Heading out of the city on a cold somewhat wet Friday afternoon Fritz and I sailed through the traffic, spirits high due to post-exam enthusiasm and anticipation of spending 5 days bagging some of the most interesting peaks in the Yodellers.
The weather couldn’t have been better for this year’s navigation weekend! We were a bit late arriving at Bell due to the usual faff getting out of Sydney but by 10am we were away. Before we left the beginners learned how to cite a grid reference and how to orientate the map.
With a visitor from the States (Dale) in town, who in just a few short weeks has already seen some of the best Blue Mountains canyons, the hastily-made plan was to see a very different region and canyon. Plus, pack in a few caves and be back in Sydney for Mothers Day, what more could one want? Well, a good sized group is always nice and we were lucky to get David and Glen on board a day or so beforehand.
We met together at the shops at North Side Strathfield Station, and waited a bit in case a couple of (eventual) no-shows appeared at the last minute*. While there we were approached by some other walkers who turned out to be participants in a walk organised by another group, “SPAM”, to Faulconbridge. We then headed off to Katoomba and Narrow Neck. On the way we stopped briefly at “Scenic World” (the home of the Scenic Railway) for ice cream and use of their loos. Then it was off down the steep grade of the Golden Stairs.
Even with the usual poor planning – a trip decided on less than a week out – a spanner managed to get thrown in the works when I came down with an appalling stomach bug on Friday night. After a rather unpleasant night, and a morning in bed, I finally made contact with T1 a couple hours before we were due to meet up to let him know that I was going to have to bail. After some convincing that I could at least spend a quiet day at the base camp if my belly didn’t come good I finally decided to push through and go ahead with the trip.
Currockbilly Mountain in the southern part of Morton National Park may be described in a single word: scrub. It can also be described in two words: thick scrub. In three words you’d probably say thick wet scrub. If you want it in more than 3 words (a lot more), well, it goes something like this.
The combination of short notice, Monday canyoning and wet weather meant I ended up doing the trip on my own, which was fine. It gave me a chance to have a nice sleep in, do some shopping and catch up with a friend as well. As for the canyon, all up it took just over 2 hours, taking the longer route via Edinburgh Castle Rock and having plenty of pauses for photos. A great little trip which while short is very scenic, and the abseil down the waterfall was lovely. The rain made everything look prettier, and ensured I had the whole place to myself. Definitely a good pic for a quick run through on a relaxing day off. The only downside is I think my Volleys have finally worn out completely, but they’ve had a good run.
Thankfully Gaping Gill is the shortest canyon in the Claustral system, so despite our lazy start time of 9am, which was blown out of the water when T1’s Nokia which mistakenly set his clock back for daylight saving, making him an hour late, it was a great day. The late start was fitting given the trips organisation had been haphazard at best, with T1 and I lending out gear to Kat and Nicole, and forcing Seb to spend several hours frantically calling everyone he could find from Suboir on Saturday in an attempt to get his hands on a harness.
T1 and I made an early escape from the city on the Friday afternoon, getting to my place by about 5 so we could pack the car and head off. The drive up the mountains was wonderful, the weather forecast good, and we were at the start of King Pin Fire Trail by about 8.30, a good hour ahead of the second car load. We set up the tent, scavenged a healthy pile of fire wood and lit of great little fire. The wine soon came out, and by the time Jiri, Cat and Bjorn arrived we were more than a little merry.About midnight it was off to bed, with the alarm set for six.
In the usual manner of such trips we met bright and early at the roundabout outside Strathfield station on Saturday morning. The drive to Deep Pass takes about 3 hours from Sydney taking into account, of course, a stop at the North Richmond Bakery to stock up on pies, pastries and caffeinated beverages. The weather looked promising at this point although the temperature remained somewhat on the cooler end of the spectrum.