Esgate Pass / Blacks Ladders

[jonnosan]

This morning my girlfriend (Sophie) and I did a hike below the cliff lines of Radiata Plateau. I had previously gone in & out each of Esgate Pass (the chains) and Blacks Ladder, this was my first time doing the full traverse though.

It was cool and overcast - no rain, but there was a slight chance of showers later in the day, and I didn't want to risk having to ascend the chains at Esgate Pass in the rain, so we decided to go down the chains, and up the ladder. Descending the chains is certainly a bit more nerve wracking than climbing them, but we had both done it before.

The point to leave the main firetrail for Esgate Pass is marked by a cairn, in fact there are cairns all the way down to the top of the chains. I did get a few second thoughts when I got another look at the rusty chains disappearing down over the rock face, but Sophie was down them in a flash which meant I had no choice but to follow.

When we got into the gap between the main plateau and the detached Megalong Head, I saw a bit of a chimney that looked like it could be ascended to get on top of Megalong Head, Sophie climbed it to prove it was so, I decided discretion was the better part of valour and shouted encouragement from below.

We then did a circle of the head, looking for how to descend, when we got back to the gap where we started, I spotted the cairn at the top of the obvious track down a gully to the East. We followed that down to some rainforest, then followed some faint tracks that looped back under Megalong head and eventually we crossed a creek and ascended to the pass up the main cliff line just a little to the NNW of where the chains would be.

From there we stayed as high as we could, along the base of the cliff which turned into shale ledge after a while. We had to back track a few times and drop down to a lower level. We did see the occasional cairn, and footpads, but I would be nervous about relying on either of those for anything more than a bit of reassurance that other humans have passed here once before.
There were a couple of times when there was a very distinct track along a ledge which then bluffed out - I guess these 'dead ends' get twice as much traffic as other sections.

Eventually we reached the final ledge, and the waterfall near the base of Blacks Ladders. There was quite a lot of water coming down the fall, and in the creek, so the easiest way was to go behind the back of the waterfall.

When we got to the old wooden ladder, I discovered a flaw in my plan - I had been thinking that this pass would be fine to do in the wet, but had considered only the spikes, not the amphitheatre just below it (i.e. where the wooden ladder is). Previously I had avoided the wooden ladder and used the carved footholds just next to them, but today this part of the rock was very wet, slimy and slippery. The area with the wooden ladder was under an overhang though and completely dry - we could have scrambled up there but in the end we just went up the ladder, which held my weight (110Kg) OK.

By this stage we were pretty tired, so didn't stop for any photos, just trudged up the steep and well-worn foot pad till it breaks through the cliff line. There are freshly painted arrows pointing the way from the top of the old footpad to the gumtrees that mark the junction with the old fire trail. According to Allan Wells page ( http://www.pnc.com.au/~wells/RadiataPlateau.html ) the 'old' route through the firetrail network is too overgrown to use and he suggests a new way with a bit of a bush bash, but we went took the firetrails all the way from the gum trees today and it was fine.

Round trip took 5:30h including a reasonable lunch break and some pfaffing around at Megalong head. An excellent adventure, which certainly tests your appetite for exposure.

I put some photos on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 365&type=1

[jonnosan]

Seems like no-one can access the photos on facebook so I put them on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnosan/s ... 678764601/

[FatCanyoner]

I love this walk. Other than Allan Wells, so one seems to promote it. It is the perfect introduction to more challenging walks -- easy enough for less experienced people but diverse enough to be enjoyable for experienced walkers. The views from Esgate Pass are unreal too!

[tom_brennan]

I thought about writing it up for my web site, but decided against it. Its ease of accessibility means you get people going there that just shouldn't.

[FatCanyoner]

Its ease of accessibility means you get people going there that just shouldn't.

Not a fan of helping natural selection along?

[Allchin09]

Haha, I wonder whether a Darwin Awards book exists for bushwalking and the related activities?

[Grabeach]

A few random observations.

Black's Ladder and Esgate Pass were probably first 'well promoted' in Jim Smith's How To See the Blue Mountains 2nd Edition that came out in the 1980s, with an appropriate "experienced walkers only" tag. Jim would have got the info first hand from Ben. Unfortunately the book would likely be out of print.

