Turnaround - Part 2 - Expedition The River

*Please Note - I have revisited and edited these posts, removing/hiding names in response to input from our community.

If you haven't read the previous recount, this starts from where we left off at the end of 'Upstream - Part 1 - Expedition The River'. Having finally arrived at the confluence of A*** and The River.

The environment here was truly spectacular. Sitting on a gravel pile at this place was one of the few times I have felt, honestly remote and isolated. I say this having spent time in Wilderness within the Himalayas, the tropics of Northern Australia and Deserts of both Central and Southern Australia. Rarely do I feel moved, spiritually. Here, however I was feeling connected to a very old world, a welcoming and embracing world. More like home than any other place I have been.

Giant boulders are scattered around the valley floor

Willa and I got a fire going and ate noodles. We watched the clouds as they moved around above us, obscuring the mountaintops. More than once Willa commented on the steepness of the slopes surrounding us. These slopes were all that remained of a volcano that last erupted 19.5 million years and were once a kilometre underground.

The satellite communicator was able to provide us with a weather report. This was telling us showers and then a storm in another day. We sent messages to my parents in Victoria. We were still unable to contact Rainee at home. Willa was becoming increasingly concerned about her Mum.

Feeling very small in a large landscape

We had made camp early (again another thing we would be doing on most days). It felt nice to dry ourselves out. I took out my camera and took a couple of photos, however I was actually feeling too overwhelmed by the grandeur of my surrounds to engage fully with the process. Willa lay around and crawled on rocks. There was ocassional rays of sun to keep us warm. She worked on her journal. Willa was doing a pencil rubbing of a leaf at each place we spent the night. I tried to write in my journal, but I was too distracted by the natural environment around me.

The water was a special kind of clear. It all feeds from wooded hills. None of it in this section is fed from farmland. The escarpment above here all runs back west. We continued to drink unfiltered water straight from the bubbling water. The river is loud. Very loud.

On the morning of the third day we discussed our options. Our hiking thus far had taken way longer than anticipated. I was hopeful that once we we followed the river away from the combined flow from A***s creek, the hiking would become easier. Our main point of discussion was whether to just take a small pack, leaving the bulk of our equipment at the camp we were at. This would mean we could move quickly. Or continue with the plan of carrying our gear and camping further up. Willa was commited to the original plan which was camping further upstream.

Preparing to push for 'The Source'

The days hike started immediately with a shallow crossing directly followed by a deeper swift water crossing of A***s. Once into The River, the flow had reduced as anticipated. The valley sides were however becoming steeper.

A very short distance we reached a deep pool filled by a 4m high set of falls. I initially tried wading around the edge but started to sink in the rotting leaf matter that had collected. Willa pushed a trail around the side and I retreated and joined her. There was an animal trail of sorts going around the falls in the bush. We followed and if you were slow and selective it was possible to weave your way through all the thorny vines.

The river continued to flow along as pools filled by cascades. At many points it split around small islands populated with gnarled trees. We navigated through this section of the river with a range of strategies. We were climbing small rock faces and shuffling along natural log bridges. We were still using both digital and paper topographic maps. The maps were all slightly misleading as some of its identified waterflows were barely, and at times impossible to identify as they were so very small.

Slippery, sloped rocks flank the the sides of cascade filled pools

We came to another fork. In the middle of the two waterways was a large pine. The River went off to the right. The other waterway appeared to have a greater flow and looked more open. It was very pretty. The River though was now flanked by rock walls, vertical in places.

We started our path up The River. The entrance had a small waist deep pool in the middle and a narrow ledge on the side. It was possible, barely, to hold on to the cliff side or the occassional root. Willa was in the lead. She was just starting to go around a sharp corner when she slipped. Willa went down and went down hard. Her legs had disappeared from under her. She had made a huge thud when she landed. More worryingly, from my vantage point it had appeared that she had hit her head. We had taken the helmets off. Willa lay still for what seemed like a long time, but in reality was probably mere seconds. I moved over to her quickly. She called out, "I'm okay! I'm okay!" and then slowly started to raise herself up.

"Did you hit your head? I asked.

"No, just my hip and arm."

"Are they hurt? Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

I was thinking we might have been dealing with a head trauma.

Willa got up and reiterated that she had not hit her head. Her movements were slow. There are times when a jolt to the body without actual head impact can have concussive effects. We got around the corner and I suggested we sit for a second.

We sat and chatted. Willa let me know repeatedly she was okay. I think the rapidness of the fall might have shaken her a little. Willa let me know she was ready to move on.

We did not end up continuing that much further. After skirting a ledge on our hands, feet and backsides we came to a pool. On the downstream side where we were standing were football size rocks. The sides of the pool were steeply sloped to vertical, rock faces. Opposite us the water was flowing out of a gap in the rocks about a metre wide. Just behind this gap was a small clearing maybe 2m in diameter before the river entered a narrow gorge.

"Well I think that's us done Willa," I said. Willa agreed. We sat and enjoyed the space for a while. Willa waded in the water, staring into its depths.

Our turnaround point.

We talked, confirming with each other the decision to stop at this point. I had attempted to climb the sides to see if I could see any further in, but they were too slippery. I couldn't even get off the ground. Then It started to rain. With the weather as it was and the possibility of a storm in the next 24 hours our decision to turnaround felt with out question the only option.

We walked back to the last fork. Both Willa and I took out both sets of rafting gear and started to prepare them for use. Assembling the paddles, attaching knives to lifejackets, inflating the rafts and attching perimeter lines and a tail. Once everything was ready we loaded our gear, put on the helmets and then climbed in our boats and set off down the river.

The water was shallow, but we had enough clearance for us to travel without hitting the water. It was an incredible feeling. We were so isolated, we had worked so hard to get here and now the river was doing the work for us carrying Willa and I and our gear homewards. Unfortunately this scenario did not last for long before it shallowed again.

We began a process of raft for 30-50m and then drag the boats for 5-20m. Willa and I just stayed in the water slipping and sliding along. We both had the occasional giggle as we watched the other misjudge a step and go under the water.

We came to the top of the big set of falls we had encountered at the start of the day. Willa's confidence (but not skill set) had increased while rafting on this day. I had to work hard to convince her that going down them was not an option. Apart from the height of the falls and the amount of water that was pushing over them, there was also a fallen tree covering half of the bottom. Reluctantly Willa agreed and we proceeded to break down the gear to get through the bush on the side. taking the same path we had entered through.

We left the rafts deflated and hiked the last short section to our camp from the night before. We set up the tarp quickly and changed into our dry clothes. It was at this point that Willa became aware that Zip-Lock bags are not completely waterproof. We had most of our gear in dry bags, however Willa had kept a couple of items separately. She spread the wet items out to dry as best she could. A power bank had been killed and a large number of her teabags were drenched.

Looking downstream from the confluence at sunrise

We made sure our shelter was extra secure that night as the threat of a storm was still looming.

Thank you to the readers who have passed on the first part to friends to read. Please feel free to share these adventure recounts with anyone who you believe would enjoy a good story.

Happy Trails - Henry Higgins