View Full Version : Baal Bone Saturday 5th August
Key updates are in red text!
Sales pitch: OK, Baal Bone is one of those "must do" trips for Sydney "wheeling". From the top of Baal Bone we have the second best views on the Central Plateau - you need some serious driving for the best at Mt Airlie! The trip on the whole is easy-moderate grade (Blue Square Medium under Association track grading - I think), though we have two pinch points which will mean you have something to boast about at the end of the day.
EDIT: Slight change after our reccie with Greg - we will run the trip in the normal direction - starting from Zigzag railway and ending up on the Castlereagh highway a bit before Capertee. From Zigzag we'll zip over to the powerlines, bit of fun there sticking to the C Grade options at the obstacles. Then out via Beecroft FT to drop down behind Wallerawang. Touch of bitumen through to Baal Bone. Exit via Castlereagh Hwy.
It's a fabulous run through of some of Lithgow area pagoda rock formations and a lovely day out.
Where: Baal Bone - between Capertee and Lithgow, Great Western Hwy.
When: Saturday 5th August Meet 7:30 am for 8:00 am (sharp!) departure. Please be fuelled and fed for departure. We dont stop again for fuel, you want to be full at the meet up point.
Meet: Richmond MacDonalds. We will convoy up the Bells Line of Road to ZigZag railway. If you wish to meet us at ZigZag (maybe stay the night at the Blue Mountains on Friday) please let us know to avoid confusion on the sign up sheet. You need to be at ZigZag latest 9:00 am.
Grade: C Grade mostly, two pinch points - one on the climb, one on the descent which can be on the tricky side of C+. Some fun at the powerlines.
Requirements: Subject to the usual caveats (nothing in life is guaranteed!) this trip should be fine for stock Jeeps.
However 20" mag wheels with low profile tyres are at risk. It is after all a dirt Road!
Recovery points Front AND Rear are mandatory. It is not unusual for a snatch or winch to be used at the climbing pinch point.
Please bring recovery gear if you have it, though we will have our well-tested :highly_amused: gear available if someone is new to the club and not fully geared up yet (just remember that those recovery points are mandatory).
You will need your own radio.
Food/drink of choice, camera. Sense of fun!
Oh, and rug up. No really, rug up! This time of year the bog holes can literally be frozen.
This run is limited to: 10 vehicles including trip leader. Please let me know your vehicle type and confirm recovery points when you book-in.
Contact: Dru: 0419 855 121 (tel:0419 855 121)
Attending:
1. Dru - Dru'n'Kerry - JK shorty
2. RD401 - Ed - JKU
3. Rahul - JKU
4. Will98 - Will, the Capertee guru - JK
5. Hitesh - JKU
6. Jamest - James WK2
7. stevet, Steve - TJ
8. Qaanita - JK
9. Flatfender - Ian, Classic Willies
10. GregD - Greg WK2
11. Stu Stuart jk
TBC daniel.djuracic - Daniel, WK2
Hi Dru, put me on the list please. ED - JKU, front & rear recovery points.
Agarwal_rahul
27-06-17, 06:46 PM
Hi Dru put me on the list please. Rahul-JKU, I haven't done any 4wd since our last trip to Mt Airlie, front and rear recovery points
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Well that's going well. Only an hour and the list is building nicely. Welcome to the trip Ed and Rahul.
:smile-new:
Hey Dru,
Sounds good! Haven't done this one yet, put me down please.
Cheers,
Will
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Will, look forward to catching up. :encouragement:
Sign me up ...however have stock tyres.. let me know if that's a problem.. this would be first trip with the club..
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Sign me up ...however have stock tyres.. let me know if that's a problem.. this would be first trip with the club..
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Hitesh, Kerry and I just LOVE newcomers. Our buzz. Giving you a buzz. Stock tyres we can work with. All good. But I cant change that better tyres protect the wheels better. That's life. Look forward to catching up, this is exactly the kind of trip that a new member on a stock Jeep, I think, should be checking out.
