Mt Maroon - 4 Ridges

This is a very ambitious walk. It begins by hiking up the Cotswold Track (tourist route) which ascends up the NE Ridge and is the quickest and most trodden trail. I arrived at the top mid-morning so decided to check out a few other ridges. To the south there are three indistinct ridges, the descent follows the central ridge line. The top half rock-hops down a treeless ridge with only one difficulty, I followed the ridge proper, however it was obvious there are other easier options around this knoll. The bottom half consists of trackless scrub which is thick at times. Good navigation skills are recommended to follow this route in either descent or ascent. I had lunch at the top of the falls. The second ascent follows a well used trail up one of the SW gorges. For the first half the trek follows a slaby creek bed with a decent water flow. It had not rained for over two weeks but we have had good rain fall all winter. This would not be fun if raining or after heavy rain fall. The wet slabs were extremely slippery. The second half follows up the gorge on a decent track with numerous creek crossings. Due to rock hopping the trail is easily missed but stays within 5m of the creek. The second descent follows the cave route down from summit via the NW ridge then follows the cliff base to the cave. Once the trail turns NE it follows a distinct ridge line to the base of the cliffs. GPS signal is crappy under the northern cliffs and travel relies on good judgement. When in doubt follow the ridge. Once again this route has no obvious tracks and is steep with many obstacles. Mt Maroon is one big pile of boulders and any off track exploration requires bouncing from one boulder to another.