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+ | =====NSW Federation of Bushwalking Clubs Search And Rescue Section.===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Practice Weekend - July 15th-16th.=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Each year the Search and Rescue Section of the NSW Federation of Bushwalking Clubs holds a practice search designed to give its members training experience in searching for lost parties, in rescuing and treating those injured in the bush or on rock, and in using our radio, rock rescue and stretcher gear. | ||
- | NSW FEDERATION OF BUSHITUK:i Au- CLUBS SEARCH AND RESCUE S7CTIOff | ||
- | PRACTICE WEEKEND | ||
- | JULY 15th 16th | ||
- | Each year the Search and Rescue Section of the NSW Federation of Bushwalking Chibs holds a practice search designed to give its members training experience in searching for lost parties, in rescuing and treating those injured in the bush or on rock, and in using our radio, rock rescue and stretcher gear. | ||
All members of Federation are invited to come on this weekend, to join in the activities and see for themselves what happens on a search. | All members of Federation are invited to come on this weekend, to join in the activities and see for themselves what happens on a search. | ||
+ | |||
The search area this year will be the Wild Dog and Cox River area of the Blue Mountains. | The search area this year will be the Wild Dog and Cox River area of the Blue Mountains. | ||
- | Rallying point and Friday night camp ' | + | |
+ | Rallying point and Friday night camp site will he in the Megalong Valley at the Camping Ground near the Megalong Greek crossing. To get there by car, cross the railway line at Blackheath and follow the Megalong | ||
Parties will be briefed and given further information about the search at 7.30 a m. on Saturday morning. | Parties will be briefed and given further information about the search at 7.30 a m. on Saturday morning. | ||
+ | |||
As this practice will be a simulation of a single search operation in the Blue Mountains area, search parties should carry full overnight camping gear with them and be prepared to spend Saturday night on the search. | As this practice will be a simulation of a single search operation in the Blue Mountains area, search parties should carry full overnight camping gear with them and be prepared to spend Saturday night on the search. | ||
- | Don't miss this weekend. Come along to the Megalong campsite on Friday: | ||
- | Heather Joyce, Secretary, | ||
- | Search and Rescue Section. | ||
- | 531.0111 z 2259 (i) | ||
- | N49 | ||
- | 0 - | + | Don't miss this weekend. Come along to the Megalong campsite on Friday night the 15th July and join in the fun. |
- | 4p/ | + | |
- | ='t | + | Heather Joyce, Secretary, Search and Rescue Section. 531.0111 x 2259 (B) |
- | Bushwalkers have always required specialised gear. The equipment they require is only navel or unusual to the uninitiated. | + | |
- | Paddymade | + | ---- |
- | The lates' | + | |
- | " | + | =====Paddy Made.===== |
- | Ask to see one this month at Paddys | + | |
- | Paddy Pallin Pty.Limited, | + | Bushwalkers have always required specialised gear. The equipment they require is only novel or unusual to the uninitiated. |
- | 1st Floor, Cnr. George Street', Sydney. Phone 26-2685. | + | |
- | .70 | + | Paddymade |
- | Natik, | + | |
+ | The latest | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ask to see one this month at Paddys | ||
+ | |||
+ | Paddy Pallin Pty. Limited, | ||
+ | |||
+ | 109A Bathurst Street, 1st Floor, Cnr. George Street, Sydney. Phone 26-2685. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Walking In Great Britain - Part II.===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Sandra Butt. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Most walkers prefer to spend the night under a proper roof, be it that of a Youth Hostel, hut, Bed and Breakfast place or hotel. In the wilds of Scotland, in the height of summer, camping is quite propular, but not for extended periods. Thus, a pack of much more than 20 lbs is unnecessary, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The interests of walkers are looked after principally by the Ramblers' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The main one is in the Lakes District at Buttermere, one of the lesser visited areas where I spent a week. It was an extremely luxurious establishment for one who has inhabited the shack at Konangaroo or a plastic tent in the rain in the course of various walks. A beautiful white, two-storied semi-circular building, it accommodated 25 people and resident staff. There was deep