Balingup to Blackwood

At the top of the hill you cross over the railway (still somewhat active so watch out) and walk along another gravel road until you are directed into the first forest of the day. It wouldn't be long before I would again see familiar territory with the Bibbulmun crossing paths with the Greenbushes Loop, a trail I had previously done in 2015. Still feeling a little down mentally this is where it felt the worst but nothing that a bit of hiking and singing along to some ancient Coldplay wouldn't fix. Being super bright I wasn't too focused on taking photos of the Jarrah forest as these types of photos never really turn out, although the Greenbushes Loop post could have used an update. I arrived at one of my favourite spots on the Greenbushes Loop, the lookout over the Blackwood Valley where there is a seat for you to enjoy the views. I decided to stay for a little while and breath it all in as I knew the next section would be mostly forest walking until you reach Mount Jones Dam. A little red breasted robin was fluttering on the fence while I was taking some photos and I managed to get a blurry photo before moving on. Ahead of me was a history lesson stretch out over the next 3km about the previous life of this forest. The first artefact is an old loading ramp highlighting that forestry was one of the main industries in the area along with gravel extraction. Joining me on this section was a family of emus but they weren't as interested in the history and instead wanted to have a run (away from me). I had a bit of a chuckle at the sign that tells you about habitat trees as it stated that modern forest practices require that large trees are left for various birds and animals to use as homes.

Obviously no one from the Forests Products Commission have been told about these modern methods given their love for clear-felling our native forests. The reason for the habitat trees in this area was poor wood value and the local black cockatoo population are happy someone decided their homes were worthless. The last piece of old timey equipment was another larger loading ramp that was big enough to load up trucks. It's nice to see this kind of stuff still standing and makes for a more interesting walk through some pretty nondescript forest. Down the hill is a leftover from the tin mining era that Greenbushes was known for back in the day, Vultan Dam or Mount Jones Dam as it is now known. Being a fairly warm day I went down to the edge of the dam and dunked my hat in the cool water. Leaving the Greenbushes Loop, my path today would take me through more forest and on towards Spring Gully Rd. After a bit more green Jarrah forest I caught sight of the end game for the day, the endless pine plantations that have a checkered history in recent times. They did look impressive from a distance as the different shades of green made for fun contrast but before I would reach them I had a drinks break on the side of Spring Gully Rd as the track weaved from either side of it and pondered life.