Joes Mountain Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia
By lizzyn on 29-Oct-07. Waypoint GC170G8

Found at the start of this grey, cool day. I was cautious through the long grass due to some recent snake encounters. This was a lovely side track and I enjoyed going up the rocky hill. Tftc

After dropping the boy in castle Hill for 10 hrs of basketball related activities I continued on to quarry Rd dural with the intention of heading down tunks Ridge. When I got to the turnoff at the trig I decided not to enter the rifle range exclusion zone so dropped down into the gorge and up the other side to pick up a few caches instead. This was my first find. Good to see a decent size cache, easy find, contents dry and in good condition. TNLNSL TFTC

My navigation stopped working but it was found

Great to finally get up here, it's been 4 years in the making! With a sleepy GF, I hit the trail a little late but managed to get to the base of the hill a bit before 11. Made my way up the spur with hints of trail along the way. On arrival at GZ, the cache was found pretty quickly. As I thumbed through the logbook, there were many tales of nude models, ex computer technicians looking for somewhere to pitch their tent and junkies on a melencholic rant. But if you want to know more, well I guess you will have to come and see for yourself! Can't leave this go unloved for that long again! TFTC!!!!

Replaced the cache container and added some fresh goodies. Good to see the last container kept the contents dry for 14 years!

Very nice little trek, now need to find a shortcut back without falling over the edge.

This geocacher reported that the container is damaged.

Lovely little trek up to the top, then a nice peaceful spot to take a break. Took a dinosaur and left a goat.

The box is a bit cracked, but the contents and the log are perfectly fine. Thanks for the cache!

Great little spot. Saw a snake on the journey up in the long brush.
Pachman swapped a few toys in and out and was pretty impressed with the collection in the cache overall.
The box is a little worse for wear and could stand to be replaced but overall everything was still nice and dry.

Nice little mountain

We have been meaning to come and find this cache for a long time. In need of some exercise we decided to target this cache. We enjoyed the climb up the mountain and were rewarded with som beautiful views. The container lid is broken, fortunately, the contents are dry. Thanks lizzyn. The 4Rods.

Trying to find a few 'Jasmer' caches today, and this one seemed the handiest for the relevant month. I followed the suggested route in, looks like a nice park at the start of the walk, and plenty of people wandering around today. Going up that mountain (or should I say "average sized hill" took it out of me I haven't been doing enough exercise and have been drinking spectacularly. I blame covid. But I got up there, and spent only a little longer than I should have to locate the cache. The cache lid is fully damaged, but the cache seems to be surviving OK regardless. Signed log and replaced as found. TFTC!

Great fun coming off the firetrail and finding a way up to GZ, and then finding the way down again. A very beautiful area.
Nice hide! TFTC!!

I brought geodog up to Hornsby for a walk today. These bushwalks are not what he is used to as our local streets are too crowded with muggles these days, used to just be me and geodog walking around.
Being seranaded by a Superb Lyrebird very nearby I followed the firetrail, for much longer than I thought, watching the metres on the GPS increase until finally I spotted what I thought might be a track up the mountain.

Up we went. Some of the spots were a large scramble for geodog. I know why no one has been here for a very long time, at some time during one of our summer storms an enormous tree has fallen across the 'track' which was a difflicult spot for us to negotiate.
Finally we made it to the top - great views!
Once there I tethered geodog to a small tree, don't want him venturing over the cliff edge, and thought now where too? Looked at the GPS, 0m, OK I must be standing on top of it.
And I was!

On the way back sometimes I thought I was following a track and sometimes not but I came out on the main firetrail at the exact same place where I started so maybe I was.

TFTC # 3922

After having held on to a good little TB for a bit longer than I would like, I decided that today was the day to find a worthy cache to release him.
Took Geodog with me and had a lovely walk up the mountain (big hill). Hope the next cachers don’t take too long to come and find this one.
Beautiful spot here while I fill in the log and post my find. Happy travels to the little TB.
I replaced the zip lock baggie, removed some undesirable contents (food/tea bag/and some prophylactics )
Took the geocoin, left a TB, left some nice goodies and a crafty homemade pathtag)

Lyn999 and puff_25
️️ Slightly overcast , 21C
NIL Muggles / Plague Muggles
︎ Nil Grabbed - TB Missing from cache
︎ Geocoin Dropped
No critters or hazards
Cache in good condition, lid cracked but contents dry. TB missing

Parked in Rosemead St and took the advice in the cache description and continued on the trail for the easy way up. I had actually walked up to this area from Quarry Rd, Dural on a previous bushwalk but didn't look for the cache. A fun plod up the hill to some nice views and a nice easy find. Dropped a geocoin, took nothing. SL. Thanks for bringing us to this great spot and the cache lizzyn!