carpet in the bedrooms, gallons of scalding hot water in the baths (showers are a peculiar Antipodean habit according to the average Englishman) and huge 3 course breakfasts and 4 course dinners were provided. A resident leader planned our daily walks to cater for the interests and capabilities of the average guest whose age would have been on the other side of 30. The organised walks were quite gentle, actual walking time being up to 7 hours, with a stop wherever possible at a pub for a beer, or at a cottage for afternoon tea and scones. It happened that there was a full house the week I was there and the assembly for our first day's stroll was an interesting spectacle. All the men were in long trousers, boots and many with the addition of collar and tie. Feminine attire ranged from skirts through a range of long trousers to one individual in shorts and sandshoes. Many fears were expressed for the safety of her feet and she was assailed by constant inquiries about their condition during the day. Despite typical Lakeland weather - 2 1/2 fine days in a week - I was able to see a good slice of the areas including the summit of Scafell, at 3210 feet, the highest hill in England. This ascent was regarded with awe - 9 hours walking and no pub on the way. The scenery is best described as " | ||
+ | |||
+ | The other Ramblers centre is in the Scottish county of Argyllshire, | ||
+ | |||
+ | North Wales offers an interesting variety of walking and climbing and thousands flock there in the summer. The mOuntains are contained in the Snowdonia National Park, with Snowdon the highest at 3360 feet and thirteen others over 3000 feet. Snowdon itself is a fascinating mountain. Four main ridges converge on the summit and along each is at least one well used walking route, some more challenging than others, plus numerous climbing routes, some of which were only put up in the last 15 years. The summit view is extensive, taking in the coast on the one hand with the rest of the Snowdonia massif and the lesser green rolling foothills on the other. For the less energetically inclined, there is a railway to the summit, so that as one crawls up the last steep slope one is greeted by a seething mass of tourists in their shiny shoes and overcoats. Tryfan, another interesting peak, is a wedge shaped hunk of rock and rubble tilting out over a placid lake and is the only mountain in Great Britain in which the use of handholds is essential in the climb to the top. It is almost impossible to get that "away from it all" feeling in Snowdonia, as the main arterial road from North Wales to London runs through the Park. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Yorkshire, Ehgland' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Peaks District in Derbyshire, the picnic ground of the citizens of Manchester, is perhaps misleadingly named, containing nothing over 2500 feet. The Kinder Scout Plateau, best known feature of the District, is deeply intersected by channels through its peat bogs, which constitute a challenge to the best of navigators. They are flat and featureless and the channels often trick one into thinking one is on a track; many experienced walkers speak with horror of the bogs in Derbyshire. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There are several other interesting walking areas through the island so that the British Isles offer something for every class of walker and the fresh air fanatic not too far from his front door. Everywhere there is a scene to delight the conoisseur of art in nature. | ||
+ | |||
+ | However, in my experience, there is nowhere like the Australian bush for its rugged beauty, variety of scenery and that priceless feeling so often lacking elsewhere - freedom. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====The Ridge.===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Jim Brown. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There is a ridge that runs out from the Budawang Range just this side of Currockbilly. It is really rather charitable to call it a ridge: rather it's a series of mountains indifferently stuck together by a spine of quartzite. Between the Budawang Range and this Ridge the Yadbora Creek is spawned, and runs north for a few miles before it turns eastward below Wog Wog Mountain. | ||
+ | |||
