Pickering Brook to Beraking
8/8/2026
Attendees:
Alan - GU Patrol 4.2
John - MUX
Wilco - Lexus 470
Don and Roger - GU Patrol 4.2
A cold and very wet Saturday morning saw a gathering at the Pickering Brook General Store, which was the designated meeting place for a trip out through the old Barton's Mill Prison into the Beraking Valley.
Coffees downed and pre trip discussion done.
Raincoats were required as we aired down. We then hit the gravel and made away around some obstacles that appear to have been put there deliberately...on a gazetted road.
We crossed Ashendon Road straight into some very enjoyable whoops and wombat holes and then headed to Barton's Mill. Instead of driving slowly through it like we did on the reccie, we skirted the area to find the track we wanted.
We were going to a spot we managed to locate on the reccie the week before. There was a big contrast in the weather between the two weekends, with last week being very dry. I decided to skip one challenge due to it being very wet.
Moved on to the next couple of tracks that were marked as 'Hard', only to find out that you could do it in 2wd. This is not some ooohh I don't need 4wd thing, but if you thought that was hard you should sell your 4wd.
After another disappointing 'hard' track, we bailed and went to Mt Dale for a look. I have been here countless times, but the views never disappoint.
We checked out the top of a track we'd been most of the way up before, only to find the last 200 or 300 metres were a guaranteed winch. This time, we parked up the top and walked down to take a look and found conditions had changed. Chances are we are going to have a crack at it in the near future. Stay tuned!
Into the valley we went and made our way to a track we'd attempted a few weeks before. We turned around last time, as it was getting pretty rough and the call was made to prevent any damage.
There is a 2 metre deep creek crossing right at the start. No water in it at the moment, but the entry sees you very nose down, but once you're in the channel it doesn't take much to get up the other side. No one had any issues a couple of weeks ago.
We'd had rain that day and it wasn't as easy on the way back, after we again turned around on the track due to it getting rough. We made it further than last time and I will be going back for another crack at it.
Wilco was first through this time and had his work cut out for him, but made it up with a bit of right boot and a front locker engaged. He then became a winch point for John.
It was certainly more slippery than the other week.
Lucky for me, Mavis went straight down and up, but required both lockers and a little more momentum after seeing the first two cars go through. Being light helps in this case, too.
Don was up last and copped the common tail end problem of the track being ripped up by everyone else!
By now, the weather had cleared up into a glorious afternoon. One last stop was the hill climbs on Beraking Pool Road, before we headed back to the highway and aired up.
A successful trip!
Al
