199009
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199009 [2016/06/15 18:10] – vievems | 199009 [2016/06/15 18:56] – [Morong Deep] vievems | ||
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by Bob Duncan (First published February 1981) | by Bob Duncan (First published February 1981) | ||
- | The Morong Deep section of the Kowmung River is always a wonderful summer trip, but as I get, few chances to walk these days, I looked forward to it especially eagerly. I also | + | The Morong Deep section of the Kowmung River is always a wonderful summer trip, but as I get few chances to walk these days, I looked forward to it especially eagerly. I also looked at the weather especially anxiously, for the leader was the notoriously fair-weather ski-tourer and walker, David Rostron. Friday dawned cloudy and a little threatening, |
- | looked, at the weather especially anxiously, for the leader was the notoriously fair-weather | + | |
- | ski-tourer and walker, David Rostron. Friday dawned cloudy and a little threatening, | + | Approaching Wentworth Falls, |
- | SO. to forestall a.last minute cancellation I removed the, phone from the hook. However at | + | |
- | 7.30. pm, David Rostron and Peter Harris picked | + | In the morning we met the other members of the trip. In alphabetical order they were:- Diana Bucknell, Don and Jenny Cornell; Bob and Margaret Hodgson, Tony Marshall, Rob Mason, Alan Pike, Fazeley |
- | Approaching Wentworth Falls, | + | |
- | to mutter, but Peter, anxious to reach Leura and call in on the wife of a climbing friend | + | (a) A fast 50 km traverse of the Axe Head Range, or\\ (b) A cold Kalang Falls abseiling trip |
- | of his (away in W.2.), drove on. At Leura Peter rushed into the. house, and a'few.minutes | + | |
- | lateryaneSea | + | |
- | at about 11.30 pm. We were the last to arrive, it was drizzling steadily, so we erected | + | |
- | our tents and slept: | + | |
- | In the morning we met the other members of the trip. In alphabetical order they were:- | + | |
- | Diana Bucknell, Don and JennY. | + | |
- | were ShoCkedrto seethe | + | |
- | poor erection. Barry himself looked. bedraggled.- The weather was still uncertain. The | + | |
- | drizzle had. stopped, but low cloud and mist remained, and in break S through this we could see high wind-swept cirrus. Most experts thought this a sure sign Of impending storm, but 'as the leader offered:- | + | |
- | (a) A 'fast 50 km traverse of the Axe. Head Range, or | + | |
- | -(b), A told Kalang Falls abseiling trip ' | + | |
as alternatives, | as alternatives, | ||
- | The leader announced a pack limit of 20 lbs, and brought out his spring scales in an attempt to enforce it. Most packs, weighed in the range of 15 to 17 pounds, but John Redfern' | ||
- | The weighing done, we re-entered the cars and drove a little further along Kanangra | ||
- | Road, and then along the fire trail which leads towards Morong Falls. A little short of | ||
- | Morong Creek we disembarked. A leader with only normal route-finding ability would have | ||
- | cautiously fdllowed Morong Creek down to the falls, but our leader, without help of compass or visible sun, led us boldly across the featureless plateau in a bee-line which missed | ||
- | the cairn on the right shoulder? | ||
- | to the Kowmung and Saw its drought-stricken appearance. It contained no white water at all; | ||
- | possibly it was not even flowing. We began the steep descent to the river and from a vantage point looked back at Morong Falls; it was completely dry. | ||
- | ,Reaching the Kowmung, we found our progress seriously impeded by blackberries and | ||
- | loganberries. John Redfern feared they were bad for the stomach, and walked around them | ||
- | unimpeded; the rest of us stopped and feasted every few metres. The Kowmung was flowing, | ||
- | but low; it could be crossed anywhere with ease; what is normally a tricky trip was one of simple boulder-hopping. | ||
- | However Morong Deep becomes narrower and wilder as one goes downstream, and soon we came to reaches where the easiest progress was made by bombing into pools and swimming. In time we came to a fall of 3 or 4 metres ehich, because of submerged rocks, looked dangerous | ||
- | to bomb. Here, with some difficulty, DAvid Rostron and Bob Hodgson set up a climbing tape. | ||
- | Less aquatic members of the party, led by Peter Harris and his Lilo, began a high sidle to avoid the fall. When David reached the pool below he had a bright red tape burn across his | ||
- | body, at the sight of which further members took off for the high sidle. I threw David' | ||
- | pack down to him in the pool below, only to be abused because he was protective about the fresh eggs it contained. | ||
- | Margaret Hodgson, Diana Pkicknell, Rob Mason, Barry Wallace (I hope I haven' | + | The leader announced a pack limit of 20 lbs, and brought out his spring scales in an attempt to enforce it. Most packs, weighed in the range of 15 to 17 pounds, but John Redfern' |
- | All in all the trip down the river was easy and 'pleasant, with boulder-hopping | + | |
