Saturday dawned clear but heavy rain was predicted to set in late in the day.
All the comforts of home or sumfink
Today we would leave the camp gear behind and head to the canyon we came out here for. We navigated our way along the, well you can’t call it a ridge but lets say “convoluted yet connected spur” and down to our target creek, which soon canyoned up.
Doesn’t look like much yet but just down there…
It was as specularly beautiful as I’d imagined
Many times throughout the day we would, once again reflect on similarities to Carnarvon Gorge and some of the remote slots we had explored well upstream of the usual tourist hikes. Just all rolled into 1. And greener.
it was grand
Deep, narrow, and twisty
and it went and went
Before opening into a cliff lined oasis.
We wondered down through remnant Gondwana rainforest, in that moment we were content and complete.
There is not enough superlatives to do it justice.
Mini Hunks fist
But the day wasn’t done with us yet. We wound our way through lush coachwoods and ferns to the jaws of another deep and impressive slot.
We wasted no time roping up to drop in
Once again we are dwarfed by moss covered walls
and still it drops
and once we reach the bottom a beam of sun lights up the spray of a side waterfall. The photo does not do it justice but Magic happens.
It’s hard to feel anything but humble out here.
We explore side canyons, again struck by similarities to side slots in Carnarvon Gorge.
We go slow, carefully pick our footsteps not wanting to damage the thick, spongy moss carpet and just soaking in the experience.
And of course before the canyon was done with us it would give us one short swim.
A ways downstream we refill our water bottles and quit this creek via an easy pass onto another convoluted but connected spur.
The sky is ominous so we punch up the spur back to camp.
just over six and a half hours after we left we make it back to camp and attempt to dry things off a bit while cooking diner before retiring under the tarp just as the storm hits.
Sunday
We had some canyons planned but it had rained hard all night and was not letting up. The dump was predicted to get heavier through the day cumulating in a thunder storm after lunch. So we opted to retreat down our first spur back to the pretty creek. The flow had definitely increased since yesterday and by the time we waded upstream to the bottom of a canyon that would lead us back up to the fire trail we had walked in on the rain was getting heavier.
Knowing this canyon was deep, narrow and long and still expecting a storm we reluctantly decided to slip up a pass beside it instead. The ridge I was hoping to use to avoid dropping back into the head waters of the canyon proved to be far more complex than the topo map suggested but it eventually got us to the road via another spectacular knife edge.
With empty heads and full souls all that was left to do was to follow the trail back to the car and the long drive home.
At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy, and your eyes sparkling: Shanti
This trip nearly didn’t happen. I’d been coughing up a lung and had full body aches after Ashcroft Ravine. I was ummming and arrrring about calling it off, especially when the weather looked to be turning wet and cool and the rest of the crew pulled out due to illness and work commitments.
How about we do a shorter over night trip? says Gadget.
Um I’m not sure says I
Come on this has been on your list for ages, says she, Let’s pack the bags and decide later in the week.
I started improving and once the bags were packed it seemed silly to repack for a shorter trip.
Anyhoo
In 1904 or there abouts the bush poet, vagabond and phrenologist, Cecil Poole wrote a description of the creeks in the area we were headed “The term gorge is not applicable to the creeks of this district. They are true canyons.”
Early cattlemen, ruffians, vagabonds and rogues knew the wild, twisted beauty of this section of the Wollemi. Not as intricately as the natives who had travelled its passes and decorated its walls for time immemorial, but well enough to know it was a maze of ravines, canyons and complex spurs.
Still, being further from Sydney and with lots still to discover closer to train lines and highways the area was largely overlooked by modern canyon explorers.
Until, that is, legendary bushwalker, ecologist, and all round nice bloke, Roger Lembit, was leading a midwinter bush walk in the mid 80s and ventured down what he thought would be an easy pass and instead stumbled on a deep slot canyon.
With no ropes or waterproof gear they opted not to venture down. Instead, they retreated and found a spur that took them to the bottom where they camped the night. The next day Ian Wilson and Michael Donovan opted to brave a cold pool at the end of the slot and ventured up, finding an astoundingly beautiful slot canyon. (It has a total of 0 abseils but I still put it toward the top of my list of favourite canyons based on shear beauty.)
This sparked an explosion of canyon exploration in the area and it was soon found to be densely packed with canyons. Some more scrubby creeks but many containing high quality slots.
But all that is neither here nor there nor anywhere in between.
The fact is I’d barely dipped my toe into this region but had day dreamt of one particular canyon situated off an isolated spur, well off the beaten track. I was well overdue to go for a look.
As luck would have it both Kylie and myself had an extra long weekend to do just that.
We made a late start Thursday afternoon.
happy at the start
The walk into our first camp is along an easy fire trail. However, I soon had a bit of a niggle on my left heal. It’s been so long since I’ve had blisters and it was such an easy walk I didn’t even register that might be what was happening. Needless to say by the time I stopped to check it was too late.
