Barrington Tops |
Barrington Tops |
This trek was undertaken between October 18 and 22, 2003. It was the subject of some careful planning and preparation, yet was changed on a number of occasions as the trip was actually being carried out. This page gives a description of the planned itinerary (which can be downloaded in pdf format and used for your own trip), as well as the actually trek undertaken. There are also photos of the trip to be viewed.
WHAT'S ON THIS PAGE:
PLANNING:
This trip was in the planning process for some time and a detailed description of the trip's planned itinerary is posted here (in pdf format). It can be used as the basis for a trip to the area by anyone that may be interested.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TREK:
I arrived at my mother's place in Gloucester the night before the actual trek (October 17, 2003), so that an early start could be had the next morning. So on Saturday October 18, 2003, I was up at about 6am and got ready to depart. We actually left the house at about 7.10am, heading for the Lagoon Pinch Forest Park, some 8km above the Barrington Guesthouse (off the Williams Tops Forest Road and Lagoon Pinch Forest Road). We arrived at the park about 8.55am.
It was only a matter of minutes before I set off on the first leg of the trek, the 12km climb to Carey's Peak via the Korker Mountain and Selby Alley Hut. The track up the mountain is steep, but flattens out as it reaches the track to Selby Hut. Not long after 11.30am I located the barely noticeable track leading off to the Selby Alley Hut and followed it for a bit of a look. As it turned out I was very happy to have found the hut, for a terrific thunderstorm soon broke overhead.
As the storm unleashed it's wrath outside I investigated the small bushwalkers hut and found it had ample room for about 10 people inside, with plenty of space for tents outside. However, it is not in the cleanest condition and there are said to be rats in abundance around and inside the hut during the night. It has a large open fire area for cooking and warmth. I took the opportunity to sign the guestbook.
Near the hut is a lovely mountain stream with a small set of waterfalls known as Basden Falls. This wouldn't be a bad stream to investigate further if staying at the hut for a night or two. Several other falls (including Far Eastern Falls) are located nearby and these may or may not be found by using the Selby Hut as a base (I haven't yet done so).
I left the Selby Hut at about 12.30pm, the storm having then passed. I reached the track junction at around 1.00pm, it being at that point some 300m to Wombat Creek, 2km to Carey's Peak and 10km back to Lagoon Pinch.
Continuing on to Carey's Peak I soon found evidence of a great hail storm, with a heavy covering of ice laying throughout the bush and over the track (there was still ice around the next morning). The next junction was soon reached (1.20pm), with one track heading off the The Big Hole (3km). I reached Carey's Peak at 1.30pm.
Carey's Hut built by the Barrington League in 1934 is in a terrible state of repair and is near the point of collapse. NPWS have actually fenced the area off to prevent public access to the hut, it being now too dangerous to enter. The site around the hut itself is also in a much more degraded state than that of my previous visit in 1996.
The view from the top of Carey's Peak (1554m) is still brilliant and well worth the climb. There seem to be plenty of wombats around the area of the peak.
I set up my tent and had my camp established by 2.30pm. On the trek today I covered some 13km.
The night had been quite cold and windy, with some rain falling during the night. It was however a clear morning (Sunday October 19, 2003). There was still hail from the previous day still lying around the ground.
I quickly packed and had left my first night's campsite by about 5.30am, reaching Eremeran Lookout at 6.40am. What this means is that I've already covered half of my planned itinerary for the day. The views from the lookout are good, being similar to those of Carey's Peak.
I reached Mt Barrington (at about 7.30am and quickly climbed the 200m trail to the top. Views can be had from the forested peak, from which I was also able to observe Wedge-Tailed Eagles soaring above me. There is also a memorial to Noel Wildash and his friends who perished near Mt Barrington in 1981.
At the base of Mt Barrington (1554m), toward Junction Pools, there is a nice little picnic area which afforded me a good place for a rest. There is a good information board provided here also. From this point it is 11km to The Big Hole and 7km to Carey's Peak.
Because the Water Guage Trail is currently closed due to a fungus problem affecting the trees in that area, I've decided to pass on Mt Polblue for this trek (I can reach it from the Scone Road at a later date). My modified trek will now take me to Junction Pools today, the Big Hole tomorrow and then across the Gloucester Tops Link Trail. This I sorted out before leaving Mt Barrington.
