Off-track bush bashing advice

[Thinkingclown]

Hi,
I'm looking got some advice on off-track hiking.
Just returned from a 3 day hike (one that I've done 3 times before) It's about 3km off-track at about 500metres/hour, in the Blue Mountains. From my reading, this is a pretty common speed.
What I'm looking for is some guidance, advice or pointers on general off-track hiking. Less about safety and more about generally finding the easiest way form point A to point B
Something like:-
* Always travel with a GPS (I do)
* Always carry 2-3 ltrs of water (I do)
* Have a PLB (I do)
* Walking along the bottom of an escarpment or cliff is usually easier than bush bashing (learnt this on my last walk)
etc.
Is it a good idea to stay close to a river along the bottom of a valley?
Is it reliable to follow a river downhill, or is it better to follow a ridge?
What about uphill, river or ridge?
What to do when you get to a cliff top?
How to avoid getting stuck at the top of a cliff (it's not always easy to see a cliff from the contour lines in a map or GPS)?
Is it better to travel on the sunny side or shadow side of a ridge/mountain (not for temperature, but likely scrub conditions)?

I'm sure there is a lot more I could learn to make off-track hiking easier. I don't care about the speed, I do care about the effort and want to make sensible direction decisions.
This may be stuff you'd learn in scouts or rovers (never joined) or a club.
All my hiking has either been for my Duke of Edinbourgh (almost 40 years ago) or hiking with my son (in the last 4 years totalling about 8 x 3-4day trips).

Any advice or pointers to websites, books, courses specific to off-track bushcraft would be very welcome.
Thanks
WayneG

[clarence]

Welcome to the board Wayne.

A lot of the questions you ask depend on the location. Generally speaking it is easier to navigate DOWN watercourses, and UP ridges. This is because ridges converge as they ascend and watercourses converge as they descend. But there is no guarantee as to whether the terrain or scrub will be accommodating. Many of the ridges in the Blue Mountains provide excellent off track walking. On these 2-3 km per hour is very achievable (provided there are no massive ascents). Smaller creeks can be slower due to rocks and boulders, whereas larger rivers can make for easy going. There are so many variables that it is hard to make generalizations without referring to a particular area.

My suggestion would be to ask for some advice on where to try some off trail walking (depending on where you plan on going, and for how long, with what sort of gear). If you add a few off track sections to an otherwise tracked walk, you can break yourself in a bit more slowly. For example you could head out to the Wild Dog Mountains and take one of the spurs down to the Coxs, then walk back up another spur or Breakfast Creek (for example) to get a bit of a taste. If you select the right location off track walking does not need to be slow and painful- it can be relatively fast, scrub free and very enjoyable. Once you try a few good routes you will find what works generally in a given area.

I'd suggest starting somewhere with ridge and valley topography rather than plateau surrounded by clifflines and dissected by narrow creeks and valleys. Plateaux in the Blue Mountains on average have more scrub and less open forest, and navigating through cliffs can be very nerve wracking if you are starting off track walking.

Make a list of your preferred locations etc and see what suggestions you get.

Get a map and compass too.

Clarence

[Allchin09]

Hi Wayne and welcome to the forum!

Is it a good idea to stay close to a river along the bottom of a valley?
Is it reliable to follow a river downhill, or is it better to follow a ridge?
What about uphill, river or ridge?
What to do when you get to a cliff top?
How to avoid getting stuck at the top of a cliff (it's not always easy to see a cliff from the contour lines in a map or GPS)?
Is it better to travel on the sunny side or shadow side of a ridge/mountain (not for temperature, but likely scrub conditions)?

Some quick thoughts of mine. Best way to learn really is through finding out for yourself in the bush. People tend to have different ways of going about off track walking, but there are some general trends. Also, the way you walk is influenced by the terrain and vegetation of an area, so styles can change from place to place.

For me, ridges are usually key. They will generally be more open and so easier to walk along. You also don't have to deal with waterfalls when things get steeper, but cliffs can still cause troubles.

When going uphill, ridges have a greater advantage as all ridges going up lead to the same place. However, if you are descending via ridges, you could possibly take the wrong one somewhere along the descent and end up a fair distance from where you intended to be. Descending via creeks you don't have this issue, as they all lead to the same place, but creek walking, even when it isn't overgrown, is usually slow. In summary, ridges are easier to descend, but you have to watch your navigation closely.