Idiot.
But really, blisters! After a couple of kilometres!! I can’t remember the last time I had bloody blisters!!!
Anyhoo we press on.
We reach the usual camp site to find a family already setup. They had been there for the full week and the kids, 7 and 5, excitedly regaled us with tales of the canyoning adventures they had experienced. Legends have done more wilderness canyons than most adult canyoners.
We set up and snuggle in for the night. Gadget did an amazing job researching our light weight over night gear before settling on the Sea the Summit Escapist Tarp and Spark sleeping bags. I’ve always been a fan of the Nemo sleeping mats. It makes a great combo
Friday
Morning dawns and we have a lovely breakfast, repack then head off for our first canyon
Having done canyons either side of our target for today I had high hopes of it.
I pick a spot to leave the road and Kylie navigates down ridge.
Shelob was guarding the pass but we weren’t scared. Honest.
We gain the creek surprisingly easily and follow it down.
It soon drops into a narrow canyon.
With a bung shoulder I opt to abseil things I would usually scramble but we get down soon enough.
The expected chest deep pool had silted up to be ankle deep so we forewent the usual circus tricks of trying to bridge across and skipped on through.
Well, not skipped. The boys warned us last night of a brown snake lurking near the first pool so we went a bit cautiously.
No sneaky snek was spotted but the canyon snaked on.
then opened up a little
and closed back in
cameras at 10 paces
the walls soon open out to a wider canyon.
The slot had been nice and all but not mind blowing and a lot shorter than I was expecting. Compared to others in the area it was a bit of a fizzer. And we were still a fair way off the junction of the main creek below.
the gullies were brimming with ghost mushrooms. These glow in the dark but we’d be camping hours away so won’t be back to check.
We follow the the widening gully down, boulder hopping and creek bashing to the major creek below
A pretty spot for a picnic or sumfink
Long sidetrack: The names of the creeks around here have such evocative names, but that could have been very different had we had a different Surveyor General intent on mapping the state.
Major Mitchel, of the pink cockatoo fame, was by all accounts a bit of a cock. Invariably described as pigheaded, arrogant and boorish he was the protagonist in Australia’s last recorded pistol dual with soon to be NSW Governor Darling. None of this old west quickdraw Hollywood bullshit. The combatants stood back to back, marched out 10 paces, turned, and like the civilised gentlemen they were, took turns having a shot. Flinch or get shot (obviously) you loose.
Mitchell having thrown down the challenge by slapping Darling with his glove had to go second. Darling took a shot and missed. Michell then took his shot and knocked Darling’s hat off so was declared the winner.
Anyhoo none of that is important to this side story other than I found it fascinating. What is important is Mitchell also had a redeeming factor in that he insisted that, where possible, aboriginal place names were to be used on his map.
When an early sketch was sent in by one of his under surveyors making a nearby creek with the local land owners piss take of a name “The Upper Nile” he basically fired back words to the effect ‘stop being a dickhead and find the bloody native name for the creeks, and if you can’t do that don’t name them at all.’ (probably so he could name them after Macquarie or some shit…)
And thus we have the Coricudgy, Umbiella, Numietta, Coorangooba, and Capatee. (pronounced Kay-pa-tee by the locals and originally spelt Capata on the sketch map )
Of course we still have the Bogee Nile and the Capertee Nile…. but that’s not important either.
Too get back to the story, we’d be using another high camp tonight so we’d need to cart water up. Enough to get us up, cook diner, breakfast, and at least part way through the canyon the next day.
We fill up and start up a creek that should allow us to scramble out at the top. However, a couple of tangled tree falls at the bottom and Screw this shit, says I. I’m going up there.
And we forge a pass up the nose onto the spur.
A break in the cliff line lets us gain the spur with just a short, easy rock climb.
And Kylie leads us up the spur avoiding some minor cliff lines by simply skirting around them.
Up top we have astounding views including this one over the Numietta looking towards Pantones Crown at the other end of the Capertee Valley. This spot put us in mind of battleship spur in Carnarvon Gorge.
And sunsets over the stunning peaks. With Tayan Pic, Grassy Mountain, Mount Coorangooba and many others appearing in a 270° panorama on the other side of the peak.
Anyone want to come on a trip that might be a big day of scrub bash to a poor quality canyon? Say I
Hell yeah! says the above awesome folk.
It’s been a hot minute since I’d organised a semi exploratory trip to a canyon I’d not visited before so it was about bloody time I got out of my funk and Kylie might have gave me a bit of a nudge.
The entry in the Jamieson guide labels it “Ashcroft Ravine” with the description it includes the best bit of Wentworth Creek. There was a reference elsewhere of “Cut-throat canyon.” None of it was clear on what was what and where was where but anyhoo.