+ | If you look across to the south-west from Mt. Renwick, or better still to the south from Admiration Point just below Corang Trig, you will see the Ridge, but you will get a quite erroneous impression of it. Apart from the final plunge into Yadbora Creek it appears quite a reasonable example of the ridge-maker' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The proper angle for viewing is from the Budawang Range itself, a mile or so north from Currockbilly. From that angle you can see how the Ridge reaches out from the main north-south massif, first high, rocky and treeless. About 1 1/2 miles east it plummets down 800 feet into a timbered saddle, then sweeps up 600 or 700 feet to a square forested top. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Two big spurs drop away from the northern face of this bluff. One - the nearer - the westerly - The Ridge - falls quickly at first, then flattens out (flattens! - that's a lie!) and continues to urdulate along beyond the upper end of Yadbora Creek. After a couple of miles that look tolerably flat it falls into another saddle, goes up 300-400 ft on to hump-backed Sugarloaf, drops 300 ft and promyny rises 500 ft to another square block of mountain. At this point the elevation is about 2600 ft, something over 1000 ft below Currockbilly and 2000 ft above Yadbora. Several ridges plunge off into the creek which has now changed to an easterly course. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When I traversed the Ridge - or rather, traversed part of it - early in April, I was in a good position to make comprrisons, | ||
+ | |||
+ | There is another important distinction. Gangerang has been trodden by many feet, so that even in the unrelievedly rocky spots you can follow the scraps of many boots - in fact I found Gangerang easier than ever before, the track more obvious, if the gradients unimproved. On The Ridge there had been others before me, but their numbers must have been small, there was little evidence of their passage so picking the way was a " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Before tackling The Ridge, of course, it was necessary to get to the vicinity of Currockbilly. You may assault it from the rear, coming in off a timber cutter' | ||
+ | |||
+ | With a 3 a.m. departure from Sydney, and using back roads from Marulan via Bungonia and Dallen Ford, I de-bussed at 8.45 on the Saturday morning near Willoween. The dawn had been misty and clouds were still lifting off the Budawang Range as I crossed the paddocks to pick up the logging trail at the foot of the ascent. The day promised brightness, but more heat than I preferred. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It is not much of a climb to the top of Budaway Range at that point, and less than an hour from the car I breasted the ridge and was looking out to a hazy blue gulf with The Castle, Mt. Renwick and Pigeon House forming a jagged northeastern skyline. The Ridge, much closer, looked quite imposing and when one ran an eye along its turbulent length and mentally worked out times and distances - well, just a bit disquieting. | ||
+ | |||
+ | For something like a mile and a half the timber road continued south along the crown of the range, ascending gradually. Then, just before the ridge narrowed and became rocky, the road ended, and it was a slow scramble through fairly dense undergrowth, | ||
+ | |||
+ | At this point the vegetation on Budawang Range undergoes a change. The bigger trees disappear, the crest is a quartzite knife-edge, sally gum grown closely and there is a species of knee deep rush-like cutting grass. The range begins to rise steadily towards the south, and there are glimpses to the barren tops towards Currockbilly. On the right the fairly level farm land along the Mongarlowe Rd is about 1000 ft below: to the left the slash of Yadbora Creek, then The Ridge, and the smoky blue of the Belowra Creek and Clude River valleys beyond. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Higher and near Currockbilly even the sally gum ends and there is a faintly Kosciusko-ish look about the rocky hills and their thin reedy grasses, and steep bare sides. The ground is too rocky and too littered with small growth to allow a good striding gait. You pick your way. Maybe 1 1/2 miles an hour - less if you stop much. | ||
+ | |||
+ | By 11.30 the ravine of Yadbora Creek had become a gentle-looking treeless valley only a few hundred feet below with a small stream winking in the sunlight. On the opposite side the Ridge ran out. Time to go down and lunch. | ||
+ | |||
