Walk: Wollemi National Park: Capertee Creek to Mount Dawson via Breakaway Point

Transcription

1 Walk: Wollemi National Park: Capertee Creek to Mount Dawson via Breakaway Point Date: 23 September 2016 Leader: Yuri Bolotin Maps, etc: Ben Bullen Description: Drive into the Capertee Creek Valley and park at GR Walk up Capertee Creek and then up the cliffs to the south to Mount Dawson. From here, walk south east, then north east and descend into Capertee Creek at about GR Return to the vehicles. About 12k. Scrambling and exposure. Rating: 5M. M333E. Gear Issues: 2 litres of water, GPS, PLB, appropriate head and footwear, electrolytes, maps, compass, tape (leader only). Change of gear for afterwards. Party: Yuri Bolotin (leader), Brian Fox, Penny Pang, Harold Thompson, Dave Harter, John Park, Emanuel Conomos, Dave Dash, Berenice Torstensson, Keith Maxwell The Weather: A warm spring s day. Blue skies in the morning, over ½ cloud cover by morning tea time, and full cloud cover by the end of the walk, with some drizzle that became stronger just as we arrived back to the cars. No wind all day. Temperature range 10 to 17 degrees C. Important Note: Part of this walk is through private property. Access permission must be sought for each visit. Background Notes: This was scheduled as a repeat walk of 30/11/11, to update the photography and route details. Like in almost all cases when we re-run our walks, it ended up as quite a different adventure, with a number of new, significant and exciting elements added to it. Track Notes: The cars were parked at the locked gate at GR , 575m, and we were under way at Directly to our south, the mighty Eldorado Walls cliff line soon came into our view; it looked quite impregnable. I thought of our previous, totally 1

2 exploratory walk only a week or so ago, when we had stood beneath these walls, not sure if we even would be able to climb them, let alone locate and follow a long continuous ledge for the rest of the day. It was all 100% adventure territory then. Now, we were doing a repeat of a previous walk, done 5 years ago and covering mostly the same ground. Will we feel excitement of new exploration and discovery today? I would soon find out that I did not need to worry. In a short while, we were crossing the property known as Red Cliffs. It was very pleasant to tread on the green pasture grass of Capertee Creek valley, fresh and springy after the recent rains; the sun was warm, the striking sandstone cliffs framed our view on both sides; the cows were friendly and kept the distance, and dozens of Kangaroos were bouncing all over the paddock. At 0932, GR , 608m, near a huge Kurrajong tree, we turned south west and soon left the pastoral idyll of the valley behind, climbing steeply up a forested slope towards a prominent edge in the cliff line, indicating a hidden valley behind it. We stopped briefly at a small flat area with a huge termite mound in the middle, to have a drink before continuing up to the cliff line. In this next section, there was a lot of Native Currant, Leptomeria acida bushes. I love picking and eating their sour acid drops, but they were tiny and clearly not in season yet. At 0955, GR , 723m, we were below the cliffs and started to move into the ravine, surveying the towering deeply eroded cliff line for a big slot that had provided a way up for us last time. Impressive cliff line, but no way up. Photo: Harold Thompson As we turned the next corner, we saw a ramp going steeply up to what looked like a break in the walls above us. It did not look familiar to me, so before taking everyone up, Brian and I went to investigate. The gradient was very sharp and the rocks underneath our feet rather crumbly, but it was just doable. Next, we stopped at a large rock that blocked our way. Brian scrambled right ahead; I was not so sure. I said to Brian, I would follow you, and we would set up a tape here, but before I do, since you are already there, why don t you have a look what s up ahead. After a short while, I heard, I am going to try to do it, but it is not going to be easy. If Brian says it, the translation is, Forget about it for me and the rest of the group, so I said, I am going back down to look for a better option. GR , 757m, at