Great work out . Do it in winter. Tftc found with Bigswifty1.

Great cache. I've walked around Joe's Mountain for years but never had a reason to climb it (not that that's ever stopped me before). Today after finishing the Higgins Hidden Valley series I decided to make the ascent and was really happy I did. The lid is cracked, but I don't think it is likely to get wet. Otherwise all good. TFTC.

[GCCODE]
Found with Rambolina
On a dismal and drizzly day we walked along the nearby trail first not even realising that a geocache lay atop this mountain and when my phone beeped and I realised I had a signal, I spied a cache and so the mountaineering began !
As Rambolina checked her emails after wandering all over, I looked for her continued support when I realised she was almost sitting on it lol

[green] - Found It on [DAYLONG] ... at [TIME]...

TFTC! - [blue][PLACEDBY][/blue] ... [/green]
Total Finds now ... [FINDCOUNT]
--
[blue] This log was posted with GCDroid, on Android![/blue]

Daughter and I found it! Probably took the hard way but got there in the end!

Great spot. Great cache. Plenty of exercise. SL. Tnln. Tftc.

Wow, what a climb. We found a clearing, but no trail, so not sure if it's THE clearing. Without a trail, the climb to the top was a little challenging, but not impossible. Nice breeze at the top, no leeches today . Logged and swapped some gifts

Initially started off on the wrong track which led to alot more bush bashing than would've been necessary otherwise. Once we found the right path (which was quite clearly marked) we followed the instructions and made our way up. Lovely spot, TFTC.

Good climb

That was a good climb. We went up along the path suggested in the description, and came back down along the shortest route. It is very steep, but you can avoid any serious rock climbing if you choose your path carefully. The main problem with this route is the fern forest we had to wade through at the end, where we each got a couple of leeches. TFTC

I reckon I will give this cache a favourite, lovely walk in the bush, strenuous in some areas but not hard. Nice scenery, well aged cache and a fun time doing this. tftc tnln

What a climb!!! TFTF

Really enjoyed getting to the top of this place, hide is classic bush geocaching, fantastic!!

Nice walk on a beautiful day. Thanks for placing.
Cheers

Great cache in a great spot. Was walking the Bluebird track today and this was the first of several planned finds. TFTC.

Nice start on this Sunday, ticking of an old one. Thanx for taking me to this spot.

#3167 (Streak day 409)

Just the one cache to celebrate the end of the Financial Year, so decided to make it a good one.
I've been eyeing this one for a while and thought today was the day to bite the bullet.

Approaching Hornsby I looked at the clouds and decided cache first, lunch later.

Parked at the appropriate spot, applied the tropical (this week, should that be arctic?) strength repellent after reading about **Toriaz** and **Biker Buddy's** leech fun - already had one of them recently.
Grabbed my hiking pole and immediately passed three women just finishing the fire trail.

Nice easy walk to the clearing with the sign, and to the soothing (?) sounds of gunfire from the nearby range, made my way along the track.
Mostly easy hike to the top - the odd spot was navigated carefully due to leaf cover over the rocks.

Once up top I closed in on GZ and stopped to check the reading. 6 metres - OK... whats that? CIH!
Just approached from the right direction, although I must admit the position surprised me - no camo at all.

Competed signing duties and took in the view back down to where I started. Is that *The Hademobile*?

Time to walk back down. Then off to lunch at the nearby megamall.

SLTNLN
TFTC

Today I did the walk from Hornsby station to Quarry Road Dural and back, making a bit of a detour to grab this cache along the way. I left the main track at the recommended spot, alongside a "no dogs no motorbikes" sign where a rough path heads south in the direction of the cache. Once at the bottom of the mountain I lost the path but the undergrowth is pretty open so it wasn't too bad apart from the heat and humidity.