+ | I made it a quick meal. Counting up on my fingers I calculated at least six hours to do the ridge and finish up on Yadbora Creek near the track that comes down from Jerricknorra Saddle. Sundown 5.45 last light 6.30. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When I started on the ridge at 12.25, there were an estimated 6 hours and five minutes of day left. I had calculated the ridge as 8 1/2 miles long - six hours should do it. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Within two hours I should have known it wouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The going was painfully slow with uneven rocky footing and small burnt-off banksia cloying the legs. Incessant up and down hill stints. I was wearing long trousers or I wouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | From that point there was less scenery - too many trees now in the way. Hence few stops and, despite the slugging climb to the first big top, slightly faster time than expected. Just after three p.m. and with a final photograph of Budawang, I started down to the " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Soon after four p.m. it was pretty obvious that wouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | From time to time I had lovely look downs into the headwaters of Yadbora, but the rocky spine clung steadily to the west of The Ridge and there was never a clear view to the east. Once in a fissure in the rocks I saw a few fragments of tin-foil, which at least assured me there were other people silly enough to try The Ridge. However, I said aloud to myself, they probably took a whole day over it. Now that would be the way to do it. Really shouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Five o' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Thirst won. I went down for forty five minutes on a very abrupt spur - no cliffs, thank Heavens. In the greying evening I drank and drank and drank from the clean rocky-bedded stream. There was no where to put up a tent, but it wasn't going to rain. A bundle of bark on the edge of the stony creek side, a twigg fire, a swift, simple meal and into the sleeping bag with a mug of cocoa and a final pipe by seven-fifteen p.m. Lovely, lovely sleep while small errant gusts of a south west wind blew down the valley and stirred the trees against a moonlit sky. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The couch of bark on the rocks was so comfortable that I wasn't about until after six o' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Although the day was lightly overcast, and the big hills to the north east were grey-blue silhouettes against a yellow hazy sky, I stopped for a couple of " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then I started down the hill towards Willoween and the car, noting the prints of my sandshoes from the previous morning. Going downhill had a good effect on morale: before I was back to Willoween I had worked out a way of doing only the northern end of the Ridge, and having time to look for a place to photograph The Castle and Renwick by westering sunlight. Not the whole Ridge, you know - just the unfinished business. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
- | PADDY PAWN r.:1 | ||
- | Lightweight Camp Gear | ||
- | . | ||
- | BA4Z685 | ||
- | _ | ||
- | . - . | ||
- | 10. r The Sydney Dushwaiker | ||
- | July, 1966 | ||
- | TALKING IN GREAT, | ||
- | Most walkers prefer to spend the night under a proper roof, be it that of a Youth Hostel, hut, Bed and Breakfast place or hotel. In the wilds of Scotland, in the height of summer, camping is quite propular, but not for extended periods. Thus, a pack of much more than 20 lbs is unnecessary, | ||
- | The interests of walkers are looked after principally by the | ||
- | Ramblers' | ||
- | | ||
- | with a club from a neighbouring group. The Ramblers Association makes its profits by organising walking and other recreational type holidays | ||
- | in Europe during the summer months, and by running two walking centres in Great Britain. | ||
- | The main one is in the Lakes District at Buttermere, one of | ||
- | the lesser visited areas where I spent a week. It was an extremely luxurious establishment for one who has inhabited the shack at Konangaroo or a plastic tent in the rain in the course of various walks. A beautiful white, two-storied semi-circular building, it accommodated 25 people and resident staff. There was deep carpet in the bedrooms, gallons of scalding hot water in the baths (showers are a peculiar Antipodean habit according to | ||
- | the average Englishman) and huge 3 course breakfasts and 4 course dinners were provided. A resident leader planned our daily walks to cater for the interests and capabilities of the average guest whose age would have been on the other side of 30. The organised walks were quite gentle, actual | ||