+ | The weighing done, we re-entered the cars and drove a little further along Kanangra Road, and then along the fire trail which leads towards Morong Falls. A little short of Morong Creek we disembarked. A leader with only normal route-finding ability would have cautiously followed Morong Creek down to the falls, but our leader, without help of compass or visible sun, led us boldly across the featureless plateau in a bee-line which missed the cairn on the right shoulder of Morong Falls by only 4.6 metres. Here we looked down on to the Kowmung and saw its drought stricken appearance. It contained no white water at all; possibly it was not even flowing. We began the steep descent to the river and from a vantage point looked back at Morong Falls; it was completely dry. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Reaching the Kowmung, we found our progress seriously impeded by blackberries and loganberries. John Redfern feared they were bad for the stomach, and walked around them unimpeded; the rest of us stopped and feasted every few metres. The Kowmung was flowing, but low; it could be crossed anywhere with ease; what is normally a tricky trip was one of simple boulder-hopping. | ||
+ | |||
+ | However Morong Deep becomes narrower and wilder as one goes downstream, and soon we came to reaches where the easiest progress was made by bombing into pools and swimming. In time we came to a fall of 3 or 4 metres which, because of submerged rocks, looked dangerous to bomb. Here, with some difficulty, David Rostron and Bob Hodgson set up a climbing tape. Less aquatic members of the party, led by Peter Harris and his Lilo, began a high sidle to avoid the fall. When David reached the pool below he had a bright red tape burn across his body, at the sight of which further members took off for the high sidle. I threw David' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Margaret Hodgson, Diana Bicknell, Rob Mason, Barry Wallace (I hope I haven' | ||
party piked and climbed down a poor old casuarina which had already lost most of its bark from previous piking | party piked and climbed down a poor old casuarina which had already lost most of its bark from previous piking | ||
- | parties. The trip was almost without incident. John | + | parties. The trip was almost without incident. John Redfern (I was told) fell into a crevasse but was recovered. |
- | Redfern (I was told) fell into a crevasse but was | + | |
- | recovered. Barry Wallace almost surmounted a smooth | + | It was still afternoon when we began leaving the narrowest part of Morong Deep; here we made camp on a small forested ledge. We were amazed to see John Redfern unpack not only food and sleeping bag, but a tent fly; that his pack should weigh only 11 pounds defied all laws of physics. It being so early, four of us walked back to the last big pool for another swim, and here David and Barry gave Fazeley |
- | granite slab only to go back to the river on hands and knees in a stately long slow slide, leaving four barely, discernable trails of skin and flesh behind him By dint of Lilo and high sidling Peter Harris did the whole trip without getting wet above the navel. | + | |
- | It was still afternoon when we began leaving the | + | We returned |
- | narrowest part of Morong Deep; here we made camp on a | + | |
- | 'small forested ledge. We were amazed to see John Redfern | + | Then we retired to our summer sleeping bags. It was a balmy night, an idyllic campsite, and after a day's pleasant exercise all slept soundly. All, that is, except John Redfern, Peter Harris, and Fazeley Read. In the morning these three complained of a sleepless night. |
- | unpack not only food and sleeping bag, but a tent fly; that his pack should weigh only 11 pounds defied all.laws of physics. It being so early, | + | |
- | four of us walked back to the last big pool for another swim, and here David and Barry gave | + | After breakfast we set off down the river and after about only five minutes came to the last good swimming hole. We spent an hour or so here and then set off again. The Kowmung now widened considerably and we were once more in blackberry eating country. At the foot of the Megalith |
- | FazeleyV | + | |
- | explanation, | + | We stopped for lunch and then set off up the creek again. It was now that Peter Harris' |
- | | + | |
- | surprise peas, but, others ate more luxuriously. Various varieties of tea were brewed and | + | Hanrahan' |
- | compared. Peter Harris' | + | |
- | pools, rose markedly when he brought out his fresh rockmelon and shared it around. After | + | From start to finish of the trip some members walked so competently, |
- | tea our leader, David Rostron, told us something of his enviable experiences during a recent phase of his'employment which involved testing water beds. | + | |
- | Then.we retired to our summer sleeping bags. It was a balmy night, an idyllic campsite, | + | Back in the car, David Rostron, John Redfern and I were so grateful to have Peter Harris chauffeuring us again that we completely forgot his lilo, his naive response to jokes, and the gaps in his knowledge of Amphibia. We sat back and relaxed (except Don and Jenny) for a magnificent meal at Young' |
- | and after a day's pleasant exercise all slept soundly. All, that is, except John Redfern, | + | |
- | Peter Harris, and Fazeley Read. In the morning these three complained of a sleepless night. | + | |