Regarding cliffs, investigation of aerial images on a website such as SIXmaps when planning a trip will usually give you a good indication of where you will find cliffs regardless of if they are marked on a map. Old sketch maps if you can get your hands on them are also helpful. Any areas where the contours squish together could possibly have cliff line so check there. Also, going up cliff lines are always much easier then going down.

For tackling smaller cliff lines, try ascending via a ridge, which is known as a skyline traverse. An example of this in the Blue Mountains would be the way up onto Mt Solitary from Katoomba. If that doesn't work, then scout left or right of the ridge at the base of the cliffs, and try and work your way around to where the cliff line becomes lower and you can work your way up and through. Same applies for descending through a cliff line.

For major cliffs, it's best to find a pass. One may be marked on a map, you may be told about it from someone who has walking in the area, or you could come across one yourself in searching. Here, it is best to use a map or aerial imagery to see where there is a break in the cliff line. This may come in the form of a creek or gully (but be mindful these may have waterfalls in them) or in a fault in the rock (an example being Redledge Pass on Narrow Neck).

Hope that all is of some assistance. There are also plenty of good books on bushwalking to read out.

PS: Looks like Clarence has beaten me to a few points whilst I was writing this post! And I second his comment about using a map and compass. It's very important to be able to 'read' the land, and going back to basics forces you to do so. Keep the GPS, but just use it for recording your adventures, and for giving your a grid reference when you get lost!

[jdeks]

Personalyy, I avoid following gullies and creeks downhill. All water flows downhill, true, but it's entirely possibly for two creeks to have a head only a few hundred meters apart, but be either side of a watershed and wind up in totally different watercourses. If you pick the wrong one at the top (very easy to do, they all start out as nondescript trickles in generic gullies), you can spend hours stumbling down wet rocks and lantana, only to wind up in entirely the wrong valley. You might not even realize it until you get to the bottom. You're in a reentrant so your view is very limited, the vegetation is almost always thicker, and any loose terrain always ends up there once it's done with rolling. It's likely your actual path will meander so much to find good footing it's hard to really know what your actual heading is.

I always stick to whatever gives me the best view - spurs, ridgelines, center of a major valley. Either that, or follow chains of distinct features that are hard to is-indentify (large permanent watercourses, peaks, clifflines). If I'm off tracks, I do everything I can to prioritize my veiw of as much landscape as possible, even if that means hiking longer distances. Once you get out on even onto a bit of a spur, you can start to see the terrain and match it up to your map far easier.

Once I get myself to a point where I can 100% verify where I am, and what smaller-scale ground features to follow, I might start looking at following gullies or descending laterally along contours to make the walk easier.

Also keep your eyes peeled for game trails. They live out there - you better believe they've already found the easiest way to get from A to B. It might not go exactly where you want to, but if youre just trying to get down or up a steep hill, a little meandering can save a lot of scrub-smashing (providing you're well oriented and dont just follow blindly ).

[icefest]

If you are still hunting books, then the bsar s&r book has some good guide points.
The other trick I can suggest is rogaining. In many situations that's a safe way to get faster at navigation, especially as there are usually plenty of experienced people around with advice.

The last bit (and this one's from me) a gps will often make your walking slower. The less accurate compass and small screen can often be a hindrance when compared with map and compass.

[neilmny]

Some great advice here folks.
My most recent efforts has been with my own roll your own OSM maps for Victoria and southern NSW with 5 metre contours.
This has enabled me/us to navigate very nicely along the best descent and ascent lines and maintain the correct spurs/ridges to get to where we are going.
Admittedly zooming out too far turns pretty ugly but out to about 500/800 metres is good to check general directions and waypoint proximity.
On longer walks I've been adding tracks and waypoints to the GPS as reference ways and points well.
I always record a track and compare reality to what was aniticipated in the plan.
A good place to do this is in an area where there are hand rails to limit how far go should you stray off the plan too far.
Build a map of the terrain and features in your head as you go and don't forget to look behind for features that will help the return trip.
These features can be helpful if you end up somehow going in circles.............no I haven't...........yet

[nq111]

Some great advice here folks.

