Monday 28 Jan 2019
This was supposed to be a really easy day, only 24k, but it took me almost 5 hours. After 4 km the road crosses the Timbarra River at a causeway.
The very causeway where in 2004 I had to turn around and backtrack/detour via Tenterfield because the water was too high. This time certainly not, but I do stand corrected: there is a bit of flow in the river, which is only noticeable where it is narrow or shallow. So from that point on I haven’t been here since 1998 when I did a few exploratory sections of trail where Gwen would drop me off and meet me again a day or a few days later further down the trail.
Reason today was so slow was that I had to wade the river and some creeks further upstream a number of times which always takes time. Change into my Crocs and back into my cycling shoes at the other end. In one case I had to scout a route first because the track ended right at a fairly deep waterhole.
There was one station owner driving out (north) and we had a little chat. He was from Moogams Camp. At Moogams I saw some other people at a distance but they were too busy to wave. When I got to Jack’s Hut I spent an hour and a half trying to figure out where the trail continues. I cannot quite figure it out. There are absolutely no trail markers to be seen, which I find surprising because it is really essential that you follow the right spur uphill. The trail notes warn you that if you do not get to the exact right spot you’ll get into trouble. Wouldn’t the odd marker be a good idea in a situation like that? I saw one marker further back today and it was in a spot where you’d wonder where else you could possibly go. There was only one clear track. Duh.
Snake skin
Anyway, I discovered that there is a track shown on my topo map, which more or less corresponds to what the map in the guidebook shows. I am going to follow that. The trail follows an old stock route, climbs more than 500m and is described in the guide as unrelenting. I’m heading out really early because I remember how steep I found it in 1998 and as I have discovered many times already, the hills have all become much steeper in these 15 or 20 years!
I’m camping just before Jack’s Hut because Horse Swamp Creek has more than a trickle of water whereas a bit further upstream, at the official BNT campsite where Dry Creek joins, there is nothing. Here I can splash off every half hour to cool down, nice.
Total 24k 3:05h 410m+ 410m-