Once at GZ, I quickly spotted the cache, taking advantage of the shade and a cooling breeze while signing the log. Many thanks for the hide and for keeping it going for so long.

#4,013

This was the fun one of the day, with a bit of a walk and a nice climb up to get to the cache. Bikerbuddy and I probably wouldn't have come out this way for some time, but Canary was keen to find this cache and we were letting him choose where to go today.

Once at GZ we all started searching different spots. Bikerbuddy and I actually went straight past the cache, but didn't look from the right direction and missed it completely. We went a bit too low, then turned around to come back. Meanwhile Canary looked higher, came from the right direction and made a quick find.

We started opening the container, and looking for the log and all that, when bikerbuddy found a leech. I looked down and saw one on my leg. We quickly moved over to a broad rock that looked leech free and started checking ourselves. Canary escaped without finding any, but bikerbuddy & I had to remove a few, which makes me think we picked them up from the spot we searched down lower. We thought we got rid of them all, but found a few more at the next cache stop.

Thanks

A walk and talk with bikerbuddy and Toriaz.

We got to a logical spot and began rock hopping and climbing to GZ.

Once there it was a fairly quick find from the right angle. But the leeches were faster and had already attacked bikerbuddy and Toriaz!!!

TFTC.

This cache was Canary's primary goal in this area, so we were happy to follow him up the track to look for this cache. It was a pretty easy stroll around to the other side of the hill before leaving the path to take the final approach. We approached the cache by skirting around the top of the hill, and then found ourselves too low, so we scrambled up some rocks and made the last approach from above.

We didn't see the obvious at first. Sometimes it's just a matter of looking in the right direction, as Canary found. But before that I crawled into a little cave to look for the cache. As we were signing the log I noticed a leech just under my watch band, then we found others, on our shoes, our trouser legs and in our shoes. Somehow Canary managed to avoid them, but Toriaz and I were picking them off. Even later, when we stopped for a cache at Thornleigh, I noticed a leech on my left hip, and when Toriaz checked, she found one in the middle of my back.

So, a great location, but I was reminded, as Shakespeare once pointed our, we are just food for worms. Thanks

#206
Parked near playground and wandered along the fire trail until the clearing on left. Followed a trail but veered off too early resulting in some unnecessary bush bashing. Went higher and found terrain much easier. Luckily it was a Coolidge morning. At GZ placed my bag on a rock and started exploring. After a few minutes found it right under where I started. Thanks for the enjoyable walk and bringing me here. Dropped TB. TFTC

Nice off the track spot here! TFTC!

Drove to this one once before but being late in the day as I stood on the trail up at the road, looking up and thought, naw, not today.
Parked in the same spot next to the playground and this time set off at 4pm.
Followed the windy trail for some 400m or steps and left the trail. Usually Most bush caches seem to be downward from the road and upward back to the car. Heard a loud bounding sound upon my ascent, knowingly a wallaby was nearby but I didn't see him. Once at the top, it was a swift find and that monkeys off my back too, thanks lzyn

Came from the other side. Big mistake but lots a fun.. And leeches!

What a hike, no track to this one!

Field log

Loved it !

30/08/14. 7:53 AM. Cache #1815. A busy day today, before we head off down to Canberra and the snow tomorrow, meant that my only window for grabbing a streak saving cache was going to be early this morning. This one had been on my radar for a while and a bit of mountain climbing seemed like a great pre-snowboarding workout. I pulled up to a parking spot at the end of Rosemead Ave and followed the winding path. Where I left the path might not have been the intended clearing as mentioned in the description but it was a spot where an apparent cacher's trail seemed to have been made in the direction of the cache, so I followed this.

This wasn't just a scramble; it was very steep this way. I had to meander a bit to find the easiest ways, and every once in a while I alternated between following narrow goat tracks and pulling myself up rock faces via hand holds and trees that seemed sturdy enough. Finally I got to the top, or rather the reasonably level ridge line, and followed that for 80m to GZ.

