Mount Solitary

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Mount Solitary is a mountain situated in the Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 100 kilometres west of Sydney, capital of New South Wales, and a few kilometres south of Katoomba, the main town in the Blue Mountains.^[1]

Contents 1 Description 2 Activities 3 Dangers 4 References

[edit] Description

Mount Solitary is located in the middle of the Jamison Valley, one of the main valleys of the Blue Mountains, which is found immediately south of Katoomba.^[2] It is probably called Solitary because it is the only mountain in the valley. It is a long, low mountain of sandstone (the Blue Mountains being a predominantly sandstone area), stretching across the valley from west to east. Its top is approximately five kilometres long; counting its lower slopes, it would be approximately ten kilometres long. It is approximately 950 metres high at its highest point.^[3] It is covered in Eucalypt forest, with a small group of pine trees at the western end. Small but rugged pockets of semi-rainforest are found along its slopes, particularly where water gathers in gullies. Snow is known to fall occasionally on the high points during winter.

[edit] Activities

Mount Solitary is a popular spot for bushwalking, although its ruggedness makes it unsuitable for anyone but fit walkers. It is reached via a track which begins at the so-called Golden Stairs, which are found a few kilometres south-east of Katoomba. At the bottom of the Golden Stairs is a track that goes south-east towards the lower slopes of Mt Solitary. Along the way there is a turn-off for the Ruined Castle, a rock formation on a ridge above the track. In this vicinity there is also the sealed opening of an old coal mine on the west side of the track. On the east side of the track, down a slope, there is a large clearing which was once home to the mining community and which can still be used for camping.

The track then ascends the lower slopes of the mountain and is quite rocky and steep in places. At the top, it flattens out for a while before going down into Chinamans Gully. Here there is a large rock shelter known to some as Chinamans Cave.^[4] The rock shelter was once an Aboriginal occupation site, but is nowadays used by campers. A short distance to the south, there is a lookout known as Melvilles Lookout, which affords sweeping views across the southern part of the Blue Mountains National Park and Kanangra-Boyd National Park.

On the east side of Chinamans Gully, the track goes another three kilometres along fairly level ground before plunging down the eastern slopes of the mountain. Immediately before this spot, there is a rocky spot just off the track which provides dramatic views of the valley. There is also a visitors' log book that is replaced occasionally by experienced walkers.^[5] The track goes downhill for a few kilometres and then comes to the Kedumba River; the track is rather faint but has been marked somewhat by bushwalkers.^[6] Campers usually spend the night at a sandy spot by the river, then trudge out of the valley to the Kings Tableland, from where it is several kilometres to the nearest town, Wentworth Falls. The trek from the Golden Stairs to Wentworth Falls is quite popular and is used occasionally by school groups, but it is only suitable for fit walkers. It takes at least three days for most people.

Apart from campers, many people use the area for one-day walks. The most popular of these is the walk from the Golden Stairs to the Ruined Castle and back. Some people also do the return trip from the Golden Stairs to the top of Mount Solitary and back, which requires more fitness because of the steep grades on the western slopes.

[edit] Dangers

Mount Solitary is rugged terrain and the track is quite patchy in places. It has never been marked or signposted, except by bushwalkers, and there has never been a real upgrade, except for the efforts of bushwalkers.^[7] There is a real possibility of losing the track if care is not taken. Going up the western slopes, it is not difficult to wander from the track and creep around the north face of the mountain. Going west along the top, the track is reasonable, but care should still be taken. Going down the eastern slopes to the Kedumba River, the track used to be virtually impossible to follow, but is now a bit clearer because of work done by bushwalkers. In the event of losing the track in this section, you simply keep going downhill and you will come to the Kedumba River.

However, it is not always so simple, as is shown by the case of David Iredale, who lost the track while on the Katoomba to Wentworth Falls trek with friends in December, 2006. Apparently he had always been in the habit of walking on ahead and waiting for the others to catch up. On this occasion, however, the others could not find him and a search began. He made calls to "000" on his mobile phone, but an extensive search was unsuccessful. After several days, they finally found his body approximately 200 metres north of the track, somewhere above the Kedumba River. It seems that he had lost the track and gradually perished. No-one knows for sure how it happened, because all he had to do was keep going downhill and he would have come to the river. It is likely that he became fatigued and disoriented, causing him to lose his bearings and start going the wrong way. David's death is tragic proof that Mount Solitary is a potentially dangerous place, and no-one should ever become separated from their group. Even on one-day walks to the top of the mountain, losing the track could be a serious business if one were stuck out in the middle of winter.^[8]

[edit] References