I left Mt Barrington at about 8.30am, heading for the Junction Pools camping area. I reached the turn off, with 2km to go, at about 9.20am. Here I had another short break until 9.35am and arrived at Junction Pools at 10.00am. The walk from Mt Barrington to Junction Pools was about 6.5km. This made a grand total of 26.5km walked so far on the trek.
I found a small camping party at the camp site, but they soon left after lunch.
Junction Pools is a very quiet, beautiful camping ground on the banks of the Barrington River, with several mountain creeks and swamps lying nearby. There is a pit toilet and basic fireplaces provided at Junction Pools. An investigation of the area soon uncovered several Wombat burrows, from which I observed Common Wombats throughout the afternoon.
Another family on a day trip arrived into the afternoon, but soon left.
On Monday (October 20, 2003) I got out of bed early - about 6am. It had been another cold night with torrential rain. I set off a little after 6.30am for the Big Hole camping ground, about 5km away over Aeroplane Hill. The Barrington River, however, was swollen due to all the rain. I finally found another way across the river and needed to do some bush-bashing to get back on track. I reached the top of Aeroplane Hill at about 7.15am and had a 20 minute break for breakfast.
It was now that I discovered just how burnt I had become on the back of my neck, with quite a few blisters from sunburn. My feet also had begun to blister badly from the constant impacts on the ground surface. I had also managed to somehow damage my left shoulder and all this was beginning to make progress increasingly difficult.
I reached the Black Swamp camping area at about 8.10am, having followed the swamp for a short distance. This marked 4km for the day, with a further 1km or so to be walked in order to reach the Big Hole. The final part of the walk was soon completed, with camp being set up fairly quickly and wood being gathered for what I knew would be a cold night at the Big Hole (which is a large pool in the Barrington River).
Later in the day I observed several wombat burrows and saw a Kangaroo bound off into the freezing waters of the Big Hole in order to get away from me. It swam for some distance before getting out - quite the sight to see.
The total distance covered to this point is about 31.5km.
After yet another cold night (it being now Tuesday October 21, 2003) I began to climb out of the Big Hole area at about 6.30am. Upon reaching Black Swamp I had a short break and saw a number of Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos.
I made Wombat Creek at about 7.45am and had a short break, having a look around the campsite and creek. I left at about 8.00am, with another break along the Gloucester Tops Link Trail at about 8.40am.
I stopped about 1/2 way across the link trail to set up camp for the night (10.45am). The location was just beyond the Beech Forest where the creek can be seen from the road (with a small waterfall). However, by 11.30am (being somewhat revived), I had come to the conclusion that I could complete the walk today, so I attempted to do so and packed up camp, heading off on the rest of the walk.
I reached Gloucester Falls at about 2.30pm and tried to find a suitable campsite (no-one being around for a lift to Gloucester or the caravan park a little down the road). Eventually I settled on a spot on the other side of the Gloucester River (Glowang Trail) - managing to stub my toe during the crossing, with plenty of blood spurting about my already badly damaged feet (now heavily blistered and no longer able to wear shoes).
I had covered 25km for the day, bringing the total for the trek to 56.5km.
Wednesday morning (October 22, 2003) at about 6.00am I had decided to make a move down the mountain in order to reach Gloucester Tops Riverside Caravan Park so that I could arrange a lift back to Gloucester from there. I left camp at about 6.30am and soon found that there was no way I could wear my boots, as my feet were severely blistered and because of the stubbed toe. I was also unwell and suffering from a busted shoulder - and I think a little dehydration. So I had to settle for wearing thongs.
Not long after I was under way it became clear that my lift (arranged for the Saturday coming) would not have been able to get to be for the road was blocked by earthworks. In fact, it would become apparent that almost the entire length of the Gloucester Tops road within the national park was closed due to road works.
I eventually made the caravan park at about 11.30am, having covered a distance of 21km for the morning - and very sore I might add. The total distance covered for the trek was 77.5km. My lift was arranged later in the afternoon and I was picked up a little after 4.30pm.
Gallery 14: Barrington Tops Trek 2003
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27/11/2006
