Wog Wog to the Castle Walking Trail- a spring time jaunt.

So we are home- my legs feel slightly detached-not particularly sore just that faint hint of jelly legs- you know the sensation you get when you have been travelling downhill for a while. My hip joints feel sort of loose, my shoulders definitely feel light now that my pack has been removed, and I'm carrying a general sense of fatigue.Yep three days walking in the Budawangs is a bit taxing!

We started out on Saturday morning from the Wog Wog camping ground which is about 650 m above sea level and accessed from Northangra Rd of the Kings Hwy on the way to Braidwood.

Map one shows the beginning of the track and the first 8klms of the walk.

The first set of tears were shed at Wog Wog creek when skinny miss twelve (Tannar) couldn't get the pack adjusted to suit her body and all the weight was on her shoulders. I was built like that when I was wee and nothing that should fit does. I swapped packs with her- the one I got as a skinny teen adjusted to her waist size and from there on in it was good walking.

The beginning of the track winds its way through lovely open woodland that has that high country feel to it with small pale barked gums that look a little like snow gums. It doesn't seem to take long though before you are up into escarpment heath and it was spectacular.

It opened up before us in  flowering glory, tea tree being the dominant at this point- the one with the giant pale pink flowers, Epacris, Tetratheca, yellow melalueca and the remnants of Pattersonia were in abundance.I love the soft curling furls of new growth on ferns.

 The walking path showed signs of the wet winter with soft spongy spots and some great puddles for jumping. The duck boards seemed to be floating and a step in the middle would end up with a submerged foot. The first 8ks were fairly easy going with some great views emerging the further into the plateau we got, especially around Korra Hill and Corang Peak.

This second map joins the previous and is marked at the 8k mark the x is our first night camp in caves.

The Corang Arch is a spectacular feature we stopped here for a while and soaked up the ambiance and watched a storm coming in on us. The break was a good opportunity to fish out the wet weather gear and fill up on fuel. Unless you have hours to wait for the right light and a fantastic wide lens its difficult to capture the grandeur of the place so the pics end up just a reminder of good times with good friends.

Corang Arch

Mick on top of Corang Arch

The storm came in on us and we got wet but not drowned as it wasn't too heavy- I felt kind of vulnerable being the highest thing at the highest point but we did descend fairly quickly into the valley below Profile Rock which was  fairly thick with grass  and sedge. We pushed on through the rain rather than take shelter and headed for the caves where we camped the night. It was a big overhang, nice and dry and plenty of sandy spots for sleeping mats. we arrived fairly early and we couldn't wait for the sun to go down so that we could go to sleep. The storm kept up for a little while but the lightening was obscured from our view. Kiah and I checked out the little creek and brought back some extra water for cups of tea. The moon was just of full so it was certainly a bright night -it almost felt like daylight when I woke up and seemed to be beaming straight into the cave. I like sleeping outdoors the temperature was good- cool enough to want to snuggle right down into the bag but still have that hint of a breeze on your face. We all slept long but not always deep.

Day two we wanted to get into Monolith Valley and then around to Cooyoyo camp site just below the Castle. We left camp and got warmed up nicely on a not to steep rise, but that didn't last long as the ascent became steep but not vertical. Its lovely to stop at the vantage points along the track and look back at where you have come from. The ascent up Mt Cole was tough going as parts where almost vertical and a nice long break in a cave served us well for the hard push through the gap into Monolith Valley.

The pass between Mt Cole and the South west corner of Donjon looks much worse than it is- but a chicken like me is very glad of the vegetative cover which somehow makes the height/steepness so much more bearable than just naked rock. I'm not particularly agile on rock hops but I hope I make up for it in my ability to just keep going no matter how slowly.

Monolith Valley certainly has the WOW factor, a relic of milenia ago- seeing the little sign in the middle of nowhere extolling the ancient connections is out of context - but then again it is a national park. The valley of the monoliths really is something prehistoric, its been a wise move to try and minimise the human impact by restricting visits to day visits only. The moss and lichens look like take ages to grow but then there is a feeling of rain forest vastness which again seems out of context at 800m- I guess because we are so used to looking at dry eucalyptus forest it seems so weirdly green.

And just when you think you cannot gasp anymore at the beauty another spectacular sight opens up for you. With the moisture levels higher than they have been in a while there was a metronome of drips creating the background beat. It certainly was a highly pleasant few hours and warrants a return trip just to soak up the bits that we know we have missed. But with all deadlines we had to move on.

We got to the fork in the road well its more like a major intersection but without any signposts! I think we tried every option before we almost decided to camp, but we bumped into two gents who seemed to be going for a jog who told us that our first choice was the right one. So we headed back onto one of the most twisting turning parts of the track, which is quite difficult to get landmarks and bearings on when tackled from our one way direction- it seems more obvious on the reverse journey to what we were doing. Its an extraordinary track and really makes you think -how did it get there in the first place!

The last 500m of that 11 hour walking day felt soooo loong and as we fell into Cooyoyo camp we didn't feel like taking a single step more so forgot about the comforts of the cave and set up on the ground hoping that the weather didn't turn sour during the night.

Luckily it held and of course we had a very early sun up start for the descent down the Castle Cooyoyo face. Its like a giant stair case with not many landings every step is downhill with very little on flat ground certainly a test for the thighs and knees. But the real prize is the surroundings you are forced to go carefully and savour each new bend in the landscape and the early morning mistiness just made the landscape look like the quintessential Australian postcard all blue eucalyptus forest and a dramatic landscape.

We made it to the saddle before the riping hot westerly started tearing down the valley and spent the last part of journey making sure that we were well marinaded in our own juice! The cool river was tantalisingly close and something to look forward to- soaking our manky selves and feet. We passed some other walkers who were feeling the effects of the hot wind but had such a long way to go, we hoped they had plenty of water.

The final part of the walk takes you down through magnificent rain forest on the banks of the river its so dense and cool it inspires you to stay. When we arrived at the river we all silently stripped of our weary outer layer to revive the inner and only opened our mouths with a woop as we hit the icy cool water. It was like ice therapy on worn muscles, sheer delight and a great way to end a fun filled, magical few days. Cant wait for the next adventure

http://youtu.be/CYth-Hn43t4