Ladbrooks Hill Track from Ashley Gorge

Drive to where a spur comes down to the road. At the toe of this spur where it is intersected by the road, there is a small pylon. Also here is a short 4WD track blocked with a barbed wire gate that leads to another pylon up on a small rise just to the west of the toe of this spur. After scrambling up the brittle stony bank, take the obvious route to the higher pylon in short gorse. You'll see the track continues up the spur through chest-high manuka and the occasional clearing. It gets very easy and open once it gets to the beech forest.

There are occasional white permolat markers stapled to the trees. This may be why there are very few on this track as the staples would soon pop off as the trees continue to grow.

The track has pretty much been developed just by the passage of humans and other animals on it. There is a bit of cutting visible, mainly on windfalls that have blocked the track in the forest. It is currently in good order but if some kind soul could do a bit of cutting in the lower section of manuka and gorse, it would make the start more pleasant. However perhaps it is meant to be a hidden track at the start, so beloved of hunters.

This track isn't done regularly by the tramping clubs though the Over 40's have done it. It's a nice, mainly easy gradient culminating in an open scenic north-facing summit in the sun. This gives you a viewpoint of Lees Valley, Mt Richardson, and Mt Thomas in the distance from an unusual angle. There is evidence of camping on the summit on flat soft beech leaves with a fire ring.

Make sure you seek permission from the landowner to access private property at the start of this track. You can also go back down the road a bit and go up through the Conservation Reserve - a much tougher route.