The little information we could find suggested the first part of the creek (Variously marked on maps as “Franks” or “Franki”) was a viscous scrub bash so we substituted that for a slightly less scrubby bash down a ridge to drop in right at the start of a canyony bit via 2 short abseils.
Straight away it was more impressive than I was expecting and every bit as slippery.
No scrub in sight and a pleasant bit of canyon greeted us
It was dark and cool but pretty
The canyon section only went a short way before opening into a beautiful, more open gorge
And that would be the theme of Franks(i) short, South Bowenesk canyon sections and more open ravine.
With some tunnel sections and squeezy bits along the way
And it kept going
Very South Bownen like in spots
With tunnels
And happy smiley faces
We made it to the junction with Wentworth creek and had Elevensies.
Wentworth creek put me in mind of the end of Bell creek or sumfink big and grand.
And soon we came across one of the features that when I heard about them really piqued my interest
Tucked away in alcoves along the walls are a series of Stalagmites and Stalactites. In sandstone! I’m assuming there is a drip line passing through an ironstone layer high in manganese or some such, but if any geologist out there have a better explanation please leave a comment.
Older flowstone covered in moss and algae
They were awesome and more numerous than I had expected
On we went and the gorge continued to be impressive
The banks opened out a little and we alternated between traversing high on banks and wading down the creek depending.
Just before the tributary we had marked as our exit Jen and Kirstie spotted a ramp leading up in roughly the right direction that looked like it might bypass one of the 3 climbs Jamieson described.
Kylie and Kirstie scouted up while the rest of us got changed.
It’s bit dodge but it looks like it goes, Called they.
Be careful, called us.
Before long the agreed whistle blasts came to inform us it did indeed go.
We were now in the exit creek but soon came to the small waterfalls that would be the main challenge of getting out.
Reports I had been able to find described a climb on the right.
Kylie gets up to a series of fractured ledges that looked doable but sketchy and dropped a rope down. Jason and I ascended up to her.
The next section looked shit and we weren’t sure what was above. Kylie stood on a log to step up to the next ledge but the log snapped with a thud.
In the meantime the rest of the group were looking for other options.
Back to the left might be doable. Called they
The lidar looks better on the left. Says Jen
I’ll drop back down and check the left option. Said I
Kristie leads me back around bulge and across a very narrow ledge. A short slab climb (maybe grade 7 or 8 but very exposed) presented itself. Up I went. A narrow ledge ramped up below the cliff line.
It goes. says I.
We got a rope up and the rest followed.
It had taken us about an hour and a half to work this puzzle out but once solved it was simple enough.
From there is was a trudge back up to the top of the ridge and back to the cars.
William Charles Wentworth, Billie C-Dubb to his mates, was a statesman, pastoralist, newspaper editor, politician, author, reformist, and advocate.
That’s the type of stuff people could achieve before TV or social media.
That and having 10 kids (Seven daughters and three sons.)
Who Frank, Franki or Ashcroft were I have no idea.
But the creeks named after them are both worth an explore.
One of the less visited canyons in Mt Wilson beckoned and we headed the call.
The section we did is more or less a creek walk with an abseil but it had some pretty bits and was a relaxing way to spend a rainy morning out.
The theme song for the day was that song by The Presidents of the United States, Leeches. “Millions of leeches, leeches for free. Millions of Leeches all coming for me”
We start down an old tourist trail, cross a small creek then spear off into the scrub, cutting below a parcel of private property. The scrub was nowhere near as bad as expected but the rain had turned the ground into a slippery mud slide.
We had a Grid reference in the main creek below the next tributary upstream and while we doubted we needed to go that far up we also knew there was only 1 main feature in this section and we didn’t want to miss it.
Skirting the private property we optioned to stroll down the nose of the ridge rather than battle our way down the creek line. It was easy going and brought us to a small cliffline over looking the junction of the trib and the main creek.
We roped up and made short work of the 10m drop then scrambled down to the creek.
Waterfall creek itself is a tributary of Bowen Creek and has that lush beauty about it.
She is fernalicious, pondalicious and delicious
H, not on the phone, honest.
The creek tries to canyon up. But we are too high in the strata for a consistent slot.
A fun little abseil in the most canyony bit
And before long we come to the pool known as “Happy Valley”
The rain had turned the water a little murky but the greenery of outstanding
We could have kept exploring down stream but know this is an easy exit option and for today, that’ll do.
A lot of work has gone into the trail in and out of this little pool. It might be a nice spot for a swim on a hot summers day, though it’s a steep haul out.
If leeches ate peaches instead of my blood, then I would be free to drink tea in the mud: E Autumn
I don’t generally bother blogging our Empress trips anymore. We’ve become Katoomba locals and a quick arvo dash through Empress is like a morning walk to the park. However I’ve just got a new Outex water proof case for my camera so I thought I’d test it out.
