Date: Saturday 28th November
Track: Track head off Bell’s line of Road near Rigby Hill. A gentle stroll to and from Rigby Hill. Down Pierce’s Pass, (pretty steep), then along Hungerford’s track, following the Grose River, to Bluegum Forest. Hungerford’s track is an amazing feat, originally built by two men nearly a century ago, and still in good condition, albeit now modified and maintained by National Parks. The trail diverges off Hungerford’s track to follow the river down to Bluegum Forest. Very pretty but less well formed. Ascent via Du Faur Buttress (horribly steep, with big jump-ups) and Railway Steps to Lockley’s Pylon, then across Lygon Plateau (beautiful heath) to the Pinnacles. All up, (and down), about 16 kilometres.
Weather: Very misty and cool at the start, so we were unable to see the promised magnificent view from Rigby Hill. It warmed up, but stayed humid along the valley and started to rain not long after lunch in the Bluegum Forest. The ascent was in steady rain, and there was a stiff, cold breeze blowing across the plateau at the top, which made for spectacular swirling patterns of mist.
Access: This walk is logistically difficult. The finish point at the Pinnacles is 11km along a rough dirt road from Leura, where one or more cars must be left, before proceeding around to the starting point off Bell’s Line of Road in one or more other cars, depending on the number of walkers. Then, at the end, the car(s) at Pierce’s Pass have to be picked up.
That said, it’s well worth a bit of running around to be able to do a very special walk. We stayed overnight in Katoomba to rendezvous at 6.15 in Leura, but others got out of bed in the wee small hours and drove up from Sydney. If you stay in the mountains the night before, I can recommend the Two Birds IPA and the crocodile pizza at the Railway Bar and Woodfired Pizza in Katoomba!
Who: Peter, Diana, Julian, Roger and Jeff Rigby, David Matheson
Duration: About 8 hours of pretty steady slogging. We weren’t sure how long it would take, and budgeted 9 hours. The pace was comfortable down Pierce’s Pass and Hungerford’s track, just steady along the river to Bluegum Forest, but then, with the rain and poor visibility on the ascent, we pushed reasonably hard. On a fine day it would be nice to allow 10 hours, to enjoy the scenery more. We’ll definitely have to do the walk again sometime!
Comments: Where to start? Roger Rigby organised the walk, and what a privilege and pleasure to have his company, especially seeing that Roger and two friends rediscovered Hungerford’s Track in 1960, having found it marked on a military survey map dated 1938. The track had been long unused and lost to memory. Rigby Hill is named in Roger’s honour. He and brother Jeff have been walking for over fifty years, and have a wealth of knowledge to share.
It was wonderful to be able to pass through some largely unspoiled country, little travelled by day walkers and, even through the filter of fog and cloud, to appreciate its pristine magnificence! The walk was moderately physically challenging, and I had sore, stiff legs for a couple of days afterwards, but then I do admit to being in my sixties.
I was disappointed with not having had my trusty Canon camera (at the repair shop), because the quality of the photos I took on on my much-touted iphone 6S left a lot to be desired.
gotmebushed 