Trip report
| 2011-01-29 | Canyoning - Upper Bowens Creek South Branch at Pierce's Pass |
| Trip report: | |
| We had two parties; one group went in via Corkscrew canyon and the others down to Bowen Creek. Bowen Creek involved three short abseils and a few short swims. Corkscrew is supposed to be able to be done without abseiling. We left the cars and headed up along the road until we reached the ridge then we followed a fire trail taking the right fork heading along the ridge passing a large termite mound. We followed this and found a smaller track on the right down into the steep gully until we came to a cross made of sticks on the path. We took this as a sign that this was the wrong way so headed back up to the ridge. Jo discovered the radio she had been carrying had fallen out of her bag and ran back along the track to see if she could see it. We decided to use the GPS to determine the best entry point. After some bush bashing we eventually joined up with Bowens Creek and followed it down to the first abseil. The first abseil was from some slings around a tree on the right. It was a small abseil which went down to the creek again. Everyone changed into wetsuits, although it was still a bit warm, but we were glad as the next abseil meant getting wet. The second abseil is from a mass of slings on the right and ended in a pool. The third abseil was also anchored on the right from slings around a tree. It had a slightly tricky start to position yourself for an abseil down a short waterfall to a ledge in a pool. The canyon meets Corkscrew and we could see fresh volley prints and the water was stirred up, so the other group must be ahead. We were then met with an abseil/climb down a slippery log. There were grooves where ropes had been before, ideal to keep the rope in place. Everyone managed this with no trouble. All climbs that were a bit tricky, had hand lines put in to help people to get down. We continued on and it opened out into a lovely coachwood and sassafras forest. Harry spotted a baby brown snake across the path, but it was more wary of us so it didn’t hang around. We continued to see fresh foot prints so we decided to press on, rather that having lunch in the forest. We found a message from Elanor in the sand, so we continued on. By 2:00pm we were all getting a bit hungry so we found a sunny spot to warm up and refuel. The exit track for this canyon was a further 100m downstream with a note on a tree from the other group telling us what time they left. We were making so much noise the other party came back down to meet us. Rod said they ended up needing to abseil, but they hurried through because they thought we were ahead of us. I told them about losing the radio, so we decided to have a quick look when we got back to the cars. We took off our wetsuits and climbed out. This involved a steep walk up to several cliff lines. When we got to the second we needed to cross the creek, which we did after a bit of climbing which led no where. The track was obvious bending sharply into a gully where you climb through a hole. The track continues until you get to a rope to assist the final climb. You follow the track until you reach Bells Line of Road where Kate’s car was parked. After returning to the cars, some of us returned to the track into the canyon to try to find the radio. This was unsuccessful, so we returned to the cars and headed home. It was a lovely day. Harry and Callum completed their first canyon with no incidents. | |
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Photo Library » Canyoning » Mt Wilson Canyons » Bowens Creek » Bowens Creek South Branch 2011
Bowens Creek South Branch 2011
An abseil canyon commencing near Pierces Pass
We split into two groups, one entering via Corkscrew Canyon and the other via the usual Bowens Creek entry.
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Corkscrew Canyon
After the small abseil section in the upper part of Corkscrew Canyon
Corkscrew Canyon
Corkscrew Canyon
Bowens Creek South Branch
Bowens Creek South Branch
Coachwood forest in Bowens Creek South Branch Canyon
Bowens Creek South Branch
The last - wet - asbeil in Bowens Creek South Branch Canyon
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