Oh, and Darcy was up and hadn’t done Empress before so Why not
Kylie leading the way
It was misty morning and the diffused light added to the charm
The Outex case uses a flexible shell with optical glass. It’s an interesting design though I was a tad nervous swimming with the camera.
I don’t usually like repeating these canyons that regularly but I’m still recovering from injury and have been meaning to catch up with these legends for ages so it seemed like to good an opportunity to miss.
Oakie doakie. I’ve had this rope for a bit over 12 months now so it’s time for some updated thoughts.
And I’ll say right off the bat. I don’t think this is a good rope for beginners.
It’s a high performance rope.
Like any high performance thing it’s extremely good at what it sets out to achieve but the users need to know what they are doing.
You wouldn’t put an L plater who’d never riden before on a Ducati Streetfighter V4.
High performance generally = uncompromising
CE4Y makes light weight, super static, strong ropes.
To achieve this the sickline 8.7 uses a UHMPE (That’s dyneema to us uncouth types) and Polyester sheath and a Polypropylene core.
Using UHMPE in the sheath was a concern of mine when I bought it
Dyneema can be a bit melty when things get hot, so CE4Y ropes aren’t recommended for abseiling on while dry. That said CE4Y claim “tests have shown that abseils up to 50m on dry ropes with a standard sized figure-8 kind of device can not damage the rope fibers due to heat generated by the friction of the abseil device.”
Still if I’m doing a dry abseil to reach the start of a canyon I try to throw the rope in a puddle before setting up the abseil just to get it wet
OK. Let’s recap the important details.
Cost: At around $6:60 per metre It’s not cheap but not the most expensive either, being a lot cheaper than the CanyonLUX for example.
Specs: CE4Y lists the rope specs as
Model
Breaking Strength
Weight
Sick Line 8.7
20kN
42g/m
So on the weight and strength you’d give it a tick with it being in the ball park with the premium canyon ropes.
Colours: To paraphrase Henry “Model T” Ford, You can have any colour you like as long as its a weird rose taupe speckled with blue.
Handling: It’s soft and supple, knots easily. Not much else to say really
Control: She’s fast!!! Damn fast.
Long term thoughts: It’s still fast.
I wouldn’t recommend a beginner try it single strand with something like a Hydrobot or standard figure 8 set up. Experienced friends even found it difficult to control on a Pirana. Even double rope it needs a bit of caution.
On a more modern canyoning device such as a Crittr or Palikoa its fine but if we are on a trip with mixed ropes I make sure to remind people at the anchor “We are on the sick line, add friction.”
Also being a little concerned about the wear rate of the sheath against the abrasive sandstone we get in the Bluies for a while I was reserving the sick line as our back up rope or using it as the pull strand.
I’ve got over that now and have been using it as our main rope and most trips I take it. But again it’s high performance so to get the most out of it you need a good operator. Rope placement and having an abseil technique where you are not bouncing all over the place like Ice-T in tank girl is important.
Weight.
This is where the sick line excels
Using the dodgy bathroom scales my 43m sick line comes in at 2.2kg, comparable to my 32m Imlay Canyonfire at 2.1kg. (both numbers include the plastic container I used to hold them on the scale)
All good for the dry weight but my perception was it absorbed more water and took far longer to dry.
To test this I submerged both in a bucket of water for 10min and weighted them again. And was very surprised. The Sickline went up to 2.5kg while the Canyonfire climbed to 2.7kg. I would have swore the Sick Line held more water but that proves me wrong.
What about drying time. After hanging in the sun for 30min on a hot day even though the Pick Line felt wetter it was back down to 2.3kg while the Canyonfire was still at 2.4kg. 100g less for 10m more rope. Not bad CE4Y. Not bad at all.
Shrinkage: Another thing you need to consider.
No just in cold water.
All kernmantle ropes shrink a bit from new as the fibres settle in from use. Mine measured 45m when I bought it and now measures around 43m. Not big deal. I always allow for 5-10% reduction in length of my ropes over time.
Pro tip: remeasure your ropes every now and then especially if you tend to go light weight and have just enough for the longest drop. a 30m surveyors tape cost 4/5s of frack all at Bunnings.
Would I but it again?
Tough question. the weight saving makes it very appealing but not long after I brought the Sick Line I also purchased 60m of the Pick Line 9m. At 45g/m it’s a slight weight penalty over the 8.7mm but I feel it’s a more robust rope that doesn’t run quite as quick. It’s still high performance so again I wouldn’t recommend it as an all day every day work horse for beginners in dry(er) sandstone canyons. But I’d probably go this again over the Sick Line.
If you are after a durable work horse for use across a range of stuff including dry abseils go the Imlay.
However if you are an experienced canyoner after a light weight rope for areas with more water and smoother rock the Pick Line 8.7mm is an excellent choice.
