Stretcher Track - Stinson Trail FULL ONE DAY CIRCUIT - Lamington National Park

A never-before-seen video of this track - this video will contain the best trail notes you can possibly find which is why I create them for hikers... FOR YOU. https://youtu.be/RWvQmRtqfNI

My start point was corner of Christmas Creek Rd and Gap Creek Rd, opposite the popular Stinson Campsite. This is the full complete circuit completed in ONE DAY as a personal challenge to retrace the footsteps of those amazing men who back in February 1937 performed this clockwise to rescue the two survivors of the Stinson Plane Crash at night. They machete cut a track (now called Stretcher Track) along the top ridgeline close to Point Lookout for the next 13kms - once again in pitch black darkness with only lanterns. My respect goes out to each of them.

My stats:
31kms
8hrs 40mins non-stop hiking

TIPS -
There is absolutely no phone reception on Stretcher Track apart from the odd blip, so do not rely upon phone NAV.
Take a PLB with you and a good working GPS device that you have confidence in using.
I also use a GARMIN FENIX 5X as my hiking watch which is exceptionally brilliant with GPS tracking, and this showed the Stretcher Track trail which was of great benefit to me.
Take Electrolyte tablets with you such as Hydralyte.... this trail will bring out dehydration symptoms such as muscular cramping especially in the legs - even in winter.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND anyone doing Stretcher Track unless you are absolutely competent with your NAV skills. The track is extremely difficult to follow and becomes indistinguishable about every 50m. Remember, Stretcher Track was cut back in 1937 as a 'one-time' use only track in order to make a path possible for a rescue attempt, and it has not been maintained since apart from the occasional crazy hiker attempting it.

From start point, I followed Gap Creek Rd which is a dirt road for about 1.8kms to where it comes to an end. Then go up a steep dirt track until you reach a gate that states this is Private Property and to respect it as you cross. It was closed with an unlocked padlock. The top is a clearing with an old locked up hut, an old I think outhouse that has fallen over, a picnic table, and an old Toyota work truck that ain't going nowhere in a hurry. This is a magical spot to simply come for an enjoyable morning tea as you take in the views of Buchanan's Fort and Little Widgee Mountain.

From here I followed the cattle trail upwards. Saw a cow, the cow saw me, and then it bolted somewhere down a cliff to God-knows-where. A bit further up a hiking trail began veering toward Neglected Mountain which is upon the right of the saddle of Stretcher Track. There are numerous hiking cattle trails along this track and at some point I made the decision to head off to the left on one of those tracks as I did not want to head toward Neglected Mountain direction. The cattle trail I followed took me slightly downhill where I cross a small tributary creek and then I continued up a spur. This section was extremely steep all the way up and I hold cows in high respect as they can teach us hikers a thing or two about steep terrain. I basically followed the spur all the way up until I came to Stretcher Track where there was a sign post with a munitions box containing a hiker's long in it. The post has engraved on it the words "SPECTEMUR AGENDO". This is the Stretcher Track ridgeline - to the West is Neglected Mountain, to the East is toward Point Lookout - which is where I went.

I followed the ridgeline and about 300m along was another post with several metal tags and another munitions box with a hiker's log. The tags were from some boys leadership camp that seemed to come here between 2001-2010, unsure what exactly they did nor why they stopped.

Following the ridge I have to say was an amazing and spectacular walk which is the very saddle between the two mountains. Simply stunning... I loved it! Continued on until finally hit a fence line that has PVC tubing across the barb wire to allow hikers to cross safely. Then began the very steep ascent up the mountain which also was spectacular with steep drops on each side.

Finally came to the top where the setting now changed to typical Lamington National Park vegetation, and here is where the fun (read that as hell) begins. Here begins 13kms of the most difficult trail I've hiked so please think very long and hard as to why you really want to walk this track and what you intend to achieve. I give you my notes as a reference for research and planning. This was my first time through this stretch, and will be my last... and that's saying something! I'll stress one last time, if you don't have a good head for navigation, DO NOT DO THIS TRACK as you will get lost, you will get stung by Gympie Gympie, you will get caught and cut in the innumerable Lawyer Vines (wait-a-while).... or worse. That being said, here are some notes that I can offer from my experience...

Stretcher Track is a very overgrown trail that is very narrow and easily becomes obscured either simply by fallen logs that cause the hiker to go around and then lose that faint track, or simply the vegetation has grown over the trail causing the hiker to simply no longer see where it continues...and this is all the way along for 13kms! Think of the mental fatigue and also physical exertion this requires, let alone the mindset of hopelessness that begins to set in. Ultimately, one needs to stay in the centre of the ridgeline which is basically where this faint trail is. Believe me, that is easier said than done.

Near the beginning of the track there are two massive fallen logs that I had to cross to follow the faint track (don't go past these two logs, I did until I realised I was off track). I continued along trying my best to retain sight of the faint track, however I honestly lost count of how many times I was forced off-track and had to bush bash back to where the track picked up. Get used to this, it happened all the way right until I hit the Stinson Trail - there was absolutely no relief from losing the track. There was one point where I unwittingly went off track too much northward and I crossed over two tributaries (one of which flowed down to Lamington Falls, which I didn't have the time to explore because of how long this adventure would take me). In any instance, I was able to follow my GARMIN NAV WATCH back up to the top ridge and relocated Stretcher Track once again. There are a lot of steep sections to negotiate upon this track. There is the sparse pink ribbon marker left by others who have traversed this trail, but they are very few and certainly don't help and cannot be relied upon, trust me on this.

I passed a couple of magnificent strangler figs and massive fallen logs along the way, these I show in my video and are about mid-way. All of this terrain is pretty much the same (just think, 13kms!!) so it all almost becomes a bit of a blur. Constant focus trying to stay on track, and then fight through the lawyer vine, trying to avoid the Gympie, pushing through tight scrub, just trying to regain the track is an extremely fatiguing and punishing ordeal. I'm simply trying to give you an honest appraisal of what awaits anyone wanting to attempt this.

After 6 hours, I finally emerged at the remote Point Lookout Campsite which is south of the Stinson remote campsite. I was intending to come out at the rocky cairn marker which signifies the start point of Stretcher Track on the Stinson track, but that did not happen due the the reasons I outlined above as to how difficult it is to keep on this faint 'trail'. I hope these notes give you an appreciation of why I DO NOT RECOMMEND anyone to tackle hiking Stretcher Track.

From Point Lookout, I hightailed it down the familiar track past Stinson Wreck campsite (wreck turnoff to the right), down to the clearing, down to the small cliff with the climbers rope, down the treacherous dark section, down to Christmas Creek, along to main entry gate, past the new carpark, to where the bitumen road begins, and finally all the way back to Gap Creek Road opposite the Stinson Campsite. From Point Lookout to my start point took me 2hrs 39mins in an extremely exhausted state. In winter when I did this, I consumed about 3.5L of water.

Hope you find these notes helpful. Please do not go off my GPX trail on Stretcher as there are way too many segments where I simply was forced off trail and was fighting to relocate it. It will not matter whose GPX you download, best advice is have a very good GPS device that shows the main Stretcher Trail, and your beacon pointer will help you to get back on track as often as you'll lose the track, LOL. You've been told 😁.