Last weekend was a 3-day break, thanks to the Queen's Birthday holiday. Although there was a social event going on with university colleagues, I had had my fill of socializing and really just wanted to get away for the weekend. Keith and I had planned to go back to the Budawangs and explore Monolith Valley. I was later talking to Phil in passing, and he said he was thinking about camping that weekend as well, so I invited him to join us or we could join him wherever he wanted to go. As the weekend approached, it looked as though we would have a good sized group for the trip. At the last minute, Keith got sick, and Phil's friend backed out. So it was down to just Phil and I for three days in the Budawangs.
We left early Saturday morning, and Phil dropped his dogs off at a kennel along the way. Phil is a very tough outdoorsman, so I knew the weekend was going to be fun and somewhat rigorous. He told me he wasn't bringing a tent, and planning to sleep out in the open in just a sleeping bag on top of a tarp. In an effort to lighten my pack, I figured I'd give it a try, too. My sleeping bag is rated for as low as -5 C, so it should be alright, and my tarp is certainly lighter than my tent. We drove past the parking area where Keith and I went last time to one further up the road. A few minutes after parking, we were suited up and on our way. We crossed a stream in three places right away. It was a little slow going for that part because we took the time to take our shoes and socks off to keep our feet dry. After the third crossing, while putting my shoes back on, I saw a lyrebird walk by just a short distance in front of us.
The plan was to climb up Mt. Owen, another peak near The Castle, the first day. The first half of that climb was fairly easy, just walking uphill for a bit. About halfway up we took a lunch break on a flat area with a nice view of the valleys all around. Overlooking our lunch spot was the rest of Mt. Owen -- a very steep rock face -- that we would soon climb. I was a little surprised, uneasy, and excited when Phil pointed out where we would make our climb. The route looked reasonably tough, but the rest of the mountainside was just sheer rock, which added to the magnitude of feelings I had at that moment.
We began our climb in a tree-lined chimney (wedge). The first two-thirds of the climb really wasn't that bad, and the chimney was angled rather than straight vertical, which made the climb less intimidating. Due to the previous week's rains, though, the rock was wet and that slowed us down considerably. One slip still would have meant serious injury. At the final third of the climb, we essentially got stuck for a bit. The climbing grips needed to go further were quite a stretch, and the wet rock meant a very substantial risk of slipping here. We had already removed our packs and wedged them due to the trickiness here. The next 45 minutes were spent figuring out how to go further or whether we should backtrack and try a different route. In the winter months here, daylight is gone by about 5 o'clock, so we were concerned about taking too much time in this spot.
Fortunately, Phil had a small climbing rope, and there was a pumpkin-sized rock wedged in the chimney that he was able to tie it to. He fashioned a standard rope ladder to work himself past the hardest part. Then with Phil above and me below, we used the other end of the rope to pull the packs up. I had to retie the rope ladder for myself to climb up, after Phil secured the rope better at his end for my weight. This difficult section was about a 7-10 meter climb. After that, we were on top of Mt. Owen, and we got to enjoy the view for a couple of minutes before dashing on to find the next portion of trail before the sun set.
By the time we got across the top of Mt. Owen, it had begun to get dark, and it was more difficult to find the trail. I lent my bright LED headlamp to Phil so scout things out, while I stayed with the packs. The trail wasn't far from where we were, and Phil found it after about ten minutes. He walked around to where I was sitting, near a ledge with a three meter drop. I dropped the packs for him to catch, then I jumped down and we resumed the rest of the hike to the camping cave.
The cave itself was nice -- a large rock overhang, essentially -- with fresh running water right there and more nearby. We set up camp and gathered a bit of firewood for a campfire. Phil went about making some soup, and he was absolutely right when he told me it would be rejuvenating. After that, I prepared the first night's dinner of two Thai curries with Udon noodles.
The next day, we walked through an extensive bog area to explore some of the smaller mountains at the western end of the reserve. Overnight, dense clouds had set in, and all the moisture stuck to the bush. The clouds didn't lift until nearly midday, and by then we were getting a light rain. Although the bog area had a board walk, it was mostly submerged, leaving us walking in ankle-deep water all day. The scenery was nice, though, and it was enchanting to see the clouds roll right across the cliff faces in front of us.
We made it back to camp with about half an hour of daylight left. As the second night came, we gathered enough firewood to enjoy for the evening and dry off our clothes with. We had our soup starter, and then Phil made two Indian curries with rice. The evening wound down over a leisurely conversation by the fire. With both of us being quite tired, we left a few of our cooking tools out on rocks near the fire. The next morning, as we were preparing breakfast, Phil couldn't find a couple of his favorite items: a red cup and a red spork (spoon on one end and fork on the other). He looked around for several minutes before noticing the cup wedged in a burrow-type area at the base of the cave wall. Closer inspection revealed his spork was further in there, too. Some critter apparently had taken a liking to those items during the night and stashed them away. Nothing else of ours was missing, but there were some artifacts from previous campers tucked away in the burrow. When packing up camp, I was actually very glad not to have a tent to take down (which also meant no chore of setting up a wet tent at home to dry). Sleeping without a tent turned out to be just fine and I would certainly do it again (with a mosquito net in summer, of course).
On the final day, we descended into Monolith Valley, which has a number of interesting rock formations (like a natural arch) and rain forest within the deep valleys. Inexperienced hikers have gotten lost for days in there. Again, the theme of this hike was wetness, and all the extra moisture was compounded in the rain forest valleys. It would have been really nice to have lingered there longer, with a waterproof camera, as the area was quite picturesque. But we needed to be careful with our time so we didn't get back home too late and Phil would be able to pick up his dogs before the kennel closed.
We continued on out of the valley up to the saddle of The Castle. We had done well with our time, so Phil decided he was keen to climb The Castle since he hadn't done so in about ten years. Recalling the difficulty of my last experience and given how tired I was at that moment, I grudgingly agreed. The climb ended up not being too terrible -- likely because I wasn't injured this time. We walked around the top of The Castle looking for the logbook, but couldn't find it. I was actually quite impressed with the landscape there. The ground was pockmarked with pools of water, most of it quite fresh and clean.
After lingering awhile, we climbed back down and resumed our trek back to the car. We followed the standard trail away from The Castle, walking at a brisk pace. With a short distance left to go, Phil stopped and pulled out his map and compass, plotting the rest of the route off the trail. Soon, we were nearly running down a steep hill through ferns and vines until we reached the small stream at the bottom. We followed the water for a short distance before crossing. That area was leech country, and Phil had a few on him straight away. I had none on me, but once we crossed the stream for the third and final time, I noticed several on my shoes and socks. We spent a few minutes plucking off the leeches and washing up, then headed to the car and onwards home.
I really enjoyed the weekend out in the wild, and find it quite rewarding to become more familiar with the natural beauty of this country. Doing these kinds of trips is a great way to keep fit, hone real navigational skills, and get a real break from the daily grind of life.
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