Luckily once there, the find was easy. The threat of rain was looming so I was glad for the quick find and now needed a quick return. I considered a straight line for the car and started picking my way in that direction but soon found my way blocked by cliffs. So, I still needed to meander to find safer ways down, which still involved some difficult scrambles because even the bits that weren't cliffs were very steep. The last bit involved very heavy bracken, which was also hard going. I finally got to the fire trail and back to the car. Leech check - pulled three off my socks before they'd got me and thought that was the end, but there was one more that got me in the end, No big surprise. It was now raining and time to head for home. Good fun, though. TFTC }:)

This one has been in and out of closest unfound to home for a while, so with limited time for caching this afternoon I decided on quality over quantity and thought one nice bushwalk cache would be in order. Drove to the end of Rosalie and then made my way along the fire trail until the time came to head bush. It wasn't too much of a bush bash but was indeed a bit of a climb to the top. Once there the cache was quickly found and a TB retrieved. Nice view across the valley to the houses up there. On the way down I could spot bushwalkers on the trail below and near the bottom had a couple of whip birds making their distinctive call. Lovely spot near suburbia, thanks lizzyn.

Good fun to find!

Great fun beautiful views

TFTC. Having passed the mountain countless times & wondered what's up there, now I know. Thanks.
The track from the trail clearing is still there & can be followed all the way to the top.

A meeting finsihed about an hour earlier than I had expected, and I had nothing in particular I needed to do .... how could I fill in the time?

A light misty rain was falling, making it all but silent. Enjoyed the unexpected exercise climbing the mountain, although each bumb of a tree sent a shower of rain down my back.

Found the cache quite quickly, and thought maybe I had time for one more, and briefly contemplated the direct line approach to "The "Deadly Tree"", but decided to make use of the trails instead .....

A lovely piece of Australian bush, well worth the walk!

A great walk in. Found a small narrow walking path from the fire trail that lead me to the top. Quick find with GPS near perfect. Took 2 TBs, 2 TB's remain.

TFTC!

Went back up to have a second attempt and success!!!
Yellow Koala duly deposited.

#1400
What an excellent cache for my mini-milestone. I followed the fire trail up from Rosemead Rd but didn't quite go far enough before deciding to swing left and bush bash up. Initially, there were quite a number of ferns to wade through but as I climbed higher, they diminished and I soon discovered one of the mini stone cairns so I knew I was on the right track. The metres slowly counted down as I climbed higher, pausing every so often to gather my breath, (I'm not as young as I used to be!!) It wasn't long before I found the going much easier and GZ came into view. Nothing immediately jumped out at me so changed altitude slightly and the tell-tale look of natural camouflage came into view. I was pleased to see the original logbook in this cache so sat on a nearby rock and thumbed through it. I added my moniker to the illustrious list of finders and replaced it in the cache. I also added three TBs that I had in my possession for way too long. I think they'll be safe here until the next finder comes along. On the way back, I found the track I should have taken. The description did mention a clearing on the left. This is what you need to look for. I also positioned a rock on top of a bigger rock as a marker for future searchers. I really enjoyed the walk to this cache and the knowledge the walk back would be all downhill!!!! Well done lizzyn. I had a most enjoyable caching experience today. It sure beats those blasted urban micros!!!! I'm happy to give this cache a favourite too!

Oops.... forgot to log the TB drop. Sorry!

After my 'incident' about a week ago Cookie was taking it steadily for me. Different shoes made it a bit easier. And a Nordic walking pole was extra assistance!
Difficult to find a way up a couple of times, but soon worked it out and got to the right level of the mountain.
Coordinates good in the end, tho I was wondering at first. Cache in good condition
TNLN, just Hedge Hopper TB thru
TFTC lizzyn

While we were heading to Sydney to get some canoeing caches I had had some caches bookmarked for quite a while, so got a few bushwalking ones as well.
Certainly not the easiest cache to get to. The grass trees can make it a bit tricky as they will grow out over a overhang.
Used a broken stick to help steady myself.
Should have looked for a trig station at 'the top' as I don't remember being up here before. Found the cache after short hunt - dry and intact.
Brought through for mileage: 3 Bros, Aust Light Houses, B 2 B ingot, I Bashed at MidWest 2007, Iconic Bridges, Just Monkeying Around Oz, Little Moo, PAP, Trackabulldog, cache critters Baa, Neigh Neddy, and Oink, and trackable shirt.
TFTC lizzyn

A good walk from Quarry Road along part of the Great North Walk, followed by a short trail up the hill. This is probably our last geocache in Australia so we are glad it was a good bush one. TFTC. Favourite point for the location.

