Passing through the Northern Gates of the Leven Canyon on what was a fairly damp and inclement day on the PCT.
Unfortunately the rain that had started yesterday afternoon had kept up over night, so I must of made a fairly forlorn sight as I trudged out of the wildlife park with all my wet weather gear on this morning. The first 12 kilometres of today's walk involved following some quiet roads until I reached Leven Canyon. The only advantage of the road walking was that it allowed plenty time to take in the rural views of Gunns Plains, the lush green paddocks with the River Leven meandering through the middle of the valley hemmed in by mountain ranges both sides meant there was always something to keep my interested. Initially the road passed by diary cattle farms, and then a little later passed some fields of hops interspersed with some native vegetation. I'd originally been debating in my mind whether I'd hitch this section although in the end all my mental gymnastics in regard to hitching were academic as I only had a couple of vehicles pass me along the whole 12 kilometres and those vehicles weren't stopping to pick up a wet and bedraggled bushwalker. The misty light rain continued for the 2.5 hours it took me to reach the entrance to Leven Canyon so by the time I headed back into the bush beside the River Leven I was pretty well wet.
I'm about to leave my warm and dry cabin at Wings Wildlife Park and head out into the misty light rain.
The road bash was pleasant enough - in a fairly uneventful way.
Nearing the end of the road walk I passed through some areas of native bush.
Once off the roads and heading into the canyon it quickly became apparent that Leven Canyon in the rain was going to be slow going. The canyon is an amazingly rugged place and the track has to take a tortuous route to get through it. The wind storm had obviously reached this far inland as once again I found myself negotiating numerous tree falls, only now the topography mostly prevented me from bypassing the obstacles. It certainly focussed my mind climbing over, under, and around trees while negotiating narrow ledges high above the river on a very rough track in the rain, all the time my pack wanting to pull me off the side of the canyon.
The PCT wasn't always down beside the river as I made my way through Leven Canyon.
The first big obstacle in the Leven Canyon was negotiating the Northern Gates. To get through here involved a steep climb of about 180 metres, the layers quickly came off under the Goretex as I sweated my way up hill although the views of the cliffs in the mist made the effort worthwhile I think. Once I was back down near river level the wet ferns and bracken were crowding the track a fair bit and I had to be very careful with foot placement, not only was the vegetation wet but it was also hiding wet rocks with about the same grip as wet soap. Oh yeah, and to top it off every step gave me another cold shower, still for some masochistic reason I was loving it. The River Leven along here was magnificent and wild and there was a few rough bush camping sites, with some swimming options I'm thinking that this would be good in summer.
I was down to thermals and rain gear trying to stay a little bit dry.
The tree falls in Leven Canyon presented a few obstacles in this steep country.
I was sometimes on hands and knees as I made my way through the canyon...
... pushing my pack infront of me as I made my way under fallen trees.
My speed in Leven Canyon was down to less than 1kph but progress was still being made, however after crossing Tulip-Tree Creek things got even more serious. I reached a rock face where I had to descend a narrow ledge with only wet rock and tufts of grass to hold onto. The exposure was probably only 15 to 20 meters but in the rain and with a big pack it certainly got my attention. It was with more than a bit of relief that I negotiated my way down the ledge safely and from there it wasn't far to my planned camp at Blackwood Camp. By mid afternoon I'd arrived at camp and had the tent up, filled in the North West Walking Club logbook (they maintain the trail) and cooked up an early dinner. I had been collecting water from side creeks and had plenty of water, so with the rain getting more persistent after finishing dinner and taking a couple of photos I retired to the tent for the night. It's one of the simple pleasures of bushwalking lying warm and dry in a tent with the rain gently falling onto the fly just above your head. Needless to say I slept very well.
The River Leven in Leven Canyon.
The River Leven in Leven Canyon - there are some nice swimming spots along here.
The Dirt.
I walked 17.4 kilometres and climbed 440 metres on this hard days walking. Over the two days that I'd been on the PCT I'd walked 37.2 kilometres and climbed 1310 metres. The first 12 kilometres today was a road bash although at least it went quickly, the last 5 kilometres were along a rough walking pad in Leven Canyon and my progress was slow indeed. Once off the road there were a few rough bush camps along the River Leven although the best spot was undoubtably Blackwood Camp. Water wasn't an issue once in the canyon although water from the river should probably be treated as the River Leven flows through some rural land above the canyon. The crux of today's walk was a short section where I had to descend a wet and narrow sloping ledge of rock, be very careful here.
Relevant Posts.
Blackwood Camp is the best spot to camp in the canyon I think.
I'm cold and wet... it must be time to crawl into the sleeping bag.
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