Mount Solitary Loop (39k Solo Hike), Blue Mountains NP, Australia
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- čas přidán 16. 10. 2023
- I spent 3 days hiking in the Blue Mountains taking on the Grade 5 Mount Solitary loop starting in Katoomba. The circuit took in Ruined Castle, Mount Solitary, Kedumba River and valley and a long slog back up to Katoomba.
This loop is a Grade 5 hike with over 2000m of ascent.
Did this fifty years ago not far from where I lived. Very rare to encounter another soul.
I heard that it also used to be pretty hard to navigate up. I guess now the trail is more defined it's attracting a lot more day trippers!
Great trip Claire. You captured that really well. It’s a tough climb up to Mount Solitary but epic! Thanks for taking us along.
Claire that was a tough walk,good on you for hanging in there.. Thanks for taking us along. I doubt I would have been able to finish it.
Thanks Wayne! It was definitely a tough walk and made harder with the hot weather. I find that once you embark on these hikes and your only real option is to keep going (as there are no quick get out side trails), your body will adapt and somehow get you through it. I enjoyed meeting other hikers on the second day and we sort of pushed each other through the last two days!
great video showing it is as tough as I remember it.
Nice. We used to senic rail down, find a spot and cross the Jamison valley to the cole face up, across, down the knife edge and back. Started walking it in 1973 😊 great memories. The valley is tough frankly
Thanks Claire. Realistic walk video. We prefer the camp spot just before the descent on the other end of Mt Solitary. Great rock windbreak . No water though.
Ah yes! I also camped at Chinamans gully. Stopped at the first campsite for a break and then moved on. No water anywhere on the top it seems (despite some old maps indicating otherwise)
Thanks for documenting and sharing, that was great 😊
Well done 👍🏻✅😊
It hasn't changed much in 40years except more people
Epic climb up to Mt Solitary. Great walk thanks for the video.
I’m glad I saw this. I was thinking about this hike, but I would die at the end.
Epic. Much respect.
In 2006, David Iredale died doing this walk. He and his friends took a lot of water but ran out by they time they got to Chinaman's Gully, where their guidebook told them they would find water (a forlorn hope in the middle of summer). How much water did you take? David took the wrong route down and died of thirst and heat exhaustion before he could get to the river (being thirsty can reduce your ability to think clearly). That's why National Parks suggest you use the Ruined Castle campground, which they improved after David's demise and does have a water tank. Is the track from Chinaman's to the river obvious? Great video, the first one I've seen that shows the route down to the river. You can walk all the way to the end of the fire trail for a slightly easier climb up the stairs leading to the Solitary cafe (assuming that track hasn't been closed). Pretty amazing to see you go back up the Furber steps instead of taking an easier option!
Thanks for bringing this story to my attention Christopher. I spent some time reading the news pieces about this and it's a very sad story for that young lad David and his friends. They, unfortunately, didn't have enough water between them and they ran out, it was an extremely hot day as well and David got separated from his friends and became delirious. It also was tragic to read about the emergency services poor response to Davids mobile calls to them, he could have been saved if they had responded well. I'd like to feel that we've advanced somewhat since 2006 in emergency response, and also the availability of PLB's for bushwalkers. I also feel national parks do a much better job of trail grading and setting expectations for the walk and level of skill needed. Now if you go to NP's website they suggest you camp at Ruined Castle on day 1 as it has tanks, as you have pointed out. This is great for less experienced bush walkers.
I walked this on a very hot weekend, I took 6 litres with me for day 1 and over night and this was just about sufficient. You do drink A LOT on the Mount Solitary ascent, its hard and worse in the heat. The trail is well signposted (and apparently that's quite new). Unfortunately there are still websites that claim there is water at Chinamans Gully.. there isn't. Water is at Ruined Castle or the Kedumba River which is large and flows well. After that there are several creek crossings which should provide water for day 3.
Actually, it wasn't extremely hot, it was 32 degrees but there wasn't any wind, shade was limited and the humidity in the Blue Mountains averages 75% - so it seemed like it was extremely hot. Yes, the 000 call procedures were changed after that incident, but they do get a lot of crank calls so it was standard practice to ask where the nearest cross street was - and not to take it too seriously if a serious reply wasn't forthcoming. Those creek crossings you mention are fed by urban runnoff and possible sewage (or old sewage pipes and sewage treatement plants) so treat the water carefully! Six litres, that's a lot of weight, you must have been glad to have got rid of it!
Hi Claire, great video and very informative, thanks! Was wondering what time of year you did it? Was thinking of doing it around October long weekend to beat the heat!
Hey! Glad you enjoyed the video. I also did the hike at the same time you planned, October long weekend. However last year we head a heatwave over that weekend and I ended up having the second day in the mid 30's so it was much harder. The last day was short and we got out before the heat of the day kicked in.
Day 1 and overnight is the hardest as that's when you have to carry the most water, there's nothing at all up on the plateau of Mt.Solitary (despite maps indicating a small flow at Chinamans gully). I think I carried about 5-6 litres in all as I got through 3 just climbing up on day 1 because of the heat.
Nice! we're doing it tomorrow
Hi Carlos , how was it . Doing next week and wondering if the track was ok . I have been told there were quite a lot of landslide at the beginning
@@pierreyvessouesme1272 hmm not sure exactly which area they were referring to. There's an area called Landslide area a few minutes after scenic rails, obvs be careful, but that area during this summer with low rain and good sun should be very solid enough, as it was when I did it. That is the only area I could think of unless something new happened (doubt it) recently. The trail is very nice, the second day is quite monotonous, it is all through the fire trail, no change in scenery, but overall awesome thing to do. I'll prob do it again soon.
The best part is def Day one (doing it anti clockwise), second day is a physical and mental test for sure
thank you @@carlosluque4753 , really appreciate the feedback
@@pierreyvessouesme1272 Actually, double check the alerts because there might have been a landslide after all. It says: "Federal Pass between Scenic World and Golden Stairs is closed due to a landslide." You can still start from Golden stairs rather starting from Federal Pass
Good point , I’ll probably skip the bottom section up to golden stairs . Apparently a large landslide as occurred during this Christmas break . Have do your hike before ?
If you do not manage your water and timing correctly this walk can literally kill you! It has done so in the past!