Pondage / Point Cameron access

[jon_b]

Has anyone been out to the Pondage / Point Cameron recently? I'm interested in both Long Swamp Rd condition and to what extent fire regrowth might be impacting the condition of the route/track/pad in through Mcleans Pass, Mt Jamison etc.

I'm taking some teenagers out who won't be up for the same amount of regrowth-bashing as I and my friends might be!

I suspect Long Swamp Rd has copped a hammering with all the rain, likely Cox flooding, and likely continued use by 4WDs throughout. I spoke with the Forestry office in Bathurst and they weren't sure. They were hoping to have someone check it out in the next week or two.

I have a reasonably capable 4WD but it's not high clearance and I don't want to do any serious 4WDing as such. Happy to tackle a puddle or two but not much more.

Thanks
Jon

[keithj]

Has anyone been out to the Pondage / Point Cameron recently? I'm interested in both Long Swamp Rd condition and to what extent fire regrowth might be impacting the condition of the route/track/pad in through Mcleans Pass, Mt Jamison etc.

I'm taking some teenagers out who won't be up for the same amount of regrowth-bashing as I and my friends might be!

The track to Mcleans Pass is good - not espec overgrown. Continuing to The Pondage has head high native tobacco in some places, but all still navigable through the regrowth.

I suspect Long Swamp Rd has copped a hammering with all the rain, likely Cox flooding, and likely continued use by 4WDs throughout. I spoke with the Forestry office in Bathurst and they weren't sure. They were hoping to have someone check it out in the next week or two.

Long Swamp Rd has some biiiiiig deep muddy puddles - so maybe wait for a few days with no rain. There's one small short rutted hill just before Bicentennial Trail that may be washed out. The other potential issue is 2km from the car park at the end - there's a tree down & the diversion to the left over soft soil needs reasonable clearance - eg an empty Forester would be OK if you had a car full of teenager to push. Trees come down all the time, so if you have a chainsaw, it'd be worth taking.

[jon_b]

Thanks keithj. Really appreciate the info. I have Land Rover Discovery Sport which is pretty good on ruts/climbs/traction/etc. Clearance probably as good if not better than a Forester but not much more.

(Happy to hear from anyone else who's been out there too)

[Hoojar]

I am not exactly sure of track names, but I was in the area on Easter Sunday in a friend's jacked up 4x4. The route west of Blackfellows is extremely steep and for serious 4x4 only. It is then fairly good along the escarpment. Where the trail drops down through the pagodas towards Baal Bone is again for serious 4x4 only. We got turned back in the swamps about 1.5km short of Baal Bone, we got bogged, as did 4 other cars that we saw. The track towards Cape Horn is fine (but there is a burned out Forester at the intersection). The track that follows the Coxs River is reasonable, with care I think I could get through in my Outback.

[jon_b]

Thanks Hoojar. It's that track along the Coxs I am most interested in.

[jon_b]

In case anyone comes across this post in the next few weeks or months I thought I'd give an update.

Road: Long Swamp Rd is very very wet. Small creeks were flowing along much of the road. ~95% ok in AWD. ~5% needs a 4WD due to mud, deepish puddles, and a few short rut sections on the hill. Between driving out to the walk and returning, a few of the mud sections had deteriorated a fair bit just due to vehicles driving through, just in 24 hours.

Route to Pondage/Point Cameron:
Minimal sign of the previous track/pad. A fair bit of head+ high regrowth and trees down along many of the treed sections along the ridge before Mcleans Pass. Not spikey though and quite passable if you are ok at route-finding.

Once you reach the more open rocky parts of the ridge approaching Mount Jamison (where it used to be fairly scrubby in places) is now very open. So open that you can also now walk down and across the pagoda country close to the cliffline, rather than having to go as far as Mount Davidson. Several creeks flowing well.

The Pondage itself is half full of water. Other half was wet underfoot. All the trees and shrubs are heavily burnt...bit of a moonscape....not a great place to camp at the moment. We camped elsewhere.

[django]

An update on the walk out to Mcleans Pass along the ridge from the Cape Horn firetrail (from where the firetrail turns east):
I did this walk recently (April 2023) and found the footpads mostly discernible but easily lost in several places. Post-fire regrowth of acacias and gums is now about 3m high typically, very dense, and getting stiffer! So navigating without a footpad is extremely strenuous - it's a must to re-find the footpad when it disappears. I learnt the hard way that it's best to climb the first bluff as soon as possible on the east side (there's a stretch of open rock) as it's impossibly hard to traverse below the ridgetop.
Such beautiful country. I'm so glad to be exploring it!

[rachel_g]

Does anyone have a recent update on the condition of the Baal Bone Trail/Cape Horn FT (Long Swamp Road)?