- | walking time being up to 7 hours, with a stop wherever possible at a pub for a beer, or at a cottage for afternoon tea and scones. It happened that there was a full house the week I was there and the assembly for our first day's stroll was an interesting spectacle. All the men were in long trousers, boots and many with the addition of collar and tie. Feminine attire ranged from skirts through a iange of long trousers to one individual in shorts and sandshoes, Many fears were expressed for the safety of her feet and she was assailed by constant ' | ||
- | day. Despite typical Lakeland. weather', | ||
- | 3210 feet, the highest hillin 'land. This ascent was regarded with awe- | ||
- | July, 1966 The Sydney Bushwalker 11. | ||
- | 9 hours walking and no pub on the way. The scenery is best described as " | ||
- | cliffs and faces that test the aces among England' | ||
- | is no scrub at all, the only vegetation being small areas of pine forest. There ' | ||
- | The other Ramblers centre is in the Scottish county of Argyllshire, | ||
- | mighty Ben Nevis. Conditions here were much more suited to a walker and the walking itself more strenuous0 Within the scope of a day's walk from the centre were 60 peaks over 3000 feet. Often one finds three or four as bumps on a long ridge, but the ascents were always steep and the tracks often difficult to follow. Due to the rugged nature of the country, it | ||
- | is much less visited and it was unusual to see other walkers out and about. We made an ascent of Den Nevis, its 4406 feet making it the highest peak in Great Britain. There is a virtual highway all the way up; in fact 20years ago someone drove a T model Ford to the summit. There are ma ,y | ||
- | difficult routes involving varying amounts of skilled. rock climbing. -During | ||
- | the 7inter it becomes a real mountaineering trip and the Den has taken its toll of lives. A survival hut was erected on the bare, exposed summit after the fierce winter of 1962 when too many climbers died from exposure. The view is only to be had on 30 days of the year and of course we went up on one of the other 335. It is reputed that one can see the coast of Ireland on a clear day, and the Cuillin hills on the Isle of Sky are clearly visible. There was an almost continuous stream of beds on the " | ||
- | a further precaution during the season, used to bedeck himself in a brilliant jumper and cap. The Cairngorm Mountains are the other main walking region in Scotland. They are more accessible, Inverness being no more than two | ||
- | hours drive pray. Walking tracks are well worn and signposts prolific with the Youth Hostels spaced a good day's walk apart. Skiing is a thriving winter | ||
- | industry, the season lasting well into April. Many Britons now ski here instead of on the exorbitantly expensive Swiss sloes. | ||
- | North Wales offers an interesting variety of walking and climbing and thousands flock there in the summer4. The mOUntains are contained in | ||
- | 12. The Sydney Hushwalker | ||
- | the Snowdonia National Park, with Snowdon the highest at 3360feet and | ||
- | thirteen others over 3000 feet. Snowdon itself is a fascinating mountain. Four main ridges converge on the summit and along each is at least one well used walking route, some more challenging than others, plus numerous clinking routes, some of which were only put up in the last 15 years. The summit view is extensive, taking in the coast on the one ,hand with the rest of the Snowdonia massif and the lesser green rolling foothills on the other. For the less energetically inclined., there is a railway to the summit, so that as one crawls up the last steep slope one is greeted by a seething mass of tourists in their shiny shoes and overcoats. Tryfan, another interesting peak, is a wedge shaped hunk of rock and rubble tilting out over a placid lake and is the only mountain in Great Britain in which | ||
- | the use of handholds is essential in the climb to the top. It is almost impossible to get that "away from it all" feeling in Snowdonia, as the | ||
- | main arterial road from North Tales to London runs through the Park. | ||
- | Yorkshire, Ehgland' | ||
- | is found Gaping Gill, the largest hole. in Great Britain, over 400 feet deep. | ||
- | In the height of summer, enterprising students -from nearby Leeds Uni.. have | ||
- | erected a gadget over the hole to lower tourists into and up again out of the-hole at 10/' per head. The vegetation in this area is incredibly green and the white limestone oUtcrops and the low limestone walls across the fields make a 'very photogenic landscape. In the north of Yorkshire are the wild and lonely moors, least visited of any area in the whole country. | ||
- | The Peaks District in Derbyshire, the picnic ground bf the citizens | ||
- | of Manchester, is perhaps misleadinglynamedvcontaining nother oli-er 25000 feet The Kinder Scout Plateau, best known feature of the District, is | ||
