Kattomba to Mittagong - Day 1
Katoomba to Lake Birrell
- Day 1
- 15.6 km
- 4 hours 6 mins
- Total ascent 400m
- Total descent 592m
I have walked Narrow Neck many times and while it is quite pretty, I am at the point where I regard it as more of a trudge than and enjoyable walk.
I was a little annoyed to find that the start of Narrow Neck was closed to traffic. We had caught a taxi from the station and we had hoped to get a couple of kms down Narrow Neck before we had to walk.
As it turned out I enjoyed the walk and the views, and it felt like visiting an old friend.
Looking out along part of Narrow Neck, you can see a long fire trail stretching across the plateau, flanked by sweeping views to the east and west. At the far end of the plateau lies a cliff that must be negotiated at a spot known as Taro’s Ladder. The original ladder is long gone, so the descent now relies on metal rock spikes driven into the stone.
Even though I’ve tackled this route many times before, navigating a near-vertical drop with a fully loaded backpack never fails to get the adrenaline pumping. The climb itself is secure, offering solid hand and foot placements, but the exposure is real—a fall here would likely result in severe injury.
After touching down at the base of Taro’s Ladder, we hiked over Mount Debert, making our way toward Medlow Gap and our campsite for the night: Lake Birrell. Calling it a “lake” is admittedly generous. It’s essentially an old dam, built back in the day to support road construction for the nearby power lines. Still, it’s a remarkably scenic spot, so I’m happy to let the moniker slide.
David and I were a little conflicted about whether we shoudl walk from Katoomba Station and be purests or catch a taxi as far as we could. In teh end we sided with common sense and took a taxi to the start of Narrow Neck.
You can see from the hill profile above that nothing heroic went on that day. The cliff at the end of Narrow Neck is pretty obvious. After descedning Narrow Neck you walk over Mt Debert which was just enough to raise a sweat before descending further to Medlow Gap and Lake Birell, our camp sport.
