Days 159 - 161 Ebor

 NSW 17 18 19 Saturday 30th October to Monday 1st November

EBOR

Woke up in Mushgang's shed. It is cold and chilly and I had to get my boots dry and do some washing.

Mushgang looking down Guy Fawkes River

When you walk you get to appreciate how little you need. Mushgang doesn't have much but after sleeping in comfort and having a hot shower it is more than enough to satisfy. He needs to sort out bloody Telstra so the phone signal will work in the shed not 5 metres in front of the shed in the cold biting wind.

Ebor Falls

After not receiving my parcel, it's decided to wait for Mondays post before going into Armidale to restock for the next leg. So today we sat and talked whilst the washing was getting done. Then a trip to the pub for a coffee and I found a slice of chocolate cake. We then walked over to the falls and checked out the cemetery. We go down to visit Mushgang's horses each evening and later decide to go fish for trout for dinner. I was a bit dubious but to his word Mushgang caught some trout which we went home and cooked for dinner. You have to be careful as he might decide to have kangaroo stew or turtle soup.

Dorrigo Train Museum

Sunday we went about like tourists. First stop was Dorrigo. There are a number of steam engines and carriages stored here waiting for bureaucratic red tape to unwind so they can get a working museum going. I decided to join the society to give a donation to the cause. If it ever gets up and running I will return.

Next stop was the Dorrigo National Park. Little bit overcast and drizzly but worth a visit. We travelled down the range to have a look at Bellingen, a town that closes at 2pm. I did get to look at some leather work and I finally found some Pepsi Max. Haven't seen it anywhere in Ebor, back up the range where I shouted a pub dinner. I've been keeping Mushgang up past his bedtime and it's taking its toll.

From skywalk at National park

Monday no parcel coming so we head to Armidale to do my resupply shopping. Excellent coffee shop. There was a storm through here halfway from Ebor and it looked like a tornado touched down. There was a 50metre or so wide path of destruction over the hill. And lots of trees down beside the road. I shopped for all the things I think I need and we returned to Ebor. Caught a rabbit but we had Aldi chicken pieces for dinner. Mushgang eventually swapped the rabbit for two trout. Made sure I was gone though.

I can't thank Mushgang enough for putting me up for the weekend and listening to my dribble. We had some laughs and solved nothing but the discussions were great. He is a great ambassador for the trail and an angel to us travellers.

Tornado path over the hill

Mushgang requires you to catch your own dinner

Day 158 Ebor

Up the first part

NSW Day 16 (158) Friday 29th October, 2021 21.5km walking 38.1km total

3141.3 / 1957.6km

Bit drizzly this morning but nice and cool for the climb out of the valley.

I pack up and start the climb. The book says it in a couple of stages. Going to be climbing McDonald's Ridge and gaining about 500 metres in height over the first couple of kilometres.

As I climb it rains and the clouds move across in patches, I take photos when I can and walk as best I can.

The initial climb finishes in about 2.5 kilometres but then you meander across the ridge gradually getting higher and higher peaks. Each time I get up top of one I think "surely this is it?" but I think it's about 5 more peaks before I stand on the tallest part of the Ridge. I then cross some open farmland where I picked up a herd of cows then finally a road.

Clear view back down

The weather report talked about severe thunderstorms and hail with reports some hail the size of golf balls. I hot foot it down the road calculating in my head how long it would take me to get to Ebor. With daylight saving I might have to walk an hour on the dark but I would need to cover nearly 40 kilometres. I'm a bit slow coming up the ridge and I was running all the scenarios through my head when a car came down the road. As usual I walk into the gutter but the car stops down the road. I start walking and a man jumps out and starts taking a picture of me. It dawns on me this must be Mushgang from Ebor. He had heard the weather warning and asked Belinda where I was and came out to meet me. He had bought out a meat pie and a coffee and since I was close to the designated campsite we went there to have a chat.

Up some more

In the end I decided to get a lift the last 13 or so kilometres into Ebor. I had a parcel of food being delivered to Mushgang but it was Friday and it has gone missing. So I decided to stay at Mushgang's until Mondays post before I shopped the 11 days of supplies I need to get to Nundle.

