Mount Vernet

Yesterday we went for a fantastic walk with the ramblers. The weather was dry, mostly sunny and not very windy. This was especially appreciated as we had gales all day on Saturday which had made us rather mopey. (Simon because it was too windy for him to go out windsurfing and me because some of my rigid cloches had blown away in the garden and the corrugated polycarbonate sheets smashed.)

We drove up near Estancia settlement and left 2 vehicles where the walk was planned to end. We then walked up Estancia Mountain which is almost 1,000 feet high and has rocky crags on top which were fun to scramble up.

We then walked over another small peak towards Mount Vernet. On the way I noticed this small but bright lichen or something (any suggestions?).

On the way up Mount Vernat there were plenty more opportunities for those of us that wanted to to scramble up rocky outcrops until we reached the main ridge.

I noticed this interesting curved piece of strata.

The ridge was almost like a huge wall which you could walk along the top of but it became quite precipitous before reaching the summit so we had to take a longer route round.

A lunch break was welcome when we reached the summit cairn at about 1,300 feet.

This is the route we did not ascend by!

There were fantastic views in all directions although it was rather hazy.

This was looking northwards over Berkley Sound to Port Louis, Johnson's Harbour and Volunteer Point.

In the valley below us was a vast stone run known as Prince's Street which we descended towards.
As we came down this gulley I noticed an interesting crack forming a tunnel through the large rock on the right through which you could see daylight on the other side.

Of course this was too tempting to leave unexplored! It was probably about 15 metres long and got progressively narrower and lower but there was a little daylight filtering down through the overhead crack in the middle.

I went first and Simon was surprised that I managed to get through as he found it a tight squeeze! As I dropped down at the end I wasn't sure if I would be able to get back up again or if there would be an alternative route back. In fact I did manage to get back and it would have been perfectly easy to get round the outside.

As we headed down the Prince's Street valley we had to cross quite a few tributaries of the stone run which can be a bit challenging but I find they are easier if you keep up a reasonable speed and momentum, although many of the stones are balanced and tip when you stand on them so it can be rather un-nerving.

It was good to get back to the car and brew a cup of tea while we waited for some of the others to catch up. We had walked 6 1/4 miles but with challenging terrain and a lot of rock scrambling it had been quite tiring.