Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008 at 11:03
Greg,
Like Mick said we took our F250 and 21'BT through Cattlewater Pass last September. It is really only suitable for vehicles alone or towing a camper trailer. How would I say it, it was interesting, hard going yes and no, the problem was that it is a very narrow track and once I was on it I could not reverse back or turn around anywhere other than not far in from the Plenty H'Way as this was the way we entered it from, there was a nice camp spot where 4 4WD vehicles camped without any trailers.
We past them in the morning and once past there there was no turning back. Just after that we went through a steep sandy creek crossing where at this time the 4 4WD's were behind us watching with awe as the BT and truck were at an angle where I could see all the 4 solar panels in my rear view mirror quite clearly but could not stop to get a photo as there were some huge deep wash aways on the opposite side of the crossing and it was tuff going.
I found a spot just to pull off the side of the track to let the vehicles pass and they continued on. A little further up the track another 4WD came towards us towing a camper trailer and he pulled off to let me through but we stopped and talked to him about the track ahead and he said that he had met the 4 4WD's and they said that there was this huge rig coming his way but they said there is know way he is going to get through because of the size and the wash aways ahead will stop him.
He also said that there is a very steep rocking incline and decline along further which I might not get through, the photo at the bottom of my post is actually the section he was talking about after I got through, it was steep, rocky and twisty but the photos do not do it justice.
Anyway there was no turning back as there was no where to back into as the bush was so close to the track and thick in most places.
I have photos taken from the top of the ranges of the F250 & BT in the valley between the ranges which shows how steep it is.
At one place the bush was right up to the track on the left and the wash aways were on the right and I only had enough room to get through with about 2" of track lleft from the right wheels, if the BT slipped into the wash away or the track broke away over she would have gone.
Anyway we carried on and at places for about 1km Marlene and I had to get out and break branches that would just rip into the side of the BT, still have a couple of battle scars where they lodged and had to be cut away before we could move on.
One stage Marlene was hanging of a branch but it would not budge. At one stage I was trying to break a large branch when it snapped and the end went straight into my shoulder, ripped my shirt open and left a cut about 3" long that bled for a long time, still have the scar to prove it.
Moving along and getting near to the other end there was a S bend in the narrow track and because of the length of over 15 meters I could not get around so I had to make my own track though the scrub just to be able to carry on.
Finally made it out the other end with many scratches on the windows that are still there today.
Total length of CattleWater Pass, 56km's which took me 5 hrs and 36 mins to complete, average 10km/h.
We caught up with the 4 4WD's again on the way out to Chambers Pillars and they said did we get through and I said yes and they all said that after they saw us we were the topic of conversation around their camp fire for two nights as they could not believe something so big would get through and they all were amazed that we did and all took there hats off to us for doing it.
Would I recommend doing it, YES if you like a challenge, would I do it again NO.
Cheers
Stewart
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