By the way, what's the vehicle? LOL.
Hitesh, Kerry and I just LOVE newcomers. Our buzz. Giving you a buzz. Stock tyres we can work with. All good. But I cant change that better tyres protect the wheels better. That's life. Look forward to catching up, this is exactly the kind of trip that a new member on a stock Jeep, I think, should be checking out.
By the way, what's the vehicle? LOL.
It's a JK .. I attended the club meeting in May and the club rigs inspired me to rack up my credit card [emoji854][emoji23] .. have had a 2in lift, front and rear bars, rock sliders, winch, snorkel... only thing left is some wheels...https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170627/e85495a52bf8d51e012eade5391e9f02.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170627/68c26330461084820a148e2992c49e9d.jpg
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Steve x
27-06-17, 10:21 PM
Hi Dru,
Would you be able to add Steve and Lisa, please?
JK shorty too. Confirming front and rear recovery points.
Will, look forward to catching up. :encouragement:
Yeah it's been too long [emoji1303]
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Hi Dru,
I'd love to join this trip. Please put me down.
Stock Wk2 + front and rear recovery points.
Thanks, James
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Hitesh, rig looks HOT. It'll ease Baal Bone.
Steve and Lisa - lets go cruising.
James, gotcha on the list, good to see a WK on board. We will give the pinch points plenty of care, you will have fun!
:encouragement:
Dru, put me down for this please.
Cheers,
Dusan
Hi Dru,
Gee, got this weekend off in my new roster.... Can you please add me to your list for this run......
Dusan and Steve - list is updated. :smile-new:
PS: nearly full so I have also opened a reserve list - note however that we won't increase the number beyond 10.
Qaanita
28-06-17, 04:11 PM
Hey Dru,
Keen to get back out! Thanks for organising.
please add me in where there is a spot :)
Hey Dru,
Keen to get back out! Thanks for organising.
please add me in where there is a spot :)
Done - Q you are in a JK from recollection?
Qaanita
28-06-17, 05:06 PM
Done - Q you are in a JK from recollection?
Yes! Stock but winch/bullbar added
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Rocket55
28-06-17, 07:52 PM
Last round of sport for us on this day, so hopefully releases me for future trips :encouragement:
Flatfender
28-06-17, 08:45 PM
I'm a bit late getting my name down but book me in as a reserve please.
Cheers
Ian W.
Khabbazeh
28-06-17, 11:05 PM
Hi Dru,
Can you please add me on the reserve list. I have two front tow hooks installed on the wk2, but is the stock rear one good for recovery?
Cheers
Khaled
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Hi Dru,
Can you please add me on the reserve list. I have two front tow hooks installed on the wk2, but is the stock rear one good for recovery?
Cheers
Khaled
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reserve list updated as promised. :encouragement:
Edit: worth checking those rear recovery points with a mechanic. Generally there shouldnt be a need to use them on this trip, just cant be guaranteed. The "makers" points tend to be shipping tie-down points rather than rated recovery points.
Dru,
I'll also go onto the reserve list in my WK2.
Thanks,
Greg
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All good Greg. List updated!
OK folks, we're full unless something unusual happens. :shame:
Dru'n'Kerry
Apologies Dru, I'm out. Please take me off the list.
Dusan
daniel.djuracic
06-07-17, 04:54 PM
Please put me down on reserve list. WK2, MT's, Front and rear recovery points and winch.
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Please put me down on reserve list. WK2, MT's, Front and rear recovery points and winch.
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Daniel - Done! :-)
Big Thanks to Greg D in joining us on Saturday for a reccie of this trip. Really appreciate it Greg! :shame:
We were able to answer questions like "is the direction Dru wants to do this sensible for C Grade?" That would be "NO!" :highly_amused: The rock bluff climb on the Baal Bone side required both of us to winch, and that could be a little tedious for a large group. Please check the front page because we need to change the meet up point to match the revised direction of the trip.
