Budawangs - Camp on Mt Owen or Mt Cole?

[bushtucker]

Hi all,

Hope all is well.

Just wondering whether one can camp out on Mt Owen or Mt Cole in the Budawangs and whether there would be a preference for one over the other?

In addition, is the route up to Mt Owen correct as shown in the attached image/map? We'll be coming from the Wog Wog side.

Is the route on to Mt Cole from the North side of the Mountain just off the Monolith Walking Track?

Many thanks in advance!

Daniel

Mt Owen way up?

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

Can definitely camp on Owen but can't vouch for Cole. No running water up there but usually a few pools, although bear in mind much of it is just rock slab so digging for toileting might be an issue. I'm not sure if this fits within the Monolith Valley "camping prohibited" area though? You definitely pass a sign heading into the gully between Cole and Owen from the west side (which, based on you map, you will be doing), but whether that restriction applies in just the valley or the tops as well I'm not sure.... You'll need to confirm that.

From memory the route on the map that runs straight down the middle of Owen is incorrectly marked... the main route out to the "nose" pretty much tracks close to the western escarpment for most of the way? All roads pretty much lead to Rome up on top anyway (although it can get quite scrubby close to the nose so it pays to be on the correct pad) and there are cairns everywhere (not necessary in helpful places). The main thing is accessing the plateau from the right part of the gully between Cole and Owen, which is reasonably straightforward from the western end (just look for when the cairns climb steeply out to the right... not long after traversing horizontally along a steep slope of the south edge of the gully).

[bushtucker]

Hi Walk_Fat_Boy_Walk,

Thanks very, very much for this information!! Good to know we'll be heading in the right direction when getting to the top on Mt Owen. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

How long ago were you up there? Did you find the scramble / climb to be particularly exposed? Did you take ropes?

Best regards,

Daniel

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

Hi Walk_Fat_Boy_Walk,

How long ago were you up there? Did you find the scramble / climb to be particularly exposed? Did you take ropes?

Last time was a couple of years ago. Exposure is a bit subjective i think so depends on what you're comfortable with... My recollection was a few short scrambles here and there but nothing dramatic (assuming you're going up as per the map you posted) and definitely no need for a rope. Not as exposed as the Castle if that helps.

[Grabeach]

Can definitely camp on Owen but can't vouch for Cole.

The Budawangs Sketch Map (1986 Ed.) highlighted 'no camping' area covers all of Cole and the north-east third of Owen. This includes that between Cole and Owen, but likely excludes the north-west base of Cole as there is a 'CC' marked there.

[bushtucker]

Hi all,

Thanks for the tips and quick responses.

We did the trek over the weekend. See image attached for the route we took. We never made it up Mt Owen; there simply wasn't enough time in a two-day trek. We'll have to go back and spend a few days there. Covered 55.1km in two days and 1944m in vertical gain.

I should mention that on day 2, as we took the turn off from below Corang Arch there was a lot of bush-bashing and trail blazing. It was hard going and required lots of careful navigation (thought I'd mention this for anyone thinking of doing that route). The Corang Lagoon Walking Track is very difficult to find and follow.

Cheers,

Daniel

[hairyfoots]

I also tried to do Mt Owen overnight on my first trip there, via Kalianna Ridge, and it doesn't work very well unless you are very fit. Better for a three day walk.

I would agree that the best route is closer to the west of the plateau on Mt Owen.

[bushtucker]

Hi all,

I know this was a long time ago, but we finally got around to writing up our trek report from the April 2015 trek, which you can find here (as well as Google Maps version of our route): https://getout-adventures.com/2015/04/2 ... dawang-np/

Cheers,

Daniel

[Mervyn]

Bushtucker

I read your report, thanks. I would suggest you have gone 'off trail'. The trail stays to the west of Canowie creek, it does not cross the creek, climbing all the time, eventually going over the top of the rocks, in an area still suffering from bush fire damage from 2 or more years ago. There are several side tracks that lead to the Corang, rock cuttings, rapids and cliffs. I suspect you crossed the Canowie creek and followed the side track to the junction of the Canowie and Corang. From there you pushed down river. Missing the main trail, probably for quite some distance as the trail runs to the south of the Corang. The trail is easy to follow but it does have a few ups and downs due to the rock structures. This may have added hours to your trip. Around the Corang the bush is very thick.

Keep that in mind for next time. A bit of bush bashing makes you appreciate trails.

I often takes novices to the Corang river camping site and day walk this section as it is quite scenic with the cliffs and rapids.

Mervyn

[LachlanB]

Yeah, I checked your route against a GPS track of when I was there a few weeks ago. I felt very sorry for you Daniel, watching you swing within 100m of the trail in spots, and then swinging away from it!

[tom_brennan]

If you zoom in on Google maps, you can see where the track goes in most places (and can make a pretty good guess in others). There were a few spots where they crossed or intersected the track.

We walked in via the river route to Burrumbeet Brook on the weekend. The track was fairly easy to follow, other than around the cascades near Canowie Brook, where the route crosses several rock ribs. There is a low road and a high road. We took the low road, but I suspect the high road is easier. But you'd miss out on the spectacular pools and cascades.

We also did some bushbashing from Corang Lagoon, but that was by choice. We were hoping there'd be a track along the river. There was, but it petered out after a few hundred metres, and we ended up following the river back to the main track, which was moderately scrubby.

[bushtucker]

Hi everyone,

I didn't realise there had been responses to my post from quite some time ago. My apologies, perhaps I need to set up some email alerts otherwise it is hard to keep track of responses on the various threads.

Glad you liked the trek report. Even though we went off trail, it was a great learning experience, great exertion and we really enjoyed it.

Happy bushwalking. I'm thinking of my next trip now ... just waiting for it to cool down first!

Cheers,

Daniel

P.S. Yes, the Google Maps version can be zoomed in and even downloaded if you need the data yourself.