Apparently Ben only put the chains on the headland so he could carry his dog up and down. I had a good look at the chains a couple of years back and they appeared to be in a reasonable condition.

Black's Ladder was always considered a fairly easy pass, wet or dry. If my wife could get up and down there, then anybody could. Certainly no-one ever considered the need for an actual ladder back around 1990.

Frank Bendeich told me they once got up not far to the north east of Esgate Pass. He remembers crawling along a very narrow ledge. The name Bob Buck was mentioned. Enough said!

[jonnosan]

I would be interested in knowing of any other walks involving Blacks Ladders, apart from the traverse around to Esgate Pass.
When looking down from Radiata Plateau, I could see some big cliffs on the bank of Back Creek so I had assumed it would be quite difficult to get down to Megalong Valley Road from there, but a further reading of the topo shows it may be passable to the NE of Blacks Ladders.

The other option (which would be a long day I think and almost certainly need a car shuffle) would be to try to link up with the tracks that go up to Medlow Bath.

[Grabeach]

Yea, the only logical (ie. nearby) walk is to combine it with the Hydro Valley Track. From the bottom of Black's Ladder go out to the headland, then go down the spur to the north. Unfortunately you then have to cross a fair bit of private property to get to the road. From there it is not far to the start of the Valley Track. That's if it still exists, it was getting hard to find 20 odd years ago. I would check the Hydro end first. The whole walk wasn't really a long day and we didn't bother with a car shuttle.

The only other routes through the main cliffline between BL and VT are the two climbers access passes in the vicinity of the Three Brothers. They are shown in Jim Smith's book. Would probably be a bit of a slog up to the bottom of the 'passes' and you still end up near the Hydro. Haven't done them, so don't know how difficult technically.

If you really don't want to follow the highway back, it is possible to follow the terrace that the Three Brothers stand on all the way to Radiata Plateau. The last exit is at MGA 479,683 then pick up a not shown on the map fire trail on the west side of the creek. If it still exists etc. This terrace was very scrubby in places and would likely put you into Day 2!

[jonnosan]

I am going to explore the Valley Track on Sunday, as prep for eventually doing the full trip. I see that someone has uploaded that track into OpenStreetMaps.org so I trust I will be able to follow it.

On Wed evening I went exploring out on Radiata Plateau again and found that there is a track that links up the old waterhole (the one that still has water, i.e. first track on the right) with the firetrail marked on the topo as Saywell Road. when I hit Saywell road, I first went to the right, and after a while came across several buildings and cars (but no sound or signs of humans), eventually I came to an open gate that was marked "Karuna" (I have since discovered it is a buddhist retreat) and saying guests & residents only, not sure whether public access is allowed from Saywell Road or not. Anyway I then took the other fork, and followed it all the way out to the cliff line (as shown on the topo) on the off chance one of the tributaries of Back Creek would be passable, but no. Great views though. I did upload the tracks into OSM.

[tom_brennan]

I am going to explore the Valley Track on Sunday, as prep for eventually doing the full trip. I see that someone has uploaded that track into OpenStreetMaps.org so I trust I will be able to follow it.

I think I put in all the Medlow Bath tracks about 3 years ago. I haven't been there in 18 months but with all the rain they could well be more overgrown. The section of the Valley Farm Track that avoids private property by following the fence is likely to be pretty vague.

See my track notes at
http://ozultimate.com/bushwalking/walk.php?nid=234
(there are links to notes on the other tracks around Medlow Bath too)

My suggestion for a good walk that combines all of the tracks is
Bellevue St - Three Brothers - Flying Fox - Glen Rosa Track - Sunbath - Colosseum - down the creek to the Valley Farm Track (old track, hard to find) - Valley Farm Track - Tuckers Lookout - Wonderland Track - Marks Tomb - Great Western Highway
But quite a few of the tracks are tricky the first time.

[jonnosan]

Thanks Tom. I'll post an update on track condition after Sunday.

BTW re my question above about Saywell Rd being public right of way - I discovered the Blue Mountains Council has a website where you can view property boundaries & road easements. What I discovered is that the public road ends at the gate I came through, and also that property extends all the way to the main firetrail down Radiata Plateau, including the waterhole. Since they seem to be OK with people using the bush tracks & waterhole, I guess it's only polite to keep away from the buildings.

http://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/bmccmap/maps ... OOMBA%2525