Ever since reading Jim Smith’s wonderful book about the Lindeman Pass I’ve been captivated by this historic walking track that links Roberts Pass at Wentworth Falls with the Federal Pass at Leura. This track has suffered from a series of unfortunate events which have meant that it’s never become a popular tourist track, despite its obvious beauty and the convenience of joining with other well-established tracks. On previous forays I had walked the eastern section between Gladstone Pass and Roberts Pass and the western section from Copeland Pass to Leura Falls, but I was desperately keen to explore the remaining middle section.
My opportunity came on Sunday when I had a few hours to myself. Despite my leisurely start, the Jamison Valley was still shrouded in heavy cloud when I arrived at Moya Point around 10.30am.
The track below Moya Point was as lovely as always. I have been on this track many times now and have never encountered another person there. A giant eucalypt had recently fallen, having completely rotted through from the inside. While the tree itself landed below the track, there was a lot of debris littering a large section of forest where it had come crashing down through the canopy.
At the track junction I turned right, on to the start of the Lindeman Pass. The ubiquitous sound of a nearby helicopter shattered the otherwise peaceful forest. It looked like a search and rescue operation at Wentworth Falls, but hopefully it was just a training exercise.
As I rounded the tip of Inspiration Point I suddenly entered the cloud and was transported into another world. The cliffs above me were misty sillouettes that looked somewhat ominous in the hazy light, and the coachwood forest around Lawton’s Creek had a very magical appearance.
After leaving Lawton’s Creek I walked out of the cloud layer again, and was greeted with views of a sea of cloud lapping against the walls of Inspiration Point.
This section of the track was familiar, but I had never walked it in this direction before, so I still experienced some of the excitement of a new discovery. I crossed Gladstone Creek just below a pretty little waterfall, and soon arrived at Dash’s Cave. I was surprised to discover that there were no new entries in the visitors book since my previous one almost a month ago.
After leaving Dash’s Cave I finally entered new territory. The track was well blazed (some would say excessively blazed) but not having been there before I was glad for the relatively easy route-finding. I’d previously sent some experienced friends along this track and they had returned with tales of massive landslides and impenetrable lawyer vines. Other accounts I’d read described the dense rainforest, innumerable leeches and overgrown track, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the track in better condition that I expected.
However there were still many sections of the original formation that have been destroyed through fire and landslides. The track meanders up and down quite a bit, apparently due to the small sum of money that was originally allocated to build the track. The trees ferns were plentiful, especially in the vicinity of the numerous creeks tumbling from the cliffs above.
After rounding the nose of Sublime Point I lunched at a beautiful spot that may, or may not, be Lindeman Rock. The afternoon sunlight was streaming into this part of the forest and giving it a gorgeous warm glow. I ate my leftover pizza while enjoying the peace of the bush, and after a pleasant break I continued on for a bit, trying to find the western pass up Sublime Point. Despite having descended this way previously, I was unable to locate it from the bottom and so instead followed the track that goes straight up the nose.
This section was again well marked, so I followed the pink ribbons upwards along the narrow ridge. I gained height quickly and negotiated a small scramble that had a fixed rope. It was all fairly straight-forward, but I eventually got to a point just below the main cliffline where I started to feel a bit exposed and mildly concerned that I still hadn’t rejoined the section of Copeland Pass that I was familiar with. The views out towards Mt Solitary were stunning, but my heart was starting to race a bit. I knew that I hadn’t climbed up anything I couldn’t reverse back down, but I really didn’t want to have to retrace my steps all the way back to Gladstone Pass at this late stage of the afternoon.
Luckily, almost as soon as I continued on from this point I met up with the western branch of the pass and simultaneously met another lone walker who was also heading up the pass. Both of these encounters reassured me and I was able to relax a bit more on the upper section of the climb. I just had a few more scrambles to negotiate with the help of some fixed ropes.
One of these climbs goes up through a dark hole in the cliff. The photos aren’t great, but you get the general gist of it. And you might also notice that my volleys are getting very close to retirement age!
With these little scrambles safely behind me, it just left a well-worm climber’s path among the casuarinas back up to the concreted lookout area of Sublime Point. After my peaceful four hours in the bush there were so many people at the top that I didn’t even bother walking the 20m or so to the lookout. It was too noisy and too much of an abrupt change from the quiet and solitude below the point, so instead I headed back along the road to where I’d parked my car at the Fairmont Resort.
Due to neglect and general lack of maintenance over the past 100 years, this middle, rainforested section along the eastern side of Sublime Point is in poorer condition compared with other sections of the Lindeman Pass. It has also suffered more from landslides obliterating parts of the original track. But despite this, there are still some very pretty sections. By linking the Valley of the Waters with the Federal Pass it makes all sorts of loops possible, including a grand circuit of the Jamison Valley, following the base of the cliffs all the way from Wentworth Falls to Narrowneck.
For anyone interested in reading a thorough account of the history of the Lindeman Pass and of the man, Charles Lindeman, who was its great ambassador, I highly recommend the 1990 publication titled Lindeman Pass: The Blue Mountains Mystery Track by local author, Jim Smith. This book is still available from Lamdha Books in Wentworth Falls for the absolute bargain price of $6. A wonderful walk and a wonderful read!
Sounds like an adventurous walk Jo. And such marvellous mist!