(8)-9 January 2010 The Castle
Map: Corang 1:25000
Getting There
This walk was organised and led by Peter J as a CBC walk:
Saturday 09 January: The Castle (Budawags NSW) - L/R(X). Climb the Castle from Yadboro Camp Ground (Grid Reference 447877) for great views to Byangee and Pigeon House - be sure to bring your camera. You will need to carry plenty of water as there may be none after crossing the Yadboro River. The walk will start early Saturday morning to avoid the heat during the climb. You may like to get there the nigh before and stay at the camp ground. Map: Corang 1:25,000 Leader: Peter J. Transport: ~180k each way with a considerable section of dirt road, ~$140 per car. Limit: 6.
7 of us met and drove down in 2 cars on Friday evening. A long 48km of dirt on the Western Distributor from the Kings Highway to the Long Gully 1 camp ground.
Further Information
Leave Canberra 4:00pm sharp on Friday, 08 January; Camp at start of walk on Friday night; Start the walk about 6:00 am Saturday to avoid the heat during the main climb; Should be back to the camp site before dark; Return to Canberra Saturday night, 09 January.
Some useful information from NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service on 'REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES FOR WALKING IN THE BUDAWANG WILDERNESS, MORTON NATIONAL PARK' here.
Photographs
Access all primary pics here. Access all Picasa-stored pics here. All thumbnails in the walk report are active - click for a larger picture.
Walk
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We arrived around 7pm on Friday evening and had the camp ground to ourselves. Set up tents and enjoyed a meal and conversation round a picnic table. My first experience of a car camp. High quality red (thank you Peter) and a reasonable port (from my dear Mother's cupboard). My new Moment tarptent very quick and easy to set up. Peter gave us an excellent briefing as to what to expect. An extremely mild night - lay on top of my kit most of the night, eventually retreating into the sleeping bag liner and, an hour or so before get up time, legs into the sleeping bag.
5.10am was rise and shine. We breakfasted and left our tents up to dry off any moisture.
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Away at 6.10am and along the few hundred
metres to cross the Yadboro River. No need to remove/change footwear and
I left my sandals to pick up on returning. NW and W on a well-worn track to the bottom of the Kalianna Ridge at about the 200m contour. The Castle Walking Track turned NE and we began the steady climb, accompanied by the throbbing cicadas. We'd caught a glimpse of The Castle on the drive in along the Western Distributor and Long Gully Roads, but as I was driving, mine was cursory. It is visible through the trees from the camp site too, but there were other things then. Now, it was impossible to ignore our objective, the SW face rearing above the walking track in its majesty. By 7.20am we'd covered 3.3km to the SW corner of the second terrace of The Castle, having negotiated the chain rail assists up a small conglomerate slope. |
| Castle Walking Trail on Kalianna Ridge | The Castle rears above Castle Walking Trail on Kalianna Ridge |
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The next leg took us N along the bottom of
the W 141r cliffs of The Castle's second terrace. A few footpad options
in places, so nice to have Peter's guidance (and later, the assistance
of Rob H's sketch map). Water splashed down from the massive cliffs in one place and incredible views opened up to Mt Owen and the closer Mt Nibelung. Near the end of this leg we came upon a cave with running stream beside it, where we left some additional water for our return journey. Huge views to the cliffs W and N, and SW down Oaky Creek. 2hrs to the cave (arriving there at 8.10am), having covered 4.5km from the camp site. |
| Water drops onto Castle Walking Trail | Mt Owen and the flank of Mt Nibelung |
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The next leg heads generally NE up a taxing
series of steps to a track junction marked by a carved rock. Some
attractive flowers about. Views now to the NW flank of the top
terrace of The Castle, as well as to the W and the pass to the N. Another series of steps as we followed the track pointed pointed to by the engraved 'TC' arrow. You can see from the track that the footpads are not where they are marked on the map and some form of local knowledge is best to have. |
| Track junction | Flower |
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A small cairn of white stones guided us
along an almost hidden footpad to a tunnel which allows passage through