We parked at the end of Rosemead St and took a GPSr reading and the prize looked close but the Mountain higher than expected so we continued over the creek and up the fire trail. We where tempted to leave the track early in search of the faint trail but kept on the fire trail a little longer even thought neddle was showing we where getting further away. We saw the clearing at last (not very long at all) (rough co-ords are 33 41.854 151 5.151) headed up. There are a few little carins on the way up and appear just as the track starts to fade a little more but the bush is light. We got to the rocky area near GZ and then have taking in the views searched around a bit before locating the cache. We signed the log and re hid. A nice little walk TFTC

A very pleasant mountain! Not too tall. Followed the advice on the cache page and found the little path heading to the top - unfortunately I soon after lost the little path, but that did not matter as the bush was pretty sparse in this area. As short scramble later and a scoot through a little more bush, and I had closed in on the target. Checked a few spots and then the correct one. TFTC x

Well this was an experience for a cacher from Adelaide.
In NSW for the weekend as we are going to the opening in Darling Harbour on Saturday night of Jimmy Buffetts Margaritaville.
Headed over to this one from Tubbys Turf on an overcast morning.
It was about 7am as I headed through the Mall on my way to find a starting point for this cache.
Was going to start in the Park but it was all fenced off.
So I headed round to Quarry rd and started on the Great Northern Walk. However after a short time I came to a spot where the trail split and since I hate giving up high ground I didnt head down the stairs.
Silly me because that track came out on Lowanna Pl and then back onto Rosemead which of course headed downwards and circled back to where I would have come out if I went down the stairs.
The rain started coming down as I entered the fire track and up the hill looking for a clearing.
Then a scamble up a very wet hill to the top.
Happy to find a cache at GZ,
Signed the log and headed back. I was very wet and slipped on my bum on the way down.
Took the staircase this time and was soon back at the mall looking like a drowned rat.
Then back to where we are staying and a nice hot shower.

A stand out caching experience Loved it

Been sick for 2 days now but that's far to long to go without a cache. Headed up the mountain following the suggested route until I arrived at a likely area. Checked the gps and sure enough I was standing right on top of the cache. Enjoyed the fresh air as the sun went down. Cheers

Found it after a hard walk in tongs and shorts... Not really appropriate clothing for this one!

I’m glad I observed the advice for once and took the recommended route to the top. It was a very pleasant ascent and really beautiful at the top. SL TNLN TFTC

Thankfully no leeches here for this one! I've had so many of the little blighters today I think they sense my tainted blood

Great trek, much appreciated!

Well as we were doing the Blue Gum Walk today we decided to start with this one. It was unclear where the clearing was, and we found a sort of clearing with a not really path up it, but we thought it could be a "faint" path I guess...

Anyway that path lasted for about ten metres (!) so we found another one of the same horrible sort which brought us about ten metres further. And then there was no clear path one bit. It was solid BUSH.

So we cut through the ferns and other thick bush, dodging rocks and trees along the way, but it was not a very fun journey. [B)]

We finally got to what we called a clearing, though that was very bushy too, just not quite as bushy as before.

We climbed rocks, scrambled around, etc. It was more like a terrain 3.5 or 4 for us. But FINALLY we got to the GZ, where the obvious cache was soon recovered.

Beautiful views, nice adventure, TFTC.

JUst watch for the leeches!!!

On the way back we spotted the real path, which led us down to the clearing. Maybe you should note in the description that the clearing is very obvious and the real path isn't actually very faint at all.

After doing this cache we finished the walk, which is definitely recommended with the awesome views, great forest, interesting rock formations and at one point an awesome mini waterfall as you cross the stream. After that we had a nice lunch at the park at the track head. Overall a great morning.

#1082
So on from my epic Rock Hopper cache adventure, I continued on to finish off this cache. I walked and met quite a few groups on the trails and then started getting closer to GZ. As I walked past, I had read the description, but didn't fully understand it. I had now made my way almost to Rosemount St I guess. So I gulped some more water and headed back, this time looking for my 'faint' track.