+1

I also generally prefer following ridge lines up and down but it certainly does vary with the country. Creek lines can work out better lower down as suggested by others.

Google earth can be a very valuable tool for planning off track walking. You can tilt the mountains to get a reasonable idea of the topography and map a course where looks the best. It is also possible with a reasonable degree of accuracy to identify obstacles and the type of vegetation from Google Earth - even points of interest for detours.

Than copy the track over to your topographic map on the computer, double check the route there and upload to the GPS. As a back-up it is good to print the topo map with the route marked as well (onto waterproof paper is ideal).

I have planned many new routes on Google Earth with no other input or knowledge and they have generally worked out pretty close to expected in practice

[DaveNoble]

* Always travel with a GPS (I do)

Not strictly necessary - a GPS can be handy for all sorts of walking. For off track walking a map and compass is probably just as useful. Its often hard to scrub bash and check a GPS as you go, but if you have a bearing set on your compass - then its easier to check your compass as you go, and perhaps every now and then confirm you are in the right place with your GPS

* Always carry 2-3 ltrs of water (I do)

Thats a lot of weight! Perhaps if you are going to camp somewhere away from water?

* Have a PLB (I do)

If you have one then its a good ideas to take it

* Walking along the bottom of an escarpment or cliff is usually easier than bush bashing (learnt this on my last walk)

It can be, but not always.

Is it a good idea to stay close to a river along the bottom of a valley?

Depends on what route you are following. Off track walking tends to be either following a creek or river or following along a ridge as they main goals. Eg -

1. a classic off track trip in the Blue Mts is Tambo Ck in the Colo Area. So the main goal is to walk down the creek - which is rough in spots, boulder hoping, some scrub, slippery rocks, but also in a great gorge and a very nice place. But to get there you need to do an off track ridge walk, and to get out you have to do another off track ridge walk. You also have do do a bit of route finding - e.g. passes in and out of the Colo and into Tambo Ck.

2. Another classic off track trip is to traverse Axehead Mtn - then you follow ridges the whole walk.

Is it reliable to follow a river downhill, or is it better to follow a ridge?
What about uphill, river or ridge?

Basic topology - its easier to go down a creek and up a ridge in terms of navigation. i.e. - you don't have to navigate. If going the other way you do.

What to do when you get to a cliff top?

If you need to get down the cliff then you look for a pass (basic route finding - a necessary part of off track walking), or a scrambling route, or you pull out a rope and hand over hand down or abseil down etc.

How to avoid getting stuck at the top of a cliff (it's not always easy to see a cliff from the contour lines in a map or GPS)?

See above

Is it better to travel on the sunny side or shadow side of a ridge/mountain (not for temperature, but likely scrub conditions)?

This is something you work out when you are there. No general rules.

Dave

[Thinkingclown]

If you are still hunting books, then the bsar s&r book has some good guide points.
The other trick I can suggest is rogaining. In many situations that's a safe way to get faster at navigation, especially as there are usually plenty of experienced people around with advice.

The last bit (and this one's from me) a gps will often make your walking slower. The less accurate compass and small screen can often be a hindrance when compared with map and compass.

Icefest,
Pardon my ignorance, but I couldn't find the book you refer to "bsar s&r book". What is the full title?

[MickyB]

If you are still hunting books, then the bsar s&r book has some good guide points.
The other trick I can suggest is rogaining. In many situations that's a safe way to get faster at navigation, especially as there are usually plenty of experienced people around with advice.

The last bit (and this one's from me) a gps will often make your walking slower. The less accurate compass and small screen can often be a hindrance when compared with map and compass.

Icefest,
Pardon my ignorance, but I couldn't find the book you refer to "bsar s&r book". What is the full title?

I could be wrong but I think icefest might be referring to this http://www.bsar.org/manual

[LachlanB]

I don't think anyone here has mentioned this yet, but here on the east coast in the Southern Hemisphere, the densest vegetation frequently is on the southern or eastern side of the ridge. I think the vegetation conditions on the sheltered side of the ridge are usually equivalent to about 150km further south from what I've been told.
This is because the northerly face gets expose to more sun (=more evaporation), and the western face gets exposed to dryer westerly winds from central Australia AND the hotter afternoon sun (both also =more evaporation).
If you're in a valley with large cliffs (like Jamison Valley in the Blue Mountains) make sure you take into account the shelter provided by the cliff faces.