- | John complained that he had been constantly attacked by possums. Peter complained that he had been kept awake worrying about a joke which our leader had told him before bedtime. | + | |
- | After breakfast we set off down the river and after about only five minutes came to the last good swimming hole. We spent an hour or so here and then set off again. The Kowmung | + | |
- | now widened considerably and we were once more in blackberry eating country. At the foot of thegalith | + | |
- | A steep climb up the ridge took us to that remarkable place where Hanrahan' | + | |
- | Hanrahan' | + | |
- | began to follow it up. Despite the drought, Hanrahan' | + | |
- | to swim in, but big enough to dip in and cool off. Over all, our leader had arranged fair, | + | |
- | but not perfect weather. Yesterday, while we were swimming the Kowmung, it was overcast. | + | |
- | Today, while we were climbing, it was hot and sunny. Still, the pools made things very tolerable. | + | |
- | We stopped for lunch and then set off up the creek again. It was now that Peter Harris' | + | |
- | reputation as an expert on Amphibia suffered a blow from which it may never recover. On being | + | |
- | shown a specimen of frog excreta by Rob, he proclaimed with a great show of confidence that it was that of a green tree frog (Hyla macrocopra). However, unknown to him, it had been | + | |
- | seen by Rob and several other members of the party to have been produced by a lesser spotted river frog (Bachytra rivula) which had jumped out of a pool as a red-bellied black snake slid | + | |
- | in. The snake could still be seen in the pool. When confronted with these facts Peter | + | |
- | tried to cOver himself by muttering something about the difference in feeding conditions between the Kowmung and the Ettrema. | + | |
- | Hanrahan' | + | |
- | We hurried past one section where the cliffs above looked very unstable, and where the creek bed was strewn with recently fallen jagged rocks. Soon after we had taken the apparent left branch at a sharp V-fork, the creek had become almost as steep as the containing walls.. Here, while our leader and Bob HOdgson | + | |
- | From start to finish of the trip some members walked so competently, | + | |
- | Back in the car, David Rostron, John Redfern and ',were so grateful to have Peter Harris chauffeuring us again that we completely forgot his Lilo, his naive response to jokes, and the gaps in his knowledge of Amphibia. We sat back and relaxed (except Don and Jenny) for | + | |
- | a magnificent meal at Young' | + | |
- | Vanessa, and then we were home. David-Rostron had done a magnificent job arranging and leading the trip, and a very fair job arranging the weather. | + | |
Advertisement - Blackheath Taxi's & Tourist Services | Advertisement - Blackheath Taxi's & Tourist Services | ||
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__Friends of Durras__ is raising $1,000,000 to buy over 500 hectares of land on Lake Durras near Bateman' | __Friends of Durras__ is raising $1,000,000 to buy over 500 hectares of land on Lake Durras near Bateman' | ||
- | __And Guess Who__ was seen at the Club wearing a dazzling new diamond ring, third finger, left hand? None other than our Social Sec., Greta Davis! The guy who couldn' | + | __And Guess Who__..... was seen at the Club wearing a dazzling new diamond ring, third finger, left hand? None other than our Social Sec., Greta Davis! The guy who couldn' |
|CLUB CLOSED.... on OCTOBER 3rd 1990| | |CLUB CLOSED.... on OCTOBER 3rd 1990| | ||
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===== Bring your own Chainsaw? ===== | ===== Bring your own Chainsaw? ===== | ||
- | On the 3rd & 4th of November, the N.P.W.S. will organise a track-restoration weekend on Maxwell Tops, (Kanangra Walls). This includes trimming back that spring-loaded vegetation from the main tracks, to encourage people to use only these. A maze of ' | + | On the 3rd & 4th of November, the N.P.W.S. will organise a track-restoration weekend on Maxwell Tops, (Kanangra Walls). This includes trimming back that spring-loaded vegetation from the main tracks, to encourage people to use only these. A maze of ' |
- | in terrible soil erosion. Hopefully, in the future some of the deep ' | + | |
- | If you would like to help NPWS with this essential work, please contact John Porter for further details. Ph. 797.9784 | + | **SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE OVERDUE!!** |
+ | |||
+ | Please pay if you have not already done so. If you are not sure, check with Tony Marshall - Ph. 713.6985. Unfinancial | ||
+ | members will not receive further Magazines or Walks Programs. | ||
- | SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE OVERDUE!! | + | Single active member $30\\ Household $48\\ Non-active member $ 9\\ Non-active member with magazine $21 |
- | Please pay if you have not already done so. If you are not | + | |
- | sure, check with Tony Marshall - Ph. 713.6985. Unfinancial | + | |
- | members will not receive further Magazines or Walks Programs | + | |
- | Single active member $30 | + | |
- | Household $48 | + | |
- | Non-active member $ 9 | + | |
- | Non-active member | + | |
- | with magazine $21 | + | |
===== Footnotes ===== | ===== Footnotes ===== |
199009.txt · Last modified: 2016/06/15 19:21 by vievems