I sort of found one and started my ascent up the mountain. Then halfway up, I found the proper trails mentioned...ha! I continued and found the flat top of Joe's mountain. Walked to GZ and found his cache soon after. WHEW! SL, TNLN and replaced cache. Had a moment to rest and check the area, and then made my way back down, passing a muggle who was coming up for a look see! Great climb and cache, thanx lizzyn, TFTC.

Weather: overcast but dry
Searchers: just me
Muggles: none
GPS at GZ: 2m
Cache conditions: good

I followed the instructions and walked around to the clearing before heading up the hill. The path is reasonably easy to follow with a few options in places, so I got up to the top pretty quickly and then easily found the container, which is out of sight and under cover and therefore dry. The bird chatter was mixed with the sounds of human civilisation below, which took away the feeling of "getting away from it all", and also a reminder of how lucky we are to have such pleasant bushland right next to our suburbia. I signed the log, taking and leaving nothing, then headed back to the car.

I then went to pick up my son from childcare, where it was noticed that I had taken along some leech-tourists, which provided the morning's excitement for the kids. Yeech.

TFTC!

Found with djdi16. Bit of a hunt but we got there in the end. TFTC

Found it with supe 60! Tftc great stash for kids.

Great climb

What a great adventure! Took the geokids to enjoy some school holiday sunshine, the beautiful bushland and the awesome views.
Found the cache pretty quickly once at GZ. Upon looking through the logbook – we were amazed at how many people have accidentally found this cache and discovered geocaching as a result.
Took the TB and left some swaps. Thanks for a great cache Lizzyn.

PS – Leeches discovered all over our legs when we were half way home. One had gone through my sock!

Fantastic walk up the mountain. Glad there was only a few leeches given the horror of the Hidden Higgins caches earlier! SL TFTC

After a bit of a false start with the entry point - (pays to read the cache description) we commenced our climb to Joes Mountain.
We missed the track to the top at first, however we were rewarded with a couple of wallabies crossing our path and a big water dragon scurry up the path.
Great walk and hide. Relatively leech free this one:)

SL TFTC

This is one beautiful place!! However, be warned, after and during rain it is leech-city. I did the circuit walk weekend before last (not stopping to cache as i went just as a storm was starting) I got soaked to the skin, literally, and when i got home and peeled off the shoes and jeans, i found no less than 8 bloodsucking passengers... Urgh, gross....

TOday was much better altho i did spot (and remove unceremoniously) one of the little B****ds trying to get into my shoe as i was heading back downhill post cache. Ah yes, downhill... I thought it was WAY worse than the going-up - it's SOOO slippery with all the dry leaves, i kept finding myself leaf-skiing...).

Now lizzyn, all i can say is that i am BLOODY glad i managed to find the damn thing cos if i'd done that climb and come away empty handed (like the poor previous lot - no wonder they looked so cheesed off!!!) I would have been looking JUST as unhappy!!!

TnLn, SL, TfTc !!

Just checking up on this cache. All good.

Help pls

#5273
We managed to find the cache after a short climb. We also discovered two "funny looking worms", which we now know to have been Australian land leeches. Quite interesting, since I never saw one before in my life.
TFTC from Austria

Wow!
We thought it was a nice day for a walk so we parked at Rosemead road and set off.... we thought we had found the correct entry and faint path but upon leaving discovered there was a better one! We've put a screenshot of our route using MapMyRun... The boys (4years and 5.5years) made it up the steep hill without too many complaints... had to lift them over a few obstacles. I'm really proud of them!!! (Although I wouldn't do it again!)
We found the cache after a bit of searching then sat and enjoyed the view.
Thanks for bring us here - we feel we've really accomplished something!!
Left the "Catch me if you can" TB.
TFTC

Quite a climb - especially after climbing the wrong hill first! (Note to self: enable GPSr compass in future.) Some great views. Didn't know we had a bluegum forrest so close. Thanks for the exercise and the cache.

Not too hard, even showed the location to a few leaches!