the tail of The Castle, from W to E. Quite a squeeze, with a rope
assisted drop on exiting to the E. The next small hurdle which Peter had briefed us on was a clamber round a rock face where one's destination can't really be seen. Not one for heights (it has a small exposure beneath), I'd given it some thought the previous night, but it turned out to be a non event. Some more tight squeezes up little chimneys, with views now to the E over the Clyde River gorge. We continued to make our way up the rocky tail of The Castle. The last rope assist took us in two stages (a black rope and a yellow rope) towards the top, again causing even me no difficulty. The others were clambering around like monkeys. |
| The tunnel from the W to E side of the tail of The Castle | The yellow rope climb |
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The view on reaching The Castle plateau was
astounding! In front was scrub, but the view behind, to the NW, included
the tail and the ever-present Mts Owen and Nibelung. It being 10.40am
(5.6km and 4hrs30mins to here), we ducked into a shallow cave in the
shade for morning tea. Sustenance taken, we headed generally S along the top of the plateau, using the rock platforms and pressing through the scrub where required. Lots of little footpads and cairns everywhere. Peter took us to the SE, where the classic view from The Castle to Byangee Mountain and Pigeon House was enjoyed. The E panorama including the Clyde Gorge was spectacular. |
| The view on reaching The Castle | 2 Byangee Mountain and Pigeon House from The Castle | The Clyde Gorge, Byangee Mountain and Pigeon House from The Castle |
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We zigged back to the SW corner of the plateau and, from the top of the 120r cliffs, looked down onto the SW corner of the second level terrace and out onto the Western Distributor and Long Gully Roads that we'd come in on. Then a zag over to the SE corner for more views to Byangee Mountain and Pigeon House, from near a little rock formation that Peter had dubbed 'the pulpit'. It made a handy seat. |
| Long Gully Road and the Western Distributor snake into the distance | SW corner of The Castle | Mt Owen from the SW corner of The Castle |
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It was now midday, so we reluctantly thought of turning for home. We made our way up the E side, passing a lovely roof-top pool with million dollar views E to the Clyde River Gorge. Before long we were back at the exit point. |
| Pool on the E side of The Castle |
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A scramble off the top and, for me, a more confident climb down the yellow rope to a shaded rock face for lunch. The day was certainly warming up. |
| 3 Climbing down the yellow rope (photo courtesy of Lijun C) |
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We retraced our way with ease, Peter
reserving a little surprise for us on the E side of the tail. It was a
beautifully cool 'air conditioned' slot in the cliff face. A large rock
at ground level at the entrance had slots front and back, with lovely
cool air being drawn from the back slot in the cave belching out the
front slot to greet us. We were all surprised in the tunnel, meeting another party coming through from W to E. It was around 2pm and pretty warm, so we were glad that we were heading down towards home. Below the track junction (where we came across the rest of the party waiting for their Castle climbing companions) we had a perfect view back up the cliffs of The Castle and could pick out the yellow rope assisted climb just to the right of a significant rock tower. |
| Air conditioned cave | NW flank of The Castle showing yellow rope |
We took our time coming back, with plenty of R&R stops in the heat. Glad to arrive at the cave where we'd left some water in the morning. By the time we reached the water drip we were all eager to stand under it for a while. Back to the Yadboro River at 5pm and we all enjoyed a cooling swim for 30mins. Then packed up our tents and endured the dusty drive out to the Kings Highway and so home.
Magic thanks Peter J. And thanks for all the encouragement from David D, Karen C, Kerrie T, Lijun C and Mark R.
Distance: 12.8km Climb: 900m. Time: 6.10am - 6.05pm (call it 12hrs), with
50mins of stops, 30mins of swimming and many other pauses for photographs, and
rests on the return leg in the heat.
Grading: L/R,X; H(13)
KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: The Castle (take it with a grain of salt - a lot of the time I was only seeing a less than ideal number of satellites)
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This page last updated 14Jan10