So if you're having trouble and finding the bushbashing hard going, pop up to the top of the ridge, or cross over it to the other side and you should find the going easier. Although, this doesn't always work, and sometimes you're just stuck with the scrub.

If you want to have a look at a vegetation map of the area you're walking through, you can configure SIX Maps to display them (the Vegetation Information System).
The viewer is here; it's a modified version of the normal SIX Maps:
http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/apps/channel ... vegetation
And there's NSW Government instructions here:
http://maps.six.nsw.gov.au/apps/channel ... rGuide.pdf
(and, unusually, they're actually helpful)

Last edited by LachlanB on Sat 13 Jun, 2015 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[north-north-west]

I don't think anyone here has mentioned this yet, but here on the east coast in the Southern Hemisphere, the densest vegetation is on the southern or eastern side of the ridge.

Ahhhh, not necessarily. In fact, in my experience, in the High Country it's the other way around - western and northern slopes get more sun and thus the growth tends to be thicker. That does not apply so much in Tasmania, however. High Country, again, I generally avoid creeklines as they tend to be a lot scrubbier than the surrounding bush and, in many areas, there is a lot of blackberry.

It is remarkably variable depending on a wide range of factors, including local climatic variations and soil types.
This is why I've kept out of this discussion until now. My off-track experience in Queensland is almost non-existent, and it's not a lot greater in the Territory or Wozzieland.

[kaite]

Following rainforest creeks makes bushwalking often the best option to stay comfortable on a sweltering nth qld summer day... perfect swimming holes and crashing waterfalls do slow you down though....

[LachlanB]

Ahhhh, not necessarily

You're right, I was making a gross generalisation. Don't have much experience with the High Country at all...
But it does hold true for many common walking areas, like the Blue Mountains (here's me opening myself up to be proven wrong again ) .

[icefest]

Yep. That's it, MickeyB!

The rogaining handbook is also pretty cool for navigation tips and tricks: http://vra.rogaine.asn.au/?Itemid=135

[mikethepike]

I have been 'bushbashing' a few times and in a small group it can even seem like fun at times but it's no fun doing it by yourself but of course that's not necessarily a reason not to do it. Gloves can really save your hands and if you have even the slightest tears in say your shirt, stitch them up first because stiff sticks will easily catch in them and cause tearing, I found this out (again) recently in the Gammons and wish I could post a photo of the shirt here because it ended up in shreads and, worn or unworn, it looks a scream. Sorry I can be of any more help.

[tom_brennan]

There are lots of good rules of thumb, which work enough of the time to make them handy. Some of them will only apply to specific areas eg the Blue Mountains, or in some cases, specific sub-regions of the Bluies. The only way to find out is to do plenty of off track walking!

I don't think anyone here has mentioned this yet, but here on the east coast in the Southern Hemisphere, the densest vegetation frequently is on the southern or eastern side of the ridge. I think the vegetation conditions on the sheltered side of the ridge are usually equivalent to about 150km further south from what I've been told.
This is because the northerly face gets expose to more sun (=more evaporation), and the western face gets exposed to dryer westerly winds from central Australia AND the hotter afternoon sun (both also =more evaporation).

These are very good rules of thumb, for the Blue Mountains at least.

To add to this, the opposite often applies to gullies. Deep and shady gullies with tall trees are generally easier going, as they get little or no sun, and so have a thin understory. So the south facing sections can be less scrubby.

When walking creeks or rivers, try to keep to the inside of the bends (which may mean criss-crossing). The inside of the bend is usually flat, while the outside is steep (and sometimes cliffy).

In the Blue Mountains, the further north and west you go, the drier it gets, and the vegetation can change accordingly.

As others have said, you can generally spot larger cliffs from aerial photography. Smaller cliffs can be hidden by the vegetation, but small clifflines are much more likely to have breaks in them where you can scramble or walk up or down.

[icefest]

Another good book on the topic:

http://www.amazon.com/Rogaining-Creoss- ... 0959332928

Published by two of the inventors of rogaining themselves.