What a walk! After battling quite a few leeches we located this awesome placed cache. Tftc tnln

Hot afternoon but I thought I'd make the trek. Got to the top of Joe's Mountain with little problem but took a bit of searching to find the cache. Did find a well-secreted and wrapped glass pipe which I left in its hidey-hole - no cash crop was evident in the immediate vicinity.

It's a nice bushland area and I think the heat has shrivelled all the leeches away for the time being. TNLNSL. Thanks lizzyn!

Bashed up and down the mountain with a friend for his first cache. Plenty of bugs and leeches. Signed log TNLN

Having followed advised directions, could certainly imagine was easier route than "straight up" (ie as viewed from final cache location). Took time out to relax and cool down from the uphill scramble .... views just fantastic. Also amusing read of the logs. Non-destructive muggle entries were good (container was a little too clearly visible) . After overcoming the leeches (again), SL then increased the amount of camo cover around the cache to hide the container. Should be less muggleobvious but still easy geocacherobvious. TFTC

Cache 2 of 8 found during a day of caching with dad

We found the clearing off the Great North Walk and headed up the mountain without too much trouble. Made it to the top and admired the wonderful view. As another cacher said, its quite bizarre how it feels like you're a million miles away from civilisation ...and then you hear suburban noises! (garbage truck in our case). I sat on a rock at GZ with a massive foot cramp while dad had a look around for the cache. within seconds dad was back up on the rocks - as we discovered we hadn't actually left leech territory after all O__O The leeches we saw in the leaf litter up here were as big as the ones down in the creek/ferny areas (for much of the Higgens Hidden Valley series). Sadly we have pictures to prove the point T_T

After some creative balancing manouvers, dad extracted the cache from its hiding hole without leaving sandstone footing!! Cache contents are very dry and pretty good as far as cache-loot goes in general. I popped in some pokemon cards, a mini turtle statue and some other bits and pieces I'd brought along ^_^ Had a read through the log (never leaving my sandstone perch!) and was pleasantly surprised by the number of muggle-logs! Loved the one with the couple doing some "au-naturale" photography up here in the bush!!! I sincerely hope their experience was leech-free!! XD

Having a track-back feature on the gps definitely helped getting back down the hill, it all looks the same after a while!

Thanks for this awesome cache Lizzyn!! ^_^

I can't believe I really climbed Joe's Mountain and lived to tell the tale!

This one was on my 'too hard' list over the past few months. I've often walked in this general Berowra Reserve area in past years -- mainly from the Quarry Road, Dural side -- and logged 'Fenced Off,' but thought the mountain might just be too touch. I don't mind a bit of bush bashing, but bush bashing up a 45 degree slope while fighting off leeches seemed like a task for a younger geocacher.

However, I arrived at the suggested Hornsby car park today, and took a leaf from smurfyguy's book (see his log and mine for the 'Bush Basher' cache in Hornsby Heights) and asked myself: only 250 metres from the end of Rosemead Road with a fire trail part of the way? How hard can that be? Well, the answer in this case is: actually, not really very hard at all!

lizzyn's directions are very helpful, the slope up Joe's Mountain is pretty open bushland (though steep) and no leeches appeared en route.

I would add that when the Rosemead Road fire trail takes its left, don't look for the immediate 'faint trail' through the clearing to your right. That's the wrong way. Go on for another 100 metres or so until you see another little clearing -- and faint trail -- bearing off to your left. Your GPSr will confirm that the cache is that way, and that the lightly wooded, rocky slope to your left is indeed the famous 'Joes Mountain' with no apostrophe.

My GPSr's batteries were getting low and I was walking along with it turned off. So when I made the required left-hand turn on the Rosemead fire trail, I looked up to my right by mistake and my blood chilled at the 'alternative mountain' on that side -- 45 degrees, heavily wooded and a likely leech-haven. It was exactly what I had expected. Imagine my relief when I fired up my Oregon 300 and discovered that Joe's was actually on the other side of the trail. It made the rather steep and rocky climb seem relatively easy.

I won't give any more clues. The published coordinates are pretty good and you'll eventually find the cache without much ado. (I found it lying out in the open and replaced it in a likely 'rocky hide' nearby.)

TNLNSL. The cache and contents were dry and in good order, despite their exposure.

