Bagging peaks in the Stirling Range – Mt Hassell & Mt Trio

Today's the day! It's time to strap on me hiking boots and climb some mountains! While this is a difficult thing to find most of the time in Western Australia, the Stirling Range is a beautiful oddity.

The range consists of many peaks over about 60km, with six that are publicly climbable. It sticks out like a sore thumb, surrounded by flat farmland as far as the eye can see in every direction.

Most will know of Bluff Knoll - the highest - but I thought I would start with some of the smaller peaks, aiming to eventually tick off all six. While Mount Hassell and Mount Trio are lower than Bluff Knoll, all three are rated at the same difficulty. Mt Hassell starts with a steady incline but is covered in loose rocks. After a few false summits, some light rock scrambling is also required to reach the top.

The first third of Mt Trio is steep, although quite a few steps have been built into the path. After that, it's a steady climb to the highest peak, mostly walking along a saddle (there are three peaks total, hence the name).

Between hiking each mountain, we camp at the local Mount Trio Bush Camp. I show the facilities, the views and a wildflower walk situated on site. We also stay in Albany for next few following days.

There I check out (and drink at) historic pubs, while also checking out WW2 coastal defence remains and ruins of the Point King Lighthouse along Ataturk Point.

I also check out a built up spring (Named Vancouver Spings) that was first sighted by Europeans in 1791, nearly 30 years before Albany was even established!