Pilcher track or Coach's track?, Medlow Bath

[skibug]

Dear all,

This may have been addressed before, but I'm just confused about some nomenclature.

Is the track near Katoomba airfield which leaves from the western side of Grand Cnyon Road, after several km emerges in the lower Grand Canyon, the Pilcher Track or the Coach's Track.

Fat Canyoner, for example, refers to it as the Pilcher track (http://fatcanyoners.org/2010/11/06/jugg ... d-canyons/ ), wheras "A. Wells" (http://www.pnc.com.au/~wells/) seems to refer to it as the Coach's track. Is one or the other correct, both wrong or both right? Just clarifying for interest.

Thanks for any help,

Skibug.

[Grabeach]

Quoting from Jim Smith's How to See the Blue Mountains. This is how I remember it when last there in the late 80s.

"In 1907, ......Mark Foy put in a coach road to near the original Pt Pilcher Lookout [note this is not the current Pt Pilcher Lookout] and had a magnificent track cut down to join the Grand Canyon track." Logical that the Pilcher Track was the walking track down to the Grand Canyon from the end of the coach road (not Coach's Track).

In more recent times, though still pre late 80s, " ..... the unofficial 'Webb's Shortcut' that has been cut from the electricity tower [to the old lookout bypassing the original coach road formation - why do people do this? grrr!]." If you can get hold of Jim's out of print book the maps will be helpful.

Hope this helps.

[Vern]

Recently did Jugglers Canyon and noticed although it was a Monday that there were heaps of people at the start of the Pilcher Track. I really wanted to get in the canyon before they did if that was what they were doing. I bumbled past and headed down the track to the canyon and really took some time going down and taking some photos. I finished the canyon and came back up the roughish track out of the Grand Canyon track toward Pilcher again.

Once up near where it get's flatter I was about to put on my long sleeves as I remember getting ripped to shreads last time I was on the track, when I stumbled on a clear path. The heard of people I'd seen at the start of the track were National Parks employees and a heap of volunteers there to clear the track.

I walked back toward the car and noticed the volunteers, some beautiful young ladys in there rough gear on their hands and knees cutting the stubs of the shrubs left behind after the main clear had been done. I had a quick conversation and continued home along the easy track. I was encouraged to see these volunteers hard at work selflessly giving their time and energy and wanted to pass on my thanks to all the hard working volunteers who give up their own time to maintain these tracks.

THANKS!

[Vern]

Recently did Jugglers Canyon and noticed although it was a Monday that there were heaps of people at the start of the Pilcher Track. I really wanted to get in the canyon before they did if that was what they were doing. I bumbled past and headed down the track to the canyon and really took some time going down and taking some photos. I finished the canyon and came back up the roughish track out of the Grand Canyon track toward Pilcher again.

Once up near where it get's flatter I was about to put on my long sleeves as I remember getting ripped to shreads last time I was on the track, when I stumbled on a clear path. The heard of people I'd seen at the start of the track were National Parks employees and a heap of volunteers there to clear the track.

I walked back toward the car and noticed the volunteers, some beautiful young ladies in there rough gear on their hands and knees cutting the stubs of the shrubs left behind after the main clear had been done. I had a quick conversation and continued home along the easy track. I was encouraged to see these volunteers hard at work selflessly giving their time and energy and wanted to pass on my thanks to all the hard working volunteers who give up their own time to maintain these tracks.

THANKS!

[skibug]

Thanks for this, Vern.

Can I just clarify, the Pilcher track from where it enters the lower end of the Grand Canyon to where it becomes an obvious 4wd track has been cleared/widened? Or just to where it emerges under the power line pylon? Or otherwise?

I walked this last January, it seemed fairly overgrown and looked like no maintenance had been done for years - no signage, either.

Thanks again for the update.

Ski bug.

[Vern]

Sorry for the late reply here. It had been widened from at least the lookout back to the dirt road and I think they were clearing it all the way down to the Grand Canyon track from my brief discussions with them. No idea if there was any signage being put up. I didn't see any but they were still clearing at that point.

[skibug]

Hey Vern,

Actually I did it on Monday. Yep, it's been cleared the whole way, or at least from where it becomes a track above the ledges in the canyon, to where it hits the short cut to the power pole. I assume the rest of it, the original track up to the road, has also been done. The short-cut hasn't. It didn't occur to me, but my wife realised it's almost certainly been done to allow better access for workers, and possibly equipment, into the Grand Canyon, where they are doing substantial track work improvements.

Skibug.

[Vern]

That's a very good point. I did see alot of resources dropped on the ground down on the Grand Canyon Track. It's definately a q uick way in now.