Mount Tennent - just a few kms South of Tharwa

That's the objective: Mt. Tennent. The scar is from a landslide in 2012.
It looks a bit intimidating from here (the Namadgi Visitors' Centre) - with
an ominous sky and some thunder rolling in the distance

The walk is about 15.5kms up and back via the same route (ignoring
ambling around at the top and at rest stops). 

This probably shows the steep bits better!  The middle third of the walk
is a steep climb.

The track starts off nice and gentle.

For the first kilometre or so, its easy going with rocky outcrops here and there.

There's a steady trickle of water that highlights some good
colours in the rock.

Maybe there's some iron in this hill - giving the nice red colour?

I'm not sure I'd go swimming in that pond.

The first real clear vantage point (dubbed Cypress Pine Lookout) is at
about the height of Mt.Ainslie - we're only one quarter through the climb!

More water trickling down the rocky gully.

Some colourful vegetation ... and the
sky is clearing a bit!

From here the going gets tough ... but the track is
exceptionally well made and maintained.

Steps and more steps for several hundred metres
vertical ... certainly gets the heart going.

My turn to lead the way ahead of the
(much fitter) Mark Rogers.

Another rocky outcrop.

A view back down into the valley as it shrinks into the distance.  You can
just see the Namadgi Visitors' Centre from whence we began this sojourn.

At last: time for a morning tea break as we reach the "saddle" that
marks the start of a more gentle final ascent. A pair of young(er) runners overtook us here. We would have run up too if we thought it
was a race! :)

Its a good track from here ... albeit with a
unrelenting but steady climb.

As we get further up, we join a fire trail that gives the Rangers access
to the top.  Now I find out we could have driven here!

The fire-spotting tower that marks our destination
at the top of Mt. Tennent.

Some good views back down to our starting point ...

... and all the way across Canberra. If you look hard, you can just spot
Black Mountain Tower on the hill behind the one in the centre of the picture.

To the South-East is more of the Namadgi Park. There are some
great walks down there that we've done on other occasions.

To the West its more rugged country.

That's Booroomba Rocks in the middle of the picture.

Starting back down on the fire-trail - easy on the heart, but the
knees are feeling it by the end of the trek

The rangers kindly built some seats for old timers like us to
give the knees a short break

Almost back down the to the starting point. All in all, my fitbit tells me we climbed the equivalent of 275 flights of stairs at 3m per flight = 825m uphill, and my iPhone GPS says the walk was about 15.4 kms over 5 hours (including some breaks). Best of all, I burned 1800 calories and that earns me an extra pork chop for dinner tonight! Maybe even a beer.

Looking at the profile of this walk, no wonder the
thought of a beer sounds so acceptable!