Bushwalk Australia

Hi guys,

I recently attempted to complete the Kanangra to Katoomba walk in less then 12 hours.

See how it went down here:
http://www.matthewdean.com.au/archives/199

Apologies in advance for any grammar and punctuation mistakes

Enjoy the read,

Great report, mate. Well done on your efforts and I can strongly relate to some of those sinking feelings you descibed, the main thing is you returned safe and sound and live to fight another day!

Hey,

Nice trip report, always good to read of an adventure in that part of the Blue Mountains. I also really like those first two photos of Kanangra, such a magnificent place.

There always seems to be a bit of trouble keeping on the track South of Dex Creek. I'm not sure if you saw it, but there is a small tag nailed to a tree which points the way for the path out from the creek. If you find that and it's not too dark, you should be able to work your way through the few scrubby patches after that where the track is a bit patchy.

A 10kg pack did sound a bit heavy and might have been what caused you to slow down on some of the descents. In saying that, most of it seemed to be water! I would have aimed for closer to 3L of water as opposed to 6L, but in saying that it's just a personal preference. You can generally obtain water from three sources along the walk: Dex Creek, Kanangra Creek and Mobbs Soak. Be warned though, I walked the track late last year when it was dry and water was very minimal, only small puddles in Kanangra Creek with Dex and Mobbs pretty dry. Puri-tabs were a must.

As for Mt Strongleg, it always seems to go on forever and that red shirt has been there for over 3 months if it's the same one that I've seen before.

When crossing the Coxs, I have always been inclined to walk downstream to where it shallows off a fair bit at the base of Mt Yellow Pup. From there it's a defined horse track all the way up the ridge to Mt Yellow Dog, but others do prefer the more direct route which you followed.

Shame you didn't quite make it in your targeted time, but I guess that's just the fun of a solid challenge!

Thanks for your replies!

@Allchin09:
I must have missed the tag on the tree but thankfully the time of day made it rather easy to navigate to the right position on the ridge. I'll keep a look out for it next time. Interesting to hear about the shirt, I almost picked it up but I was sure someone had left it as a maker and I didn't want to disturb it haha.

good read mate.
You are nuts climbing up the mountain, rather than following the trail that is just down a few hundred meters from Kanangra ck.
I've done the hike from the locked gate to Konangaroo about 50 times now, love it down there.
When are you gonna try the 3 peaks? - I'm super keen to do it.
Also you can get water from the cox's - just boil or steripen/filter it.
As stated before, water can be very scarce from Cox's to Katoomba. Mobbs can be totally dry ( rare but happens from time to time), but from there, there is no water until Katoomba. At Medlow Gap there is the little dam at the gate - but it is pretty nasty, and if Mobbs is dry, then that definately will be. If you ever take water from Mobbs make sure you purify it - many,many people camp at the cave, and I have found used pads and tampons downstream. And at 3am in the morning, not many people will walk 50m up the hill to pee.
Good luck with your next trip.

Now that the hunting season is starting, Dan better lose that camouflage gear. That's assuming we'll only be shot by accident.

Nice pics and report. Thanks for posting!

Grabeach wrote:Now that the hunting season is starting, Dan better lose that camouflage gear. That's assuming we'll only be shot by accident.

Point taken! Thanks for all the replies.

@KANANGRABOYD:
Thanks for your comments as well! I'll shoot you a PM when we attempt the peaks again if your interested as we are looking at late spring this year for another crack. Cheers.

3 peaks is on our list too

Edit:
Hubby says I'm a Dufus
HE wants to do 3 peaks - maybe organise to do together?
PM Haematocrit

WE want to do Yerranderie to Katoomba.

Great report