Walking Routes in the Budawangs

[bushtucker]

Hi all,

We are planning our bushwalk through the Budawangs. We will spend two full days and one night there and I wanted to know if we are overcommitting on our proposed route:

-- Day 1: Start at 9am from Long Gully, Kaliana Ridge, Monolith Valley, Climb Mt Owen, Seven Gods Pinnacle, Climb Mt Shrouded Gods, Cooyoyo Creek to camp;
-- Day 2: Visit the Camping Caves, Climb Part Way of The Castle, Kaliana Ridge, Long Gully, Finish.

These all seem like the best areas to visit in this beautiful region. If anyone is familiar with this region and has any advice it would be much appreciated!

We are a fit, young group looking for adventure and don't mind a bit of uphill and hard yakka. The last couple of treks we did were about 15-23km per day and some big ascents.

Thank you all so much in advance!

Cheers,

Daniel

[Lizzy]

I have only been to the area once but Day 2 sounds a bit odd- wouldn't it be easier to visit camping caves while over near Owen & MV on day 1?

[bernieq]

Lizzy is correct, Dan – your proposal seems a bit disjointed. Also, as well as the climbs, the vegetation is pretty thick in places and progress can be quite slow.

I’d suggest something a little different.
Day1 : Long Gully, Kaliana Ridge, Cooyoyo Ck and set up camp. Side trip into Monolith Valley, camping caves and return to Cooyoyo Ck (with climbs of Shrouded Mt, Seven Gods etc as time permits)
Day 2 : Cooyoyo Ck, Castle (out to the southern end) and return via Kaliana Ridge.

This way you have more control over timing and are not carrying a full pack the whole time = travel faster, do/see more.

[bushtucker]

Hi Lizzy and Bernie,

Thank you both so much for the information. It's really helpful in the trek planning. Whilst we want to admire the beauty of the place we are also aiming to make it quite a challenging walk. Our last two walks were: (a) 2 days, 25km, 3200m ascent/descent; and (b) 3 days, 64km, 5100m ascent/descent both with loaded backpacks.

Does Cooyoyo Ck camping ground get crowded? Are there any other camping areas aside from Cooyoyo Ck and Camping Caves by My Cole?

Cheers,

Daniel

[bernieq]

we are also aiming to make it quite a challenging walk

What I proposed doesn't limit the challenge - on the contrary, it allows you to measure each day so as to make it as tough as you want.

Day 1 could be as easy as out to the camping caves and back ... or include as many side trips and loops as time permits (onto Mt Cole, Shrouded Gods, Nibelung etc) - much more than is possible in a day.
Day 2 isn't too easy either. Up onto the Castle (a fun climb) and then out to the southern end and back might be enough. However, you can add quite an extension (again, if time permits). When descending Kaliana Ridge, continue south along the base of The Castle and out to Byangee Walls - from the saddle between the Castle and the Walls, there's first a track then a fire trail that descends to the Yadboro River just downstream from Long Gully.

part of the climb onto the Castle - Aug 2011

climb.JPG (206.93 KiB) Viewed 12249 times

[bushtucker]

Thanks again Bernie for these great tips. I really like your suggestion of: "When descending Kaliana Ridge, continue south along the base of The Castle and out to Byangee Walls - from the saddle between the Castle and the Walls, there's first a track then a fire trail that descends to the Yadboro River just downstream from Long Gully." -- Is there any more detail you can give me on this?

Also, is the Mt Owen climb fairly time consuming? How much time would you think to allocate to the climb and time on top to admire the views?

Thanks again,
Daniel

P.S. Cool photos

[bernieq]

Dan, grab a copy of "Bushwalking in the Budawangs" by Ron Doughton (Envirobook, Sydney) - it will ansr\wer all your questions (and give you many more ideas).

Check out a decent library if you can't find a copy anywhere.

[bushtucker]

Thanks Bernie. Already bought it a couple of weeks back. I will have another read... Cheers.

[bushtucker]

Re-read his book but as I suspected no alternative camping options provided in the book aside from Cooyoyo and Camping Caves.

Cheers,

Daniel

[bushtucker]

Thank you all for you advice on this area. The trip was fantastic and our report is here: http://getout-adventures.blogspot.com.a ... wangs.html

Cheers,

Daniel

[Mal__]

Thanks again Bernie for these great tips. I really like your suggestion of: "When descending Kaliana Ridge, continue south along the base of The Castle and out to Byangee Walls ...

I am very interested in this as well. I have been on the Castle a number of times and looked longingly over to Byangee. On the return from 2 nights at Cooyoyo, I would like to skirt the southern base of the Castle across to the Castle Saddle, but have found no information on this.

From the map (Corang 25k), it looks to be around 600 metres from Kalianna Ridge to the top of Byangee Trail, pretty much along the 400m contour.

Daniel, did you manage to return this way?

(And, yes, I have the book, but have found no mention of this possible route from Kalianna Ridge to Byangee Trail.)

Mal

[DarrenM]

Thank you all for you advice on this area. The trip was fantastic and our report is here: http://getout-adventures.blogspot.com.a ... wangs.html

Cheers,

Daniel

Hi Daniel,

I cant view the blog as it has not been made public?

[Mal__]

Thanks again Bernie for these great tips. I really like your suggestion of: "When descending Kaliana Ridge, continue south along the base of The Castle and out to Byangee Walls ...

I am very interested in this as well. I have been on the Castle a number of times and looked longingly over to Byangee. On the return from 2 nights at Cooyoyo, I would like to skirt the southern base of the Castle across to the Castle Saddle, but have found no information on this.

From the map (Corang 25k), it looks to be around 600 metres from Kalianna Ridge to the top of Byangee Trail, pretty much along the 400m contour.

Daniel, did you manage to return this way?

(And, yes, I have the book, but have found no mention of this possible route from Kalianna Ridge to Byangee Trail.)

Mal

For information, and answering my own question, yes, this is possible. There is something of a trail which pretty much skirts the base of the cliff. There's one spot where you have to go a bit lower - no more than 10 metres or so. There is a couple of rock scrambles - one I had to remove my pack for (I was walking solo, so wasn't taking(to many) risks). With a full pack, took about 40 minutes from the Kallianna ridge trail to the Byangee trail.

[bushtucker]

Sorry DarrenM, it's available here: http://getout-adventures.com/2014/05/28 ... budawangs/
I moved everything to WordPress.