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--- 198607 [2016/03/08 20:50] – kennettj
+++ 198607 [2016/03/08 20:55] – [Peter Miller's ANZAC Weekend On The Axe Head] kennettj
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 The original plan was to do three fairly evenly timed days, getting water from Butchers Creek for Friday night. However, the drought altered that since we had discovered on Alan Doherty's Easter walk that Butchers Creek was pretty dry. So Friday and Sunday were short days but Saturday was real macho stuff (well, to me, anyway), a day we all agreed that even Bill Capon would have been proud of. Aside from our gallant leader, Peter Miller, the party consisted of Fusae and Ray Dargan, Bob Duncan, Bob King and myself.
-We started off from Kanangra Walls at about 8.30 on Friday morning, having earlier met up with George Walton's party of about 20 people. The weather was lovely and clear for the whole weekend. Real drought weather!! The views were terrific, a real contrast Peter told us to the last time he'd been there as it had been bucketing rain then. So off through that
-scratchy heath we went, to have morning tea on the top of Cottage Rock and
+We started off from Kanangra Walls at about 8.30 on Friday morning, having earlier met up with George Walton's party of about 20 people. The weather was lovely and clear for the whole weekend. Real drought weather!! The views were terrific, a real contrast Peter told us to the last time he'd been there as it had been bucketing rain then. So off through that scratchy heath we went, to have morning tea on the top of Cottage Rock and then on down Roote's Ridge to be on the Kowmung by 12. Some of us had a "swim" if you can call jumping in, gasping, and then jumping out again a swim. It was quite cold. After having lunch we crossed the river on rocks to keep fairly dry feet (yes, that's how low the Kowmung is) and took about an hour to find the "perfect" campsite. It's amazing how choosy you are when you have all afternoon. Happy hour started early with lots of goodies with all of us lightening our packs for the next day. We all slept
-then on down Roote's Ridge to be on the Kowmung by 12. Some of us had a
-"swim" if you can call jumping in, gasping, and then jumping out again a
-swim. It was quite cold. After having lunch we crossed the river on
-rocks to keep fairly dry feet (yes, that's how low the Kowmung is) and took
-about an hour to find the "perfect" campsite. It's amazing how choosy you
-are when you have all afternoon. Happy hour started early with lots of
-goodies with all of us lightening our packs for the next day. We all slept
 out on Friday night, not putting up flies, as there was no moisture in the air.
-We were up at 6 so that we could be away by 7. We all carried enough water for the whole day as we didn't expect to see any before returning to the Kowmung. It was a pleasant walk up the ridge and onto Scott's Main
-Range fire trail. It is one of those lovely, open ridges which is not too
+We were up at 6 so that we could be away by 7. We all carried enough water for the whole day as we didn't expect to see any before returning to the Kowmung. It was a pleasant walk up the ridge and onto Scott's Main Range fire trail. It is one of those lovely, open ridges which is not too steep. Then we had the first bit of tricky navigation, to find the right ridge down into Butchers Creek. When we got down into the creek, we discovered a fairly big water hole. We all had a good drink with morning tea (although we didn't have enough time to boil a billy), and then up the ridge on the other side of the creek to then stand below the northern end of the Axe Head. It was intimidating standing there with that mountain
-steep. Then we had the first bit of tricky navigation, to find the right
-ridge down into Butchers Creek. When we got down into the creek, we liscovered a fairly big water hole. We all had a good drink with morning tea (although we didn't have enough time to boil a billy), and then up the ridge on the other side of the creek to then stand below the northern end
-Jf the Axe Head. It was intimidating standing there with that mountain
 locoing above us, magnificent in the bright sunshine.
- The next section was a slippery scramble to get up on top. It was
-one of those "one-step-forward, one-step-back" ridges until, tired, studded
+The next section was a slippery scramble to get up on top. It was one of those "one-step-forward, one-step-back" ridges until, tired, studded with prickles but triumphant, we all emerged on the top. After a short break and lured on by Peter's promises of lunch soon, we started along the top of the range. The views were terrific with 3600 panoramas. What amazed me was the narrowness of the top with some sections being only 4 or 5 metres wide. It was with some relief that we flopped down to have lunch, sheltering from a brisk breeze. After he'd eaten, Ray wandered off a little way to sketch and produced a really lovely drawing in about ten minutes.
-with prickles but triumphant, we all emerged on the top. After a short
-break and lured on by Peter's promises of lunch soon, we started along the
-top of the range. The views were terrific with 3600 panoramas. What
-amazed me was the narrowness of the top with some sections being only 4 or
- etres wide. It was with some relief that we flopped down to have lunch,
-sheltering from a brisk breeze. After he'd eaten, Ray wandered off a little way to sketch and produced a really lovely drawing in about ten minutes.
 On the move again after lunch, we sometimes went over the top of the rocky outcrops and sometimes sidled around them until eventually we reached Mount Tonalli, right at the end of the range and looked down into Byrnes Gap. We followed a very clear track down until it mysteriously ran out, but after a bit of exploration by Bob King and Peter, we scrambled down a track which followed a gully down, a little further back from where we'd been.
-At Byrnes Gap, we had a bit of a break, sitting on the grass beside the fire trail. If my memory is correct, it was about 2.30 by the time we left there and walked along the fire trail for about 3i km which seemed, at that stage of the day, to be all up hill. We left the fire trail at Mount Kowmung and climbed 60 m so that we were just under the cliff line and we then sidled around the base until we found the right ridge to follow down to Church Creek and thence to the Kowmung River.
-We resisted the temptation to take the wrong ridge; it was too late in the day to make that sort of error and be likely to get away with it.
+At Byrnes Gap, we had a bit of a break, sitting on the grass beside the fire trail. If my memory is correct, it was about 2.30 by the time we left there and walked along the fire trail for about 3 km which seemed, at that stage of the day, to be all up hill. We left the fire trail at Mount Kowmung and climbed 60 m so that we were just under the cliff line and we then sidled around the base until we found the right ridge to follow down to Church Creek and thence to the Kowmung River. We resisted the temptation to take the wrong ridge; it was too late in the day to make that sort of error and be likely to get away with it.
 It was fairly rough and scratchy until we were actually on the ridge. However, a little way on, Peter identified Chiddy Obelisk off to the left, which gave us all "The Warm Fuzzies" that the navigation was correct. We chooffed off down the ridge which, for the most part, descended gently and then dropped into Church Creek. Then we cruised along the Creek, back to the Kowmung in failing light just before 6 pm. We threw ourselves onto the ground (luckily, no one was camped there) and enjoyed being "home".