15-16 October 2011 long long time walkabout - 24-hr walk

Maps: Corin Dam and Rendezvous Creek 1:25000

Getting There

This walk was organised and led by me as a CBC walk:

Saturday-Sunday 15-16 October - long long time walkabout - 24-hr walk - L/E-M. The aim of this trip is to just walk for 24 hours. Starting from Corin Dam, climb via Stockyard Spur to Pryors Hut. Follow the Mt Franklin fire trail, with a side trip to Mt Gingera, to Cotter Hut. Walk out via the AAWT to the Orroral Valley, then via Smokers Trail and the Square Rock Walking Track to the Smokers Gap car park. All on fire trail and footpad. A couple of longish breaks with a hot drink, as well as short breaks. Around 55km and 2200m climb. Maps: Corin Dam and Rendezvous Creek. Leader: John Evans - jevans@pcug.org.au, (h) 6288 7235. Transport: ~$10 per person. Limit: 8. If a couple of non-walkers could help with transport, I'd be very grateful. I also need a PC and mobile phone equipped walk controller in Canberra.

6 of us were driven to Corin Dam. Thanks so much Captain of Transport,

Further Information

Meet time 1.45pm Saturday 15 October. Expected return time Sunday 16 October 5.00pm (allows champagne drinking time).

Look for 24 Mile marker just off Mt Franklin fire trail at Blackfellows Gap - no, it will be dark.

Some excellent advice and expectation setting from living legend George Carter:

'A lot depends on the conditions. It can be surreal to see the landscape by full moonlight and a clear sky without interference of city lights. Cliffs and rocky outcrops turn silver in the night and you can see nearby mountains and ranges as silhouettes against the sky, streams look like running silver and, if you are lucky, you might see nocturnal animals and birds. On the other hand, if torches are used you lose your night vision and all perception of the landscape. Then, it becomes a narrow focus of the track and the person in front and it is boring in the extreme and completely pointless. Of course the transition from night to dawn then full daylight can be magical with the changing colours, morning chorus (provided by the birds), the smells emanating from the bush as it warms up etc.'

Proposed route maps

Option A - full trip

Proposed route profile - full trip

Proposed route card - full trip

Considerations

1 I have walked this entire route, in sections,on previous day walks, some legs several times
2 Set start time to get us down from Mt Gingera before civil sunset - Corin Dam to return from Mt Gingera is ~10km and 1100 vertical m. There's water from Snowy Flat Creek, so this is a good place for tea and a hot drink.
3 Night walking on Mt Franklin Rd - 'Walking Track' turn off to Mt Gingera to Cotter Hut is ~18km and 100 vertical m. Torch and plenty of food; stoves for hot drink. Safety - a couple of tarps in the party. Pick a time with full moon. Another good break at Cotter Hut - water from the Cotter River.
4 Cotter Hut to Orroral Valley is ~13km and 400 vertical m.
5 Orroral Valley to Smokers Gap car park is ~15km and 500 vertical m.
6 Would need transport assistance from non-walkers to drop us off and pick us up - we'll be a bit weary at the end and it would be unsafe to drive.
7 Make sure there is champers at the finish to celebrate (plus a foot massage!).
8 Coordinate with WBB - don't run it same or consecutive weekend as WBB.
9 On 15 October 2011 (for South Canberra), civil sunrise is 0555, sunrise is 0621, sunset is 1917, civil sunset is 1943, moonrise is 2217, moonset is 0744. 12 October 2011 is full moon
10 Water at Snowy Flat Creek, Cotter River, De Salis Creek, Sawpit Creek, Sawpit Creek, Orroral River.

Safety and Exits

1 Limit party size to 8 strong walkers. Participants to be vetted by walk leader in consultation with CBC Walks Secretary
2 Each party member to have appropriate equipment, clothing, energy food, torch, etc. Suggest a change of shoes
3 10min break every 2hrs of walking
4 A couple of tarps in the party
5 Stoves for hot drink at at least 2 major stops (evening day 1, morning day 2) of up to 45mins each
6 'Point of no return' would be on Mt Franklin Fire Trail E/below Rolling Ground Gap. Prior to there, evacuation would be N via Mt Franklin Fire Trail to Mt Ginini car park and additional assistance via sat phone. After there, evacuation would be S via the Mt Franklin Fire Trail to Cotter Hut and additional assistance via sat phone.
7 Alternative shorter routes (planned route is 61.5km):
        7.1 Option B - finish at Orroral Tracking Station - planned route 49km
        7.2 Option C - Finish at Square Rock car park, but use Smokers Trail from Cotter Hut Rd - planned route 53km
8 Carry a SPOT device in party (borrow from Max or Mike, or they can bring it!), as well as GPS and PLB
9 Usual CBC check-in procedures, plus notify Namadgi Visitors Centre
10 Can borrow John T's sat phone
11 Walkers to be dropped off and picked up - don't want to be driving after the walk.

Photographs

You can access all photographs here.