Mushgang lives very basic outside of town and the daily charge for a bed was within my budget. He has some good set-ups that gave me a hot shower. Then he offered to take me to Armidale to meet Dermot, a bicycle rider doing the trail.

We had a chat some fast food a drink at the pub and visited a bottle shop for some port. All better than a long walk in a storm.

Looking across to Marengo Falls I think?

Well actually the storm didn't eventuate over Ebor but that's not my fault. As tired as I was Mushgang kept me up till midnight and we made a fairly big dent in the port. I slept like a baby in Mushgang's shed and appreciated every drop of rain that hit the roof.

Up top had a following

Road to Ebor

Day 157 Guy Fawkes cont.

Early morning

NSW 15 (157) Thursday 28th October, 2021 18.8km

3103.2 / 1995.7 km

Follow

Today is more of the same as yesterday. I relax a bit as it is hot and from lessons learnt yesterday I just follow the Brumby tracks and try not to second guess. There are many river crossings to do and most of them I am able to cross without taking my boots off. The deeper ones I spend the time in removing the boots and carrying. Then there are the crossings that are a bit iffy. Should I or shouldn't I. A little diversion here a jump there and it should be OK. It is until it isn't and I risk it one to many times and end up knee deep in the river with my boots on. So for those trail runner aficionados you can now say I told you so. Yep the boots will take a while to dry. However today is the first day in 3000 or so kilometres I will need to walk with wet feet. Leather forever.

Water everywhere

Each crossing brings small or large flat meadows. Some have 1 or 2 Brumbys. I saw groups of 4 but the largest groups seem to be either end of this walk. I saw a group of about 12 coming into the park and I'm following a group that looks upwards of 20.

How big are the fish in the river in the river
if this is the lure

I miss the Combalo Hut ruins and an Orange tree. I did come across a National Park trail sign. I think it was Chaelundi trail and it's part of a wilderness trail from a camp spot up top. You come down Jordan's Trail up the river and leave via Chaelundi trail. If nothing else I might come do that with family. It is beautiful down here.

One of the ponds

I came across a flat that I called the butterfly meadow. There were hundreds of these brown and orange spotted butterflies trying to mate I thought. I stopped and had rest for a while watching (can you perve on butterflies?) I was watching two do a dance around each other then just as I think she agreed a willy wagtail snapped him out of the air. She went seconds later to a different bird. I'm glad we shut the blinds.

Stopped after a crossing

I then come across some Yards. There were three sets I saw altogether. Apparently to catch cattle and horses. I decide to go past the designated spot as the boots are wet so I might just get all the crossings out of the way and camp at base of McDonald's Ridge.

Last river crossing

The last walk up is Marengo Creek. I chase a herd of cattle and a group of four horses. But I come to the bottom of the Ridge and set up the tent. The horses, after a bit of snorting and stamping decide to head back to the river. The Guy Fawkes River has actually been quite warm, or should I say not chilly. I could sit in it and splash about quite comfortably. The Marengo Creek on the other hand was very chilly. Took a lot of effort to sit in the water even though I was hot.

Anyway boots on a rock in the sun, clothes washed and hanging. Horses gone away. Herd of cows happy elsewhere and dinner on. Rest for the climb tomorrow. Weather warnings for tomorrow as well.

Camp beside Marengo Creek

The ridge line up tomorrow

Day 156 Guy Fawkes River National Park

The tracks disappear

 NSW Day 14 (156) 17.5km

3084.4 / 2014.5km

Today I head into the wilderness of the Guy Fawkes River National Park. The trail follows the river for the next couple of days.

Pig rootings

After my broken sleep I head off feeling a little tired and within a half hour lose a supposed management trail that should follow the river initially. I was following a two wheel track that just disappeared in amongst a Brumby pad and pig diggings. It happens on some rarely used trails and I assumed I was going to see signs of it again later. For now I'll follow brumby pads and keep the river in sight. How hard can it be?

The culprits

I would soon learn. The river itself is very beautiful, of course I'm coming through when it's nice and low. There is this nice patch of water, which meanders its way through a bed of mainly stones on the inside of the banks on every meander there is a Sheoak forest that is decimated each flood and catches all the debris and the outside is a vertical cliff of rock rising in some cases 100s of metres vertical. So of course you have to navigate up my crossing the river onto the inside portions many times.

