Where the *&%$#! hell was I ?

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Where the *&%$#! hell was I ?

Postby puredingo » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 2:38 pm

No not another advertising campaign featuring Lara Bingle, the title has more to do with a walk I did in the wild dogs without a map.

Now before I get lambasted an irresponsible fool with intent to waste tax payers money on SAR services, hear me out. My original plan was to do the K2K via the bushwalkers corridor/Gingra range but as I dawdled my way along Narrow neck with 12 klm of thinking time up my sleeve I reasoned I would be arriving at Kanangra tops Monday afternoonish, what would be my chances of getting a ride out of there? would there be tourist in the first place? and if there was would they pick me up...A pair of Swedish backpackers named Heidi and Helga I am not.

So by about 2ish I was at meadlow gap from here I walked the fire trail another 700 mtrs or so and turned right onto a well worn footpad. About 3klm on from the track head it started to pour heavily luckily I was at a great established camp site complete with fire ring and a nice level grass covered ground. The camp site was situated on a rise of land forked by to creeks, where the creeks meet to form one there was quiet a deep pool of good water. Set up camp here and before long it was hailing...The decision to abort now seemed justified.

Next morning I followed the track along until it came to a Y junction, I followed the more straighter path for awhile until it siddled close to a creek, if you literally walked a few steps to your right you would be standing above the creek on a rock bank. I then back tracked to the junction and this time took the right hand lead. Followed this for quiet awhile, track went from well trodden to vague in parts but generally seemed to follow a ridge line that looked upon a few creeks. By time I'd had enough the track was about to plummet quiet steeply down to a valley below, being mapless I thought best not to push on and made my way back to meadlow gap.

Back at the gap I turned left with the intention of returning to narrow neck via carlon chains. Crossed 2 fords along the way one with a good camp site at it and both with plenty of water flowing through (why the hell I was humping 2litres of water on my back I'll never know!!) Couldn't find the spur up to the chains for love nor money so I took a punt and turned down Bellbird ridge and headed for Dunphys camp which I was happy to see because the only sign indicating it being there was written in texta on a piece of plastic.

From here it was a grind through carlons property up the hill, down the road and onto the 6 ft ftrack. Here I was thinking of setting up camp and doing Nellies Glenn in the morn but just as I was about to spill the contents of my pack a passing motorist offered me lift back into Katoomba, storm clouds were regathering so yes please was y answer.

All in all a funny old trip as I never really knew exactly where I was...but it all worked out.
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Re: Where the *&%$#! hell was I ?

Postby kanangra » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 2:52 pm

Mate they are the most memorable of all. The track to Carlon's Chains starts right at the turn off. You may have noticed a stump above the track? It takes off from there.

As to your first route it sounds like you took the standard bushwalkers route out to Mobbs Swamp, Splendour Rock and eventually Coxs River. However I'm struggling to identify your camp site. It wasn't Kennel flat was it by any chance?

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Re: Where the *&%$#! hell was I ?

Postby puredingo » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 5:41 pm

Now you mention it I think I do recall a stump of some sort. At the turn off I think there was a cleared corridor for low voltage power lines, maybe it takes off from in there? but I definitely couldn't see a track directly leaving the main FT.

I reckon that camp site would of been 2klm along from the turn off? It was on my right hand side heading down and set probably 20 meters into the bush. Looked pretty well used to me, the ash bowl in the fire ring was fairly high.
As I said great site too, straddled by creeks, flat, level and plenty of timber to burn.
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Re: Where the *&%$#! hell was I ?

Postby Allchin09 » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 10:06 pm

Hi Puredingo,

From your description, the worn track that you turned onto 700m after Medlow gap would definitely be the walkers track past Mobbs Soak and down Yellow Pup to Coxs River. There are a few main junctions along this track, one to Blackhorse Ridge, another to Knights Deck and Blue Dog Ridge, and a final one to up to Mt Dingo leading to Splendour Rock.

Assuming that you were on the above mentioned track (was it the one that starts from the Southern fire trail at Medlow Gap? The one which has a gate across it at the end of the clearing), 3km from the start of the walking track places you at around Mobbs Soak. This is a well used campsite and has a good fire ring as described. I believe that there is a large rock near the fire ring. However, the part which I am not sure of is your description of the forked creeks and the deep waterhole. There is a creek flowing about 20m down from the campsite, and it is in a bit of a depression, but I wouldn't call it a deep hole, and it isn't at a fork.

Another option is that you camped at a spot near Blackhorse Gap as there are a few small campsites between Mobbs Soak and the start of the walking track, however they aren't used as much as Mobbs Soak. There are also a few small creeks nearby that could have contained your deep hole. It would then make sense that in the morning that when you walked down the Left hand fork of the Y intersection, you were brought to Mobbs Soak which has a rocky ledge leading to a creek on the Right of the track. It would have been muddy before and around this section if it had recently rained. When you back tracked and took the Right hand fork, you would have been going along the track to Knights Deck, and which eventually leads steeply down Blue Dog Ridge to the Cox River / Breakfast Creek junction.

Not sure if that helps at all, but good to hear it all worked out in the end. It sounded like a proper adventure!
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Re: Where the *&%$#! hell was I ?

Postby jonnosan » Mon 24 Mar, 2014 10:09 pm

I am not sure exactly where you first camped, but would have been either the top of Blackhorse Ridge or top of Faithful Hound Ridge. I reckon the Y junction you described is where the Blue Dog Ridge turnoff is, the spot where you had a rock bank a few steps to the right is Mobbs Swamp (the Mobbs campsite would have been about 30m further along that track) and the mostly well trodden but sometimes vague track was the Blue Dog Ridge track (you don't describe any further junctions but if you kept going there would have been a cairn where the right hand fork goes down to to Breakfast Creek via Cattle Dog Ridge, and the left hand fork goes down to Cox's River/Breakfast Creek confluence).

The ford with the good campsite at it (other side of Medlow Gap) was probably also Breakfast Creek.
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Re: Where the *&%$#! hell was I ?

Postby puredingo » Tue 25 Mar, 2014 11:33 am

Yeah boys, that all sounds about right. I had a feeling if I pressed on a little bit more when I reached that rock shelf with the creek running below that the country would soon open up, but you know how it is in a new place when curiosity is driving you on to see what's around the next bend...You have to draw a line or risk walking forever.

Jonnosan, I think i actually passed about 3 decent sized cairns on that track (I can hear the cairn kicking boys lacing up as i type!) but one thing that did catch my I was an arrow chainsaw cut into a log laying across the track. That ring a bell?

Really suprised nobody knows the site I mentioned? Definitely not Mobbs, Alex as from all reports I was about 1 klm short of there and it definitely was on a wedge of land near a rocky knoll. Oh well, maybe it wasn't quiet as great as I thought or maybe I'm just easily pleased?
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Re: Where the *&%$#! hell was I ?

Postby jonnosan » Tue 25 Mar, 2014 9:42 pm

So yeah I am now pretty certain you were on the Blue Dog Ridge track.

Still not certain about the campsite though, I have done many day walks in the area but only ever camped at Mobbs or Splendour Rock. Will keep an eye out though next time.
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