- | deetly intersected by channels through its peat bogs, which constitute a challenge to thebest of navigators. They are flat and featureless and the channels often trick one into thinking one is on. a:brac..k; many experienced walkers speak with,horror of the bogs in Derbyshire.' | ||
- | . There are several other interesting walking-areas through the island so that the British Isles offer something for every class of walker and the fresh air fanatic not too far from his front door. Elierywhere there is a scene to delight the conoisseur of art in nature. | ||
- | However, in my experience, there is nowhere like the Australian | ||
- | bush for its rugged beauty, variety of scenery and that priceless feeling so often lacking elsewhere | ||
- | JUly, 1966 The Sydney Dushwaiker 13. | ||
- | THE RIDGE - JIM DROWN | ||
- | There is a ridge that runs out from the Dudawang Range just this side of Currockbilly. It is really rather charitable to call it | ||
- | a ridge: rather it's a series of mountains indifferently stuck together | ||
- | by a spine of quartzite. Between the Dudawang Range and this Ridge the | ||
- | Yadbora Creek is spawned, and runs north for a few miles before it turns eastward below Tog Tog Mountain. | ||
- | If you look across to the south-west from Mt. Renwick, or better | ||
- | still to the south from Admiration Point just below Corang Trig, you will see the Ridge, but you will get a quite erroneous impression of it Apart from the final plunge into Yadbora Creek it appears quite a reasonable example of the ridge-maker' | ||
- | The proper angle for viewing is from the Dudawang Range itself, a mile or so north from Currockbilly. From that angle you can see how the Rige reaches out from the main north-south massif, first high, rocky and treeless. About miles east it plummets down 800 feet into a timbered | ||
- | saddle, then sweeps up 600 or 700 feet to a square forested top. | ||
- | TWO big spurs drop away from the northern face of this bluff. | ||
- | One - the nearer - the westerly - The Ridge - falls quickly at first, then flattens out (flattens: - that's a lie!) and continues to urdulate along beyond the upper end of Yadbora Creek. After a couple of miles that look | ||
- | tolerably flat it falls into another saddle, goes up 300-400 ft on to hump- | ||
- | backed Sugarloaf, drops 300 ft and promyny rises 500 ft to another square block of mountain. At this point the elevation is about 2600 ft, something over 1000 ft below Currockbilly and 2000 ft above Yadbora. Several ridges plunge off into the creek which has now changed to an easterly course. | ||
- | When I traversed the Ridge - or rather, traversed part of it - early in April, I was in a good position to make comprrisons, | ||
- | There is another important distinction. Gangerang has been trodden by many feet, so that even in the unrelievedly rocky spots you can follow | ||
- | the scraps af many boots - in fact I found Gangerang easier than ever before, the track more obvious, if the gradients unimproved. On The Ridge there had been others before me, but their numbers must have been small, there was | ||
- | little evidence of their passage so picking the way was a " | ||
- | Before tackling The Ridge, of course, it was necessary to get to | ||
- | the vicinity of Currockbilly. You may assault it from the rear, coming in off a timber cutter' | ||
- | 14. The Sydney Dushwalker July, 1966 | ||
- | sneak up on it from the north, using another timber trail that leaves the Mongarlowe Road near a property called Tilloween and following along the-crest of Dudawang Range. The latter is slightly longer, but gives you a scenic preview of the Ridge and a big sweep of country to east and north. | ||
- | With a 3 aim. departure from Sydney, and using back roads from MerUlan via Dungonia and Dallen Ford, I' | ||
- | It is not much of a climb to the top of Dudaway Range at that point, and less ti-an an hour from the car I breasted the ridge and was looking out to a hazy blue gulf with The Castle, Mt. Renwick and Pigeon House forming a jagged northeastern skyline. The Ridge, much closer, looked quite imposing and when one ran an eye along its turbulent length and mentally worked out times and distances | ||
- | For sotething like a mile and a half the timber road continued | ||
- | south along the crown of the range, ascending gradually. Then$ just before | ||
- | the ridge narrowed and became rocky, the road ended, and it was a slow scramble through fairly dense undergrowth, | ||
- | At this point the vegetation on Dudawang Range undergoes a change. The bigger trees disappear, the crest is a quartzite knifeedge, sally. gum grown closely and ther4 is a species of knee deep rushlike cutting grass. | ||