Walk

Here's a couple of audio clips from the trip (click the headphones link):

Track maps: thumbnails are active - click for a larger picture
Track overview	Track 1	Track 2	Track 3	Track 4

Track maps: thumbnails are active - click for a larger picture
Track 5	Track 6	Track 7	Track 8	Track 9

It was a rugged crew that was photographed by the toilet block at Corin Dam. Match the person:

Not to bore any reader, but times are useful to me for return trips:

A steady pace to get us up to the marker cairns, after plenty of advice to pace the party. At least the pea regrowth crowding the beginning zigzags was not wet. The afternoon overcast. On up Stockyard Spur with the party spreading to walk at individuals' pace - a good idea for tracks as long as regrouping points are nominated prior to the front runners taking off. I popped to each lookout just before the brumby yards site and took a couple of photos, NW and SE. Too early in the walk to take the planned break at Pryors Hut; we even zoomed past the nearby 21 Mile and Q57 border markers without glancing at them. On to the marked Walking Track to Mt Gingera on the Mt Franklin Road. To here, 8.6km in 3 hours. Some members left their packs and raincoats here and enjoyed an anxious walk up to Mt Gingera, with a couple of spots of drizzle falling. Overcast, grey and windy at the top - not the fabulous sunset I'd hoped for. A little time for a poke about, then the others went down to have tea whilst I set off a SPOT to Max and tried the sat phone. The place to be - a couple of guys camping at the top and another party camped just near the bend in the Mt Gingera footpad - the little detour on map segment Track 2 shows where I went over to say hello. Down at the bottom I had a quick bite and we were ready to go.

The leg along the Mt Franklin fire trail to Cotter Hut, from 7.10pm to 11.05pm, was quite amazing. My first experience of night time walking. The area is not that exciting in daylight, recovering from the 2003 fires. But as we walked, we were out of the wind on the E of the Brindabella crest, night fell, the sky partly cleared and the fabulous stars appeared. Very special. I thought it was useful to just pair us up before night fall, just to keep an eye on each other. We used half our head torches, as a stumble would have spelt disaster and there was insufficient natural light due to the part-clouded sky, even after the moon came up, huge over the Cotter Gap in the E. Lovely flowing creeks crossing the fire trail - we got some water from McKeahnie Creek at the bottom of the Leura Gap management trail. At the junction of the Mt Franklin fire trail, Cotter Hut Road and Yaouk Trail we all agreed to go in and out to Cotter Hut, just 'cause. We had supper and a bit of a break with soup/a hot drink. Adam did it in style with a china cup and saucer and espresso pot to brew fresh coffee. I sent another OK/Check-in SPOT at 11.15pm, then thought I'd better not send any more, as they were sent to the Walk Controller's mobile and he'd have to wake up and check each one to see if they were OK or we needed assistance.

I appreciated earlier advice not to try the AAWT in the dark, even though we had some very bright and long-distance beam torches. Another reason is that decision making can get a little fuzzy in the early hours of the morning. Pleased that I hadn't suffered any cramps (a little stretching at the stops). Well ahead of schedule too (I say because the others walked fast; they say that I disallowed breaks).

The next major leg was from Cotter Hut to the junction of Cotter Hut Road and Smokers Trail, 12km in 3hrs, from 11.40pm to 2.40am. Some observations - fantastic to walk up beside De Salis Creek by moonlight and starlight without torches, as the road surface was nice and even; I'd been warned about a little disorientation (the wobbles like being at sea), especially when changing from looking at the sky then quickly down to the road; getting a little weary; getting a little sleepy.

At this junction we voted on our way forward, as the options were to go to Orroral Valley and finish (none of us wanted to be wimps), take Smokers Trail (ditto), or go via the Orroral Valley for the full course. The fuzzy logic won and we pressed on along the Cotter Hut Road. On the spot advice was to not take the steep shortcut near the big corner in the dark, so we walked the bend to the old vehicle track which goes down to Rowleys Orroral Hut site in the valley.

Fire trail is hard on the feet (my decision to wear boots vindicated), so we appreciated the softer going NW up the valley. First light and day light at the top of the valley, with birds twittering as we crossed Sawpit Creek via the bridge. Pink tinged clouds over the Orroral Ridge of Stone. We pressed on for another 2km to ford the Orroral River and have a leisurely breakfast. Sent an OK/Check-in SPOT message at 7.05am. A short doze did little to extend our time towards 24 hours - we knew we'd be finished well before that.

Away on the final leg, pulling up Smokers Trail to the top. Not as much vertical climb as I'd estimated (thank goodness, as I was getting weary). I thought I'd sent off another SPOT message, but (checking later) it was not received. Left onto the Square Rock link track and right onto the Square Rock Track. Early morning walkers, so we were getting close to the finish. Got in at 10.15am, a little early for our 4pm pickup.

Sent another SPOT message and tried the sat phone, but couldn't get through. Whilst the others cooled down, I wandered down the road to the Corin Forest recreational area to make a phone call. I remained calm when it was suggested I take Chris's mobile a further couple of hundred metres down the road and climb a gravel heap where reception was 80% guaranteed, then returned to be permitted to call Max, who ordered up the cavalry. Rob arrived with apple juice, champers and neenish tarts - I forgot to pack the foot massages in the esky.

A wonderful experience and I'm sure we'll do it again.

Thanks for a great walk Adam L, Chris F, Jenny H, Keith T and Roger E. And huge thanks to Max S for event controlling and Rob H for transport.

Distance: 64.8km Climb: 1700m. Time: 2.55pm - 10.15am (19hrs 20mins), with 1hr 50mins of stops.
Grading: L/E; H(12) - this is a bit low, I think the walk will be off the scale.

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: long long time walkabout

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This page last updated 29Aug22