Mount Solitary - Point Repulse

[bushtucker]

Hi all,

Does anyone know if you can descend Mt Solitary on the south side ridge toward Point Repulse and then along Korrowal Ridge and then down to Rucksack Point?

Cheers,

Daniel

[bushtucker]

In addition, does anyone know if you can ascend Mt Solitary by approaching from Walls Pass along Cedar Head and then following Cedar Creek south until exiting the creek onto Cedar Ridge and up to M Solitary? The maps make it look doable on the gradient.

[johnw]

I've only done the standard traverse over the top of Solitary, but recalled an old thread related to your question, linked below:
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=10468&p=138884&hilit=repulse#p138884

[Grabeach]

and then following Cedar Creek south until exiting the creek onto Cedar Ridge and up to M Solitary?

30 years since I went down Cedar Ck, so memory not good .......... but looking at SIX I would think there would be a number of spots before you reach the 'No Entry' area that you could exit the creek up onto the ridge. Depending on where you hit the ridge, you could be near a couple of Rodney Nelson's routes up onto Solitary eg. Bitter Cave Pass https://fatcanyoners.org/2013/08/10/solitary-passes/. I suggest a good chance of being benighted on this one. A recce or two would not go astray.

[bushtucker]

Hi, thanks johnw and Grabeach. The links were very helpful. For a bit more detail, I thought I'd add this map in to show you what I'm thinking for our bushwalk.

The broad intention is as follows:

- Start at Narrow Neck and bicycle ride from the locked car gate to circa Bushwalkers Hill
- Leave bicycles and head down Walls Pass / Cedar Head
- Follow Cedar Creek and then head up Cedar Ridge to get atop Mt Solitary
- Traverse Mt Solitary and descend on the Point Repulse route toward Rucksack Point
- From here I'm still working it out, but wanting to make a loop, I'm hoping to be able to get back to the Medlow Gap area and then head up Tarros Ladders and back onto Narrow Neck Plateau where we'll pick up our bicycles and ride the last part of the fire trail to the locked car gate.

Any thoughts, let me know please!

Cheers,

Daniel

[tom_brennan]

The route down Korrowall Ridge is likely to be hard from the top, both finding it and doing it. Easier to find and do from the bottom.

Some pictures from a trip a while back
http://ozultimate.com/tom/bushwalking/2 ... photos.htm

Finding a pass up on to Solitary from Cedar Creek in the vicinity of where you have marked is likely to be tough, but there are ledges that may make it possible. Could take a lot of searching.

[bushtucker]

Thanks Tom. I came across your link and pictures when I was Googling the topic. You've been everywhere!!

We could change the route a little bit and follow your Walls Pass description (http://bushwalkingnsw.com/walk.php?nid=805) and then head to Ruined Castle, head up Korrowall Knife Edge up onto Mt Solitary and then down the Point Repulse ridge.

OR,

we could reverse that and go up Korrowall Ridge toward Point Repulse, traverse Mt Solitary, descend toward Ruined Castle and then go to Walls Pass.

Do you know if you can get from Rucksack Point to Medlow Gap / Tarros Ladders area? Or is that going to require going through the Restricted Zones?

[Grabeach]

Rucksack Point itself is in the restricted zone, though this doesn't seem to worry those doing the Buttress in a loop from Kedumba. However a fair bit of the road to Medlow Gap is as well. The Water Board as it was called back then wasn't too worried when I was 'caught' on the road with a day pack, but I believe the current Catchment Authority is not so reasonable.

[tom_brennan]

Is this a day walk or an overnight walk? I'd be planning two separate walks - if you haven't done the routes before, then you could spend a fair bit of time route finding. That applies in particular if you're going in the opposite direction to the usual approach.

[rcaffin]

Hi Daniel

Why are you spending hours going down Cedar Creek before climbing up and out? It is much faster to simply cross Cedar Creek where you hit it and go up to Ruined Castle. We must have down that crossing many times, in both directions.

The cliffs at Point Repulse are another matter. They looked hard from the top. And the scrub on top was awful.

Rucksack Point to Medlow Gap - easy route on FT. We might have camped at Hayes Crossing one time, long ago. Some nice spots well out of sight just a bit up Cedar Creek from memory. As for the road - we have never seen a Water Board car on any weekend we have been through there. Some sharp ears might help?

Cheers
Roger

[LachlanB]

The SCA Special Areas are absolutely ridiculous- I could understand a prohibition from going into Lake Burragorang, but the arbitrary 3km boundary for bushwalkers who do less damage to the park than the SCA itself is utterly stupid. One option to avoid them though might be to circle north around Solitary on Sublime Point Firetrail to (eventually) the Golden Staircase. Not quite as remote, and with a bit of backtracking, but more legal if you're worried about the Special Areas

Roger, is going down Cedar Creek a particularly difficult task? No to hijack the OP's thread, but I was wondering about it's utility as a potential route out of the Wild Dog Mountains that avoids the tediousness of the Narrowneck firetrail.

[DaveNoble]

Many years ago - around 1973, I was on a walk from the Golden Stairs to the Ruined Castle and then down to Cedar Creek. We walked down Cedar Creek to camp at Hayes Crossing. The new day, we attempt to climb up to Mt Solitary via Point Repulse - but stuffed up the route, and ended up under the cliffs on the eastern side - lots of lawyer vine...... we then descended to the road and walked out to Wentworth Falls via Kedumba Pass.

I remember Cedar Creek as a lovely walk- lots of small waterfalls, easy to scramble down, and lower down lots of nice grassy flats. Its one place that I have long wanted to return to. But never have (so far).

One of the party was the publicity officer for the club (Springwood Bushwalking Club) and wrote a short report for the local rag - which was published..... then the Club got a letter from the MWSDB...... so no more trips in that area.

Dave

[juxtaposer]

I did Korrowall Buttress from top down in 1978. You can forget keeping to the top of the ridge. It is mostly fragmented rock bluffs for a long way before Rucksack Point is reached. Better to come up, sidle the cliffs on the eastern side and strike up when closing in on Point Repulse.

[rcaffin]

sidle the cliffs on the eastern side and strike up when closing in on Point Repulse.
There is a pass on the eastern side which comes out in a saddle just a bit N of the end of the spur. It's a bit steep. Last I saw, long ago, there was a small cairn at the top - no idea whether it is still there.

Cheers
Roger

[DaveNoble]

On that early trip -where we stuffed up the route was due to looking at the Dunphy Map (Gangaerang - Wild Dogs Mts) - and it showed that you sidle to the east. But we sidled too low - below the bottom cliff. When doing the pass, from below, stay on the skyline - scrambling over a few rocky pinnacles, then easier going to the point which looms above. You are now on the half way ledge. This is where you traverse to the east (left) - and this is the tricky part - one short section is dangerous and exposed - you need to cross an exposed slope. You follow and animal pad across, then easy going. Look for an easy gully leading up to the top that takes you up the top clifflike. Then scrubby going to reach the track. On the way you pass an interesting rock formation.

[rcaffin]

an interesting rock formation.
Lots of rings on the surface of an outcrop?
I have a photo of that somewhere in the archives.

Cheers
Roger

[YoungCodger]

I did Korrowall Buttress from top down in 1978. You can forget keeping to the top of the ridge. It is mostly fragmented rock bluffs for a long way before Rucksack Point is reached. Better to come up, sidle the cliffs on the eastern side and strike up when closing in on Point Repulse.

That's the fun bit! It is challenging and time consuming though.