hike for newbies!!!
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Easyrider
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Re: Upper Munra Question

Post by Easyrider » June 26th, 2012, 6:34 am

We did this one last November and thought it had the makings of a nice hike. No people, nice views, good workout.

http://www.theoriginaleasyrider.com/munra.htm

We didn't have the equipment to be doing a rock climb so we decided to bail a few hundred feet from the top. Going up seemed steer but easy enough. Wasn't so sure about getting back down. Especially for Julie who isn't really into rock climbing, heights or exposure.

Probably a dumb question but I always wondered if someone installed any bolts, chains or other fixed anchors that you could repel off of without having to leave biners and what not behind.

It also sounds like there are alternate, easier descent trails.. wondering how easy/difficult they are to locate. We saw zero flagging tape up there, at least as far as we went and as it was mentioned, following boot tracks may not be a possibility once you get up into the rocks.

I'm reasonably confident that I can get up and down going the steep rock route. But I don't want to have to explain to Julie's kids why I put her in a situation where she fell and got hurt. Thought I'd probably do this again solo as a scouting mission and see what the experienced folks here have for advice.
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