- | The range begins to rise steadily towards the south, and there are glimpses to the barren tops towards Currockbilly. On the ight the fairly level farm land along the Mongarlowe Rd is about 1000 ft below: to the left the slash | ||
- | of Ysdhora Creek, then The Ridge, and the smok blue of the Delowra Creek and Clude River valleys beyond. | ||
- | Higher and near Currockbilly even the sally gum ends and there is a faintly Kosciuskoish look about the rocky hills and their thin reedy grasses, and steep bare sides. The ground is too rocky and too littered with small growth to allow a good striding gait. You Pick your way. Maybe | ||
- | miles an hour less if you stop much. | ||
- | By 11.30 the ravine of Yadbora Creek had become a gentleacking | ||
- | treeless valley only a few hundred feet below with a small stream winking in | ||
- | the sunlight. On the opposite side the Ridge ran out. Time to go down and ' lunch. | ||
- | ,I made it a quick meal.. Counting up on my fingers-I dalaulated at 'least six hours to-do the ridge Ana finisli: | ||
- | July, 1966 The Sydney Bushwalker 15. | ||
- | When I,started on the ridge at 12.25, there were an estimated 6 hours and five minutes of day left. I had calculated the ridge as 8i. miles long six hours should do it. | ||
- | Within two hours I should have known it wouldn' | ||
- | The going was painfully slow with uneven rocky footing and small | ||
- | burntoff banksia cloying the legs. Incessant up and down hill stints. I was wearing long trousers or I wouldn' | ||
- | From that point there was less scenery | ||
- | photograph of Budawang, I started down to the " | ||
- | Soom after four p m. it was pretty Obvious that wouldn' | ||
- | way of it at all. The " | ||
- | the ' | ||
- | From time to time I had lovely look downs into the headwaters of Yadbora, but the rocky spine clung steadily to the west of The Ridge and there was never a clear view to the east. Once in a fissure in the rocks I saw a few fragments of tinfoil, which at least assured me there were other people silly enough to try The Ridge. However, I said aloud to myself, they | ||
- | probably took a whole day over it. Now that would be the way to do it. Really shouldn' | ||
- | Five o' | ||
- | another big hill. I had not contemplated it before, but now I looked down | ||
- | the ridges into Upper Yadbora. If one could get down, there would be water, | ||
- | beaut. cool, dribbling, chucklingl mossy water. Then next day it would be quite a short stage if somewhat steep straight up and over Budaway Range back to rilloween. Alternative a dry camp. | ||
- | 16. The Sydney Dushwalker , July,. 1966 - | ||
- | Thirst won. I went down for forty five minutes on a very abrupt | ||
- | spur - no cliffsl thank Heavens, In the greying evening I drank and drank and drank from the clean rocky-bedded stream. There was no where to put up a tent, but it wasn't going to rain. A bundle of bark on the edge of | ||
- | . the stonY creek side, a twigg fire, a swift, simple meal and into the sleeping bag With a mug of cocoa and a final pipe by seven-fifteen p m. Lovely, lovely sleep while small errant gusts of a south west wind blew down the valley and stirred the trees against a moonlit sky. | ||
- | The couth of bark on the rocks Was so comfortable that ic wasn't about until after six o' | ||
- | AlthOugh the day was lightly overcast, and the big hills to the | ||
- | *r#1 east were grey-blue silhouettes against a yellow hazy sky, I stopped - | ||
- | far a couple of " | ||
- | back at the Siagarleaf and the northern end of The Ridge. Well, my estimate of six hours was well out. In over five hours I might have traversed two- thirds of the total length, with two of the main humps still ahead. I doubted whether fld. ever tackle it again. | ||
- | Then.I started down the hill towards Willoween and the car, noting the prints of my sandshoes from the previous morning. Going downhill had a good effect on morale: before I was back to 7alloween I | ||
- | had worked out a way of doing only the northern end of the Ridge, and having time to look for a place to photograph The Castle and Reqwick by westering | ||
- | sunlight. Not the whole Ridge, you know - just the unfinished business.' | ||
- | , | ||
- | ....=,% embronamme | ||
COLOUR SLIDE COMPETITION - AUGUST 31. | COLOUR SLIDE COMPETITION - AUGUST 31. | ||
This year the competition will be divided into two sections : AUSTRALIAN AND OVERSEAS. | This year the competition will be divided into two sections : AUSTRALIAN AND OVERSEAS. |
196607.txt · Last modified: 2016/08/11 13:17 by tyreless