Need a fishing rod

Now just outside of the debris filled forest of sheoak is flat piece of land but initially there is a lot of Lantana, BlackBerry, and all other prickly concoction. This pushes you up to 100 metres away from the river proper. I make a few mistakes by staying too long on one side and going up some rises only to end up at the top of a cliff.

Can't get enough of these views

Within a couple of hours I come to trust the Brumby. There are a lot of pads criss crossing the area but I generally find the most used one and follow. It gives me a path through some of the prickle outbreaks but it also gives me a clue when it heads down to the river when it's time to cross.

The trail

The trail at one stage stops following the river and goes up a creek and then you spend the next hour pushing through Lantana and blackberry or stumbling on the rocks of the creek bed. It's called the long gully and it could be a short cut or it misses a really messy part of the river. At the top of the gully you then have to go down the other side. It is much steeper and in the end I zagged instead of zigging and ended up 100 metres above the river. Made a good photo but then I had to go back up and get it right. Even then the trip back down the creek was only made safe by a Brumby pad zig zagging its way down a near vertical slope. Don't get rid of the Brumbys.

Sorry more river

Brumbys

It's very hot down in the valley and I enjoy the river when I can. I soon get into the rhythm of crossing the river and following the brumby track then doing the river again. I missed the Little Plains Campsite but continued on into the afternoon knowing I had a river to cool down in at the end of the day. Eventually I found a little island that I thought would be out of the way of any nocturnal animal movement. Trouble was I set the tent up and missed I was right near a stinging nettle. It was only a small plant but as soon as I took my boots off I brushed against it and I had my foot and ankle in some discomfort.

A trap or a way across. 

Today was tough. On some climbs down I realised I'm a long way from help if I fall. Tomorrow I'm going to trust the Brumby and hopefully not have too many mistakes. One lesson learned today was if I make a mistake, climbing down cliff faces is not the remedy. Backtrack and get it right.

My little island tent site. No snorting this night.

Day 155 Guy Fawkes National Park

 NSW Day 13 (155) Tuesday 16th October, 2021 23.3km

3066.9 / 2032km

Up at the crack of dawn. I want to get to the National Park at least today. The day is mostly road pounding so I can zone out again.

I am trying to get as much done in the cool hours of the morning. Then I can pick and choose after lunch how far I want to go in the warmer parts of the day. I have to be ready for bed just after sundown as the nights are getting shorter and I need to give myself a chance at a good sleep.

The morning walk through rural properties provides a good backdrop . I get to a telephone exchange and get just enough signal to receive a text message. So still can't upload photos. Looks like i won't get signal now till I climb back out of the Guy Fawkes National Park.

I pass an old war memorial. The book says the building was a hall but now it looks like it's been converted to a house and the people have a little hobby farm.

A few more hours walk bring me 1 kilometre from the Newton Boyd rodeo grounds, the official campsite. I turn off down the track to the National Park. I want to do a couple of river crossings today. The level of water at those will determine how wet I'm going to get further up. As long as it doesn't rain of course.

As I'm wandering down the track I get an urge for chocolate cake and milk. Not just a piece but a whole cake or maybe I can eat half the batter before baking. Some of Belinda's cakes have looked a little sad when she's taken her eye off the mix before she gets it into the oven. Surprising how much one finger can lift out. The other thing is a deep drink of Pepsi Max. You know the guzzle that burns your throat and makes your eyes water. Followed by the guttural belch that clears the pipes. Or a cold cherry ripe. Not fussy really.

I finally get to the first river crossing. At this point it's the Boyd River. I take off my boots and it's about mid shin deep. I walk the couple of hundred metres in my Adidas slip ons. That depth is a little deeper just below the knee. I pass some shacks above the river crossing, lots of mess and old cars. They have a beautiful spot but mar it with human ugliness. About another kilometre I'm through the gates into the National Park. My intention is to get to some grassy flats beside the river and camp. As I'm walking down the hill there are those piles of horse poo that show a lot of horses are in here. When I get to the flats I disturb about 10 or 12 Brumby's. They take off as they see me but in the middle of the night there was a lot of stamping of hooves and snorting keeping me awake. I got my head torch out and shone it at them and they galloped off and left me alone for the rest of the night.

