Trip reports

Trip report

2011-05-07	Canyoning - Yileen Canyon at Pierces Pass
Trip report:
After leaving our cars at the bottom Pierces Pass carpark we headed up Bells Line of Road to the Mt Wilson turnoff. We walked along the old fire trail to the 1006 peak on the Mt Wilson map and then down the pad to the junction of the branches of Yileen Creek. We then suited up with our wets suits. We followed the creek down and encountered several climb downs. Although there were tapes left from another group at one of these we found we could climb down easily. We stopped a few times for photos. After some wades we arrived at the first significant abseil. We used our 30m rope for this. This abseil also has a bit of a fiddly final step and David emersed himself will Grant snapped some photos. After a few hundred metres we came to the second abseil. We were not sure if one 30m rope would do this so we put two ropes down. Very soon after this the canyon opened out into the grand last abseil with its magnificent view of the Grose River. We used two 60m ropes to do the full drop in one hit. We had lunch at the bottom of the last abseil. We then walked back along the base of the cliffs to the Pierces Pass track. For a relatively short canyon, Yileen has lots of variety. Those of us wearing 5mm wetsuits were fine, although those wearing 2.5mm wets suits began to get a bit cool - but the canyon was short enough and the group was efficient enough for this not to become a problem. This canyon was a good option for May, with a group that was experienced and adequately prepared for the cold. Due to rain in the last few weeks we found it was next to impossible to do this canyon without getting fully wet.