3 We left Brian behind and above us, and walked further into the gorge underneath the wall of cliffs. Soon, we needed to drop significantly down onto the valley floor, which was covered in soft ferns and rainforest. There was still no sight of the slot I remembered from the previous journey. I started to grow a bit uneasy had we missed it right at the start, on the way in? It was only a matter of a few more minutes, before we actually found the right spot, but it felt like a long time to me. The magic break in the cliffs is at GR , 747m; it was Here, is a small watercourse that begins as a steep, slippery but short scramble. Harold gave me a push up the first bit, and afterwards it was a matter of proceeding slowly and with caution up the slimy chute until I reached a tree where the tape was set. One by one, everybody got over the tricky bit, and from there on, it is straightforward but steep climb up the slot to an open forested area above the cliffs with little undergrowth but a substantial amount of bright yellow and red-brown Dillwynia acicularis just starting to bloom and Sunshine Wattle, Acacia terminalis, at the end of its flowering period. We also saw many Xanthorrhoeas covering the slopes. I said to the team, Morning tea on top of the climb, somewhere with a view, if we can find it. I was not sure about the last bit, as there were no views where we were walking due to tree cover. Just as I said it, we heard Brian s voice, Come straight up and back about a 100m; I found a nice morning tea spot for you. As I had been wondering all this time how Brian was doing in that slot, it was really good to hear from him, even though I thought it was a bit strange that he was telling us to go back, in the opposite direction to our intended course towards Mount Dawson. Dave Harter ascending the slot. Photo: Yuri Bolotin 3

4 Dillwynia acicularis. Photo: Yuri Bolotin I caught up with Brian and asked him how the slot climb was; he said, Tricky. Soon, we came to a spot a large rock on top of the ridge - where views had opened up to us. It was very pleasant. I thought, this where we are having the morning tea, but Brian said, This is one option, but you must have a look at a few more levels underneath us. We went down to another platform that had expansive views into the valleys and cliffs southwards. Wow! But there was more. From the platform, we followed a ledge that took us to another platform, which was opened on three sides. The views got even better. Can we walk to the very end of this promontory? In front of us, was a crack that separated us from the top of a huge pillar, about 70m tall, that has broken away from the cliff line; it is possible to either jump or scramble over the crack, so you end up on a flat top of the pillar. That area is about 7m by 2.5m in size, and because of its location and the nearly 360 degrees view from here into the Capertee Creek and its ravines, it is a sensational spot. I particularly remember the contrast between the rugged orange pockmarked cliffs fringing the valley and the beautifully green pasture land of Red Cliffs. A beautiful single Zieria bush, Zieria cytisoides, with delicate pale pink flowers, graced the otherwise bare stone platform. Looking back towards the cliff line, I saw a vertical cleft that Brian used to get up here. I was very glad we had not followed him up that way. We called this spot Breakaway Point, GR , 789m. This was an amazing new discovery, and it was brought about, like in most of our explorations, by a combination of pure luck and hard work, grit and determination. During our last foray here, we all had used the much easier slot option, from where we had proceeded north west, towards Mount Dawson and in the opposite direction from Breakaway Point. The slot that Brian climbed lead him directly to Breakaway Point and thus enabled us all to discover this spectacular location. 4

5 Brian on Breakaway Point. Photo: Yuri Bolotin The slot that Brian climbed. Photo: Yuri Bolotin 5

6 View north into Capertee Creek valley from Breakaway Point. Photo: Yuri Bolotin Harold, Penny, Yuri and Brian on Breakaway Point. Photo: Emanuel Conomos We had morning tea there, most of which was spent exploring and photographing, We then proceeded up the ridge towards the pagodas crowning it in the distance, as the map showed about 100m more of altitude would need to be gained in the next kilometre or so. The first part of the ridge was very interesting, with picturesque Zen garden like rocky arrangements, and a sink hole or two one of them was about 1.5m in diameter and 1m deep their origin I could only guess about. 6