Great spot and some nice glimpses from the rocky summit.

Thank you, lizzyn!

Jackeroo was there and says TFTNC. No trade.

A reasonable trek up, on an average temperature Wednesday.
Great views all around.
TNLN.
TFTC.

The cache was an easy find once I'd scrambled and rock climbed up to GZ. It was weird being up here feeling like you were a million miles from everywhere yet I could hear someone mowing their lawn.

What goes up, must come down. I was sure it must be true (after all, they wrote a song about it), I got up here in 15 minutes so why can't I find my way down? As I tried to force my way through a plantation of grass trees thinking in the back of mind thinking 'don't snakes like grass trees?' I decided to phone Norkmeister (who'd set me this challenge) for some moral support. Having confirmed I was headed in the correct direction I traversed the mountain until the fire trail was in sight and I could see a route down. I was just about to head down when I spotted a ranger with a group of walkers on the trail below (poofs!) and ducked down so I wouldn't be seen. 45 minutes after replacing the cache I was back on flat ground.

With adrenaline pumping through my veins I headed off to Choice Water View.

TNLN. Thanks for a wild ride!

This cache has been my toughest so far because it was 45°C today. I was geocaching in Kalgoorlie last January but this one was tougher. I was planning to do 2 more caches but skipped both because I was feeling very tired. Thanks for bringing us here.

TFTC TFTH
Took ansell
Left keyring

#72

Interesting spot looking down towards houses.

I tried to get across to Westleigh by walking on a compass bearing - not recommended! There is some fairly tough cliffs that way... I did manage to get down near the water treatment works and up the other side and then followed a walking track back towards Westleigh/ Quarter Sessions Road. Ended up coming out in someones back yard off a fire trail - they had large "tresspassers will be prosecuted" signs and "bushwalkers not welcome" signs up. I guess I don't blame them but I would have thought encouraging bushwalkers and discouraging grumps would be more productive.

TFTC

Followed the advice in the description, probably wise ..made it to the top and to the spot pretty quickly despite it being a very hot day today. Found the cache after a few false starts and had a break on the rock looking down before heading back down. Made a few kiddy swaps and left the Travelling Dog Tag TB. TFTC

left that one for last to do on the way back, big mistake should have done it first that climb up the hill was tough after 6 hours of bush walking!
Anyway got to GZ eventually and the cache was soon in hand. Amazing spot, loved it I am sure glad I decided to make the effort.
Took nothing, left Yowie and Olympic pins.
Now for the killer trip back to Hornsby Station up the Rosemead Rd hill, now there is a killer climb for you, do yourself a favor and take the car down so you can drive back up!

Found by Nanny and Bo.
On the way back (down) we lost our Garmin 60CSX (welcome says "be kind to Nanny and Bo")
Spent an hour backtracking etc, but to no avail.
A good cache despite all else

Another great view, but a good idea if you have a GPSr mark a way point when you leave the track. TNLN SL TFTC

This one has been sitting on our radar for some time as our nearest unfound cache. There was a kids' party at the park at the start with a sign "Welcome Earthlings".
Followed the trail and then bush-bashed up the hill where many have been before. Struggled a little at GZ but then found it. Interesting to find a "French letter" (unused!) in the cache! Perhaps it was put there by the muggle who had found it some time back when taking "nude photographs in nature" or something like that. He'd even left an email address if you wanted copies - he did have a 'model' with him he said.
Anyway after our hard slog in we felt obliged to take CampPapa's $5 and go for a chocolate milkshake. Sorry not a coffee. Thanks CP - hope to catch you on the hunt in the USA one day.[^]
Took soccer badge, left fancy highlighter pen. Thanks!

This has to be my favorite Aussie cache, so far. I am loving all things Australian, including my new granddaughter! If you are the next finder of this cache, please take the $5 and have a flat white on me. Look forward to seeing Aussie cachers in the USA.

2nd one ever, a nice good effort to get to! Next time I'll take a compass though and not just the iPhone, when I got within 100m I went in completely the wrong direction, and took me 30 mins to get to where it was supposed to be...

No sign of fake snake! Or maybe I'm just oblivious...

First geocache ever. I think I'll get addicted quickly

Yay - my first ever geocache find! Thanks.