Gearys Gap to St George Hill

Walk name:Gearys Gap to St George Hill, Lake George
Description: Easy walk up and along Lake George escarpment.
Walk map: NSW topographic map 1:25000 Lake George 8727-1N
Start & finish: Anderson VC Rest Area, Federal Highway, Gearys Gap.
Toilets & water: Toilets at start. No drinking water!![Except if you are dying of thirst!!]
Beer: Eagle Hawk Hotel, Federal Highway.
Location: 30km NE of Canberra
Start grid ref: 167132
GPS: UTM Zone 55H 716641E,6113185N
Locality map from Geoscience Australia MapConnect 250K topo base:

Walk 11_Gearys Gap to St George Hill -
Google earth search = Bungendore. Pan north.
Waypoints and route:
Walklog1: Walk with Reg Sewrey. Note: No drinking water available at the rest area. Starting from the rest area on the edge of dried up Lake George, the route climbs steeply up the escarpment along the link road to the start of Hadlow Drive [old federal Highway]. The gap must have been a favorite spot for bushrangers; the thought of a horse & coach struggling up the hill is daunting. Who was Geary!!??
Almost immediately turn right into Ridge Road, a secondary unpaved road in good condition. The 'Private Road' on the new roadsign has been painted out. I assume it is currently a public right of way, but may well have been a private road in the recent past. The roadsign is also marked 'Lake George FT Y48' [?Lake George fire trail #48].
All gates along the road were old, open and out of commission. The first gate, at the junction of Nerrin Lane [164137], carried an old sign 'Lake Haven' Private Road, No shooting'.
The road then follows the ridge line of the Lake George escarpment, heading north through dry & empty scrubland and dry forest. No sheep, no cattle, no people, no snakes and only one or two kangaroos. There were sweeping views across the dry bed of Lake George to the eastern shore and the wind farm at Governors Hill. Dry woodland became more dense as we progressed northwards past the junction with Snows Lane [156167]. Fork right at the junction with FT47 [161187]. Near the high point of St George Hill is the trig survey control station, [888m] a cairn of rocks surmounted by a marker. It is overgrown by surrounding bushland and is hardly visible from 100m. This hill is presumably named after the saint while the lake below was named after the king. The hill is the high point of the western shoreline escarpment of Lake George.
Took lunch at the trig, then retraced out steps.
Day & date: Wednesday 25 November 2009
Start time:10:00
Walking time:4 hours
Distance (approx) 13km out & back
Vertical rise 200m
Weather:Sunny, hazy, light winds. 34C
Sun: Rise 05:43,transit 12:50, set 19:56.