Mount Warning birthday

[juju]

Mount Warning or Wollumbin is 1156 mts above sea level. The walking track to the top is nearly nine kms return and takes an average of two hours each way. I'd heard it's the first place on Mainland Australia to receive the morning sun and thought it a great place for my son to start his fifteenth year.
My two sons and I traveled 7 hours from our home on the NSW north coast in the rain that had been hanging round for weeks bought a chocolate cake at Mullumbimby and set up camp in the grounds of Mt Warning Caravan Park below the cloud enshrouded mountain. The last half hour of the trip toward the mountain had us keenly looking for a glimpse of Wollumbin without any success and all the next day as we explored the surrounding area the object of our visit held us in suspense as we toured in the mist and rain.
We had determined we would walk with or without the sun and were rewarded when that night the sky cleared and we slept a few hours beneath a starry sky.
We woke at 2.30am and after the short 6k drive up to the track start, set off with head lamps, torches and cake at 3.30.
The track is well graded, even stone paving in places, with the summer bonus of many patches of glow worms and only a couple of times did we veer off, a bright torch is needed.
At about 5am the sky was starting to brighten and my sons, worried they would miss the sunrise, powered on ahead.
400 mts from the top a chain marks the start of the final climb and aids the ascent for the last half of the walk, followed by a scramble to the platform at the top.
I was greeted at the top by others who had walked in the dark, both international and locals. There were about fifteen of us to see the sun rise fourteen minutes later. Watching the scene from the top change over the next hour was wonderful and so was the mud cake. The fifteen candles lit without a breath of wind.
Walking down the mountain in the light was fun, seeing the views and lush vegetation we hadn't on the way up.
We'd climbed the mountain and hadn't seen it yet but it was a clear day and on our way out in the car heading for home we got our first look at Wollumbin.
'Wow, we were up there!' my son exclaimed.

sunrise from Mount Warning

north west panorama

Mount Warning track

Attachments

Mount Warning walking track

Last edited by juju on Tue 04 Jan, 2011 7:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Pteropus]

Nice one juju. Good that you got to see the sun rising! When I have climbed Mt Warning to see the sun rise, cloud has obscured the summit. A friend of mine suggested climbing Mt Warning for new year and watch the new year sun rise and we gave it serious consideration...but didn’t end up going. By the way, some excellent work has been done fixing that track, which was needed due to the numbers of people that climb up there.

[Lindsay]

A wonderful experience juju. I have climbed the mountain during the day but to see the sunrise would be spectacular.

[juju]

The track was great though I have to say that in the dark the chain seems to go on forever. The sun was to rise at 5.44, it was 5 that the sky started to brighten. There is a note on the sign on the platform at the top to say that only in winter is Mount Warning the first to get the sunrise and that Cape Howe is the first in summer. I asked my tall son to jump at 5.44, just in case there was someone down at Cape Howe and after checking the Nadgee topic it seems there may have been.
We were extremely lucky to get a clear morning.
We only had two days up that way but it has whet my appetite and the mountains in that panorama (the volcano rim) are enticing, Border Ranges and Lamington. We managed a short trip over the border to the Natural Bridge.

[north-north-west]

Neat. Great sunset shot.
They have flashed up the track alarmingly, but. I rather liked the old rough one.

[frank_in_oz]

Nice one juju - love a good sunrise!

[Shorty]

Hi all,

I know this is an old thread, but I'm hoping to climb Mt Warning this coming Saturday. For those who have climbed it, can you suggest how long it might take for someone who's a little out of shape and struggles a bit on uphill climbs? I'm not completely out of shape, but I did need a few quick rests on my short climb up Yacaaba Headland the other day, and that's only 1.5km. I'm hoping to climb it in the early morning to make it there for sunrise as well. Any other tips for doing this walk are welcomed too

I can't wait, your pics look amazing Juju!

[Grabeach]

Sorry to put a dampener on it, but it wasn't one of my favourite walks. A lot of mud (though the track improvements should help), and not having a great interest in plants I don't recall there being much to see on the way up. Biggest disappointment however was that on the two occasions I've gone up, there's been nil visibility from the top on both occasions. On one of these there was probably only 0.1% cloud cover over northern NSW. Guess where! Afterwards a local told me that this is quite common, the mountain seems to attract any cloud around (similat to Mt Gower on Lord Howe). If you're starting before dawn, I guess you just take your chances.

Sorry I can't help with the time data. Both times I was passing through the area and in a big hurry. Also a lot younger, so the time is not relevant.