7 Sinkhole near Breakaway Point. Photo: Yuri Bolotin When we came to the pagoda wall on the spine of the ridge, the decision was to continue around on the left (southern) side, as I was worried we might get trapped between the pagodas and the huge drop all the way down into the valley on the northern side. The next few hundred metres were very scrubby, so, in retrospect, I think it would have been easier to use the drier other side. In any case, soon enough we managed to find a convenient saddle to gain the top of the ridge, from where the progress was a lot better. Brian and Yuri, and a Xanthorrhoea tree. Photo: Emanuel Conomos The vegetation on these ridges was easy enough to get through, but I found this time, as we did last time, that navigation was not easy, due to lack of distinguishing features and several sharp twist in the ridge directions. At 1140, GR , 907m, there 7

8 was one such twist. We were at an open platform at that point and could even see our destination Mount Dawson, only about 1.5km away as the bird flies, but for us, not being the birds that could fly over deep gorges, the easiest way to it was most certainly not on a straight line. There was another 90-degree change of ridge direction at 1200, GR , 935m. Finally, at 1218, GR , 925m, we came to a very large open rock platform with views west and north west over expansive areas of pagodas known as Tenochtitlan and named after a legendary Aztec city; below and to the south, was the start of a deep ravine that, within 500m south of our position, opens up widely and dramatically towards the Wolgan Valley, creating a huge valley highly visible from Wolgan Road. The only feature not visible from our present location was Mount Dawson itself, hidden by trees and by the fact that there is only a fairly gradual rise from here towards it. Tenochtitlan pagodas near Mount Dawson. Photo: Brian Fox We left the rocky platform and re-entered the forest, slowly climbing and navigating by the compass rather than by sight. Even within 100m or so from it, Mount Dawson is very hard to see; nor are there any views on the approach from the south east. But we did not need to worry. When we finally reached the pagodas that fringe the mountain and climbed to the top, the amazing view was there for us! Capertee Valley was head-spinning 600m below us, its emerald green pastures would not be out of place in Ireland. And all around us the familiar features set off by the sky of theatrically lit clouds Mount Harvey fairly close by, and further on - Pantoneys Crown, Mount Marden, the Tyan Pic (that Brian and I had climbed only a fortnight ago). Directly to the north of us, was the dramatic broken cliff line that includes the Gindantherie Pinnacle, Point Nicholson and the Red Rocks. Striking pagodas crowned with spectacular erosion residuals were all around us. A truly iconic spot. At 1230, GR , 960m. No prizes for guessing where we had our lunch that day. 8

9 View from Mount Dawson, looking north. Photo: Emanuel Conomos View towards the Gindantherie Pinnacle and Point Nicholson. Photo: Yuri Bolotin 9

10 Group photo on Mount Dawson. L to R, Dave Harter, Yuri Bolotin, Keith Maxwell, Harold Thompson, Berenice Torstensson, Emanuel Conomos, Penny Pang, Brian Fox, David Dash, John Park. Photo: Emanuel Conomos (self-timer) At 1255, we left this little spot of bushwalking paradise and started on our journey back; initially in the southeasterly direction that followed our route towards the mountain. Near our lunch spot, a single striking Philotheca obovalis bush in flower was recorded. From Mount Dawson, we descended into a small saddle, then climbed gradually to a high point (at 940m). From here, we walked another hundred metres or so to GR , 930m, at My plan from here on was, rather than continuing the way we had come in, to try a different return route for exploration, variety and also, if it worked, this would be a significantly shorter way to and from Mount Dawson out of Capertee Creek. It would avoid the zigging and zagging along the ridges as we had done this morning, which may be exciting for the navigator, but relatively dull for the rest of the party. We now moved south east (instead of north east, where we had previously come from), up a rising timbered ridge to GR , 940m, at From an open area on top of the ridge, we could see our next target a spur running north east down towards the Capertee Creek valley. That spur was easy enough to locate, and it started to bring us gently down. So far so good. But there were issues for me to consider, the main one being the fact that the map shows our spur ending up in a huge cliff above the valley. So, we must leave it and descend into in one of the side ravines. I chose the one on the right as a more direct route. At 1400, GR , 886m, we left our comfortable spur and started descending towards the ravine, firstly in an easterly and then in a southeasterly direction. We were soon in a deep gorge, with the ground dropping rapidly underneath our feet, the cliffs rising higher and higher and surrounding us on both sides. Will this route work? There was only one way to find out to keep descending deeper and deeper into the gorge. Soon, we were in the creek and began to follow its course down, through big boulders, ferns and tree debris. It was there, at 1409, GR , 823m that we saw a huge bird of prey that flew in from above and sat on a tree branch about 30m in front of us and at about our eye level. It was a magnificent female Powerful Owl, Ninox strenua. She sat there in one spot, watching us with her huge yellow eyes, for what must have been 2-3 minutes, 10