I thought I would hear the water bubbling away but the wind blew and the swish it makes as it goes through the sheoaks was all I got to hear. It rained a little.

Day 154 Mann River

The road winding down

 NSW Day 12 (154) Monday 25th October, 2021 21km

3043.6 / 2055.3km

Shower of rain as I'm getting up. I've decided whilst I'm walking roads to continue with shorts as I can shed heat quickly. Not so good on these mornings where it's a bit chilly, the only solution is to move.

A view down the valley

Today I'm losing the altitude I gained two days ago. Not to worry, in a week I have to climb it all again. I get about 2 hours in before I see my first vehicle and it's the school bus coming up the range. The continual descent begins to make my shins ache. I thought I was going past an accident site when I see a sign on a tree but it's just some local naming one of the hairpins "Leprecorner"

I get down to the Mann River camping area. I was thinking of staying here instead of up top. Only two caravans, at $6 a site I thought there would be more . There is only about 10 sites but looks OK if you want to tackle the road. Just past here I did come across a memorial for a motorcycle rider. After all the twists and turns he crashes on a straight stretch although it's a sharp hump then into a causeway.

Some joker likes this hairpin

The road then leaves the Mann River and goes around a Ridge to follow Leather Jacket Creek. When it meets the Mann River again I decide to have a good wash and laundry. I meet a couple on motorbikes who are camped further down the road and are exploring. I'm glad I was not standing naked, lathered up, when they arrive but are soon after they leave. Huggies baths can only get you so far. No, it wasn't in the river. I pull the water out and use my filter bag without a filter to make a shower. Even though I'm going to sweat again this afternoon I prefer to do it in the warmth of the day. Then I can put my wet clothes back on and they dry as I walk. I don't like wet clothes in the cold of the morning.

Mann River camp area

I put in another 6 or 7 kilometres to camp at Blacks TSR (travelling stock route). It had a grassed patch with clean dam water. I had had enough for the day. The mountains around provide a great backdrop to the views.

Memorial to bike rider

New bridge across Mann River at Wytaliba

Back on the Mann River had a wash

No fishing

Looking up the valley

Blacks TSR

DAY 153 to the Gwydir HighwayIn

The track leaving Leamon's Hut

 NSW Day 11 (153) Sunday 24th October, 2021 26.4km

3022.6 / 2076.3km

After the excitement of the last week today is a bit of a road slog to the Gwydir Highway and my resupply bucket. If that has been compromised its a 34 kilometre slog to Glenn Innes.

In the shadow is the remains of a chimney. 
Imagine all the sweating and cursing that goes
into making these. Atleast they stand as a legacy
to the hard work.

I move out fairly early and there is a cold wind blowing but it's at my back which makes the walking much easier. It also keeps the flies away. I've pulled out the fly net once so far and find it hot to walk in but it saves those times when the flies dart into your eyeballs.

The station track eventually meets a gravel road and I get about 10 kilometres in before breakfast. I stop by a Telstra telephone exchange for breakfast hoping a localised 4g antenna was inside but no luck.

The track winding up to the road

When walking these roads I zone out and get into a rhythm. I noticed my sister has looked at my photos. Long time between visits there. I've got to be nicer to family.

My head goes funny places on these plods and I even lose arguments I have with myself.

Before too long I'm coming down the road to the highway looking for the spot I put the bucket out. Wondering if I had missed it then seeing the spot. Closer to the highway than I thought, I should have taken a GPS reading. When I walk over it is still hidden which I gingerly uncover in case of snakes and there it is. Not a mark on it.

The road

I carry it up the highway as I noticed a school bus stop and a bin. I open it up and I've loaded 7 days food in it which is more than enough now to have trouble on the next section. I rearrange the pack and load up and set off south again. Instead of staying at the Gwydir Highway TSR camp I move 5km down the road to a grassy spot beside a creek. I can see cars going past but that stops on dark and all is quiet. Not the best spot to find a level site not under some very large trees blackened in a recent bushfire but I'm not going back so I make do.

Telephone exchange

My bucket is up in the rocks

The bucket

The track leaves the road and goes down
beside a pine forest. Much quieter.