[SUBW-A] Trip report: Canyoning 22/9/02

[Mitchell Isaacs]

The party: Chris Dalton, Mitchell Isaacs

On an absolutely perfect spring Sunday we drove out onto the Newnes =
Plateau, parking near Mt Galah. We set off on foot on an old road for a =
few k's, admiring the warratahs as they were beginning to bloom.

After a short while, we dropped off into a pleasant gully, and continued =
along the creek for a little while, before our creek plunged into canyon. =
The canyon was large and majestic, with a few abseils, scrambles, jumps & =
slides, and only a few short, deepish wades. On one of the abseils, my =
over-zealous efforts to keep the rope out of a crack saw it jamb on =
another knobble of rock. After much effort was wasted on trying to =
retrieve the rope, out came the prussiks and up I went. Chris waited =
patiently, sipping hot chocolate, but fortunately it was only a short drop =
& it didn't take long to climb up & unjamb the rope.

We continued through the canyon, which only got better, until the end was =
reached for lunch. After a bit of discussion over which route out to take, =
we decided on a short climb with a fixed rope, leading us back into the =
same gully, but above the canyon section, leaving a straightforward walk =
back to the car, finishing at sunset. The perfect spring canyon!

Sunday's wisdom: Mountain holly & bare feet do not make happy bedfellows.