11 but seemed like eternity. We managed to take good photos, but the entire experience was absolute magic. A female Powerful Owl, Ninox strenua. Photo: Brian Fox Finally, the owl decided she had better things to do than watching a group of human beings and flew away. We continued on our journey to the junction with another creek on the right. In the meantime, the weather seemed to be turning worse, with the full cloud cover and a tiny drizzle now developing. The map shows increased density of contours from that spot on, so I was still not sure if we would make it or not. Should we get stuck above a waterfall, my fall back plan was to sidle out of it to the right (south east), to eventually connect with another creek, which I knew from a previous walk would take us down. 11

12 Descending through debris. Photo: Yuri Bolotin We kept descending with the creek, accompanied by many loud bird calls. At 1440, GR , 695m, the bottom of the ravine started to look decisively uncomfortable. As we had by then reached a point from where the gorge seemed to be opening up (both visually and on the map), we took an opportunity to cross to the northern side, contouring up and around away from but parallel to the creek. As we progressed, the cliffs were becoming further and further apart, and we could clearly see we were underneath the main cliff line. We had made it through! We walked down the now fairly easy slope, with many shrubs of Native Indigo, Indigofera australis covered in purple flower bunches. Bluebird sounds were almost deafening all around us. Next, there was a giant boulder on our way, covered in Rock Orchids, Dendrobiun striolatum and enveloped by a large Strangler Fig Tree, Ficus obliqua. A beautiful White Paper Daisy flower, Helichrysum elatum, was also photographed. White Paper Daisy flower, Helichrysum elatum. Photo: Harold Thompson 12

13 At 1451, GR , 665m, the creek we were following joined with a tributary creek. The ravine formed by that watercourse, dry at this point, was where we had started our journey this morning from. We had now completed the circle. At this junction, there is a metal water pipe, which would have been put here for irrigation purposes, presumably some time ago, as we were still well within the national park. We reached our cars at 1530, just as the drizzle had intensified and became the light rain. Far from being just a re-run, this had been a beautiful walk, with several important new discoveries and many magic and memorable moments. Trip statistics: total distance 14km, total ascent/descent 520m. Table of Times, Locations and Grid References Time Location Grid Reference Elevation 0859 Cars parked at locked gate and started walking GR m 0932 Started climbing GR m 0955 Below the cliff line GR m 1004 The slot that Brian took GR m 1015 The slot that the rest of the group took GR m Breakaway Point. Morning tea and exploration GR m 1140 Ridge changes direction GR m 1200 Ridge changes direction GR m 1218 View of Tenochtitlan pagodas GR m Mount Dawson. Lunch and photography GR m 1330 Start of the new return route GR m 1345 Started the descent down the spur GR m 1400 Left the spur to go down into the ravine GR m 1409 Encounter with Powerful Owl, Ninox strenua GR m 1440 Left the ravine GR m 1451 Tributary and metal pipe GR m 1530 At the cars GR m 13

14 Walk track on topo map. Recorded by Brian Fox and prepared by Yuri Bolotin Walk track on GE. Recorded by Harold Thompson and prepared by Yuri Bolotin David, Yuri and Michael on Mount Dawson, on the previous walk, 30/11/11. Photo: Brian Fox 14

15 A curious fungus. Photo: Emanuel Conomos 15