The day was a genuine reccie - both vehicles did some tracks that neither had been on before. We will end up using a lot of that in the club trip. With Greg's input we now know that the trip has the right level of challenge AND is WK2 friendly. We'll get better feed back on the day but Kerry and I think this should turn out to be a really good club C grade. Achievable but with the right level of challenge to boast about, and of course some spectacular country that needs to be enjoyed in it's own right.
We will take in a section of the powerlines, not so fab views there, but the driving is fun. We do Baal Bone on the second half of the day - here are some pics of the view and the dinosaur territory (ie it looks a bit Jurassic Park ish) on the way out.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/DruKerry/IMG_0931_zpsimqo8m3i.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/DruKerry/media/IMG_0931_zpsimqo8m3i.jpg.html)
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/DruKerry/IMG_0928_zpsc4qwafnw.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/DruKerry/media/IMG_0928_zpsc4qwafnw.jpg.html)
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/DruKerry/IMG_0926_zpserqqn0gs.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/DruKerry/media/IMG_0926_zpserqqn0gs.jpg.html)
Once again, thanks Greg.
I'm a bit late getting my name down but book me in as a reserve please.
Cheers
Ian W.
Ian, thought I'd give you something to ponder, two pics from the last winter run we had in this area. I know drivers of classics are made of tough stuff and we can always thaw you out in one of the heated vehicles at lunchtime. :jaded:
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/DruKerry/IMG_0351_zpsgenlljsz.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/DruKerry/media/IMG_0351_zpsgenlljsz.jpg.html)
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/DruKerry/IMG_0114_zpswtzepp7u.jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/DruKerry/media/IMG_0114_zpswtzepp7u.jpg.html)
Flatfender
09-07-17, 09:14 PM
Been there - done that Dru!
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff508/42Flatfender/PICT0017.jpg (http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/42Flatfender/media/PICT0017.jpg.html)
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff508/42Flatfender/PICT0020.jpg (http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/42Flatfender/media/PICT0020.jpg.html)
But then again that was 40 or 50 years ago. At least the Flatfender has a bikini top now.
Very cool Ian. Literally!
The view from Baal Bone plateau in August 2015 (just before the last Jeep Jamboree):
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/36135053336_79f6633447_b.jpg
And the trip leader:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/35370749513_29e0b43b0c_b.jpg
Thanks for the pics Dusan!
OK team. I have been asked how long the day will be: please be aware that this is a full day trip and we finish returning to the bitumen quite a distance out west. (Which is why I tried to reverse the trip, unfortunately that plan did not work).
When we tested the route with Greg we started probably an hour later, ran down a few 'no through routes' and had to back up, chewed up time with some winching operations (not necessary with our changed plan), and we were airing up at a 2:30. So it can be done quite quickly - WITH A SMALL GROUP. This is not a small group, so we are starting a little earlier and the target is to be airing up 4:00 - 4:30pm. Allow at least 2.5 hours for the trip home on bitumen.
No timetable can be guaranteed, but we have a plan. :encouragement:
cheers
Dru'n'Kerry
Never Mind the Bollocks=Photobucket, Here's another one from Ball Bone trip just before the Jamboree. This is the little descent at the exit from the plain when taking the trial in a east-to-west direction I believe...
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/36175820735_b8eb810155_b.jpg
After discussing it with Greg, we will amalgamate the reserve list and bring the whole group. Another big convoy on Baal Bone, seems to be a habit! :smile-new:
A couple of quick notes:
Ian: If the weather is the same as today you are going to love it. A slight touch of frost in the shadows early in the morning but otherwise fine and sunny all day.
Khaled: has had some on street issues and will confirm late this week if repairs are ready. Bad luck that.
Daniel: You have booked onto two trips that run at the same time. You need to choose and let the trip leaders know. All good, but fill us in please.
Dusan - thanks for that last pic, I was just going to spring it on everyone, hahaha! Anyway we checked conditions agains today and it's all good.
Flatfender
30-07-17, 08:44 PM
It would be too much to expect the weather to be as nice as today, but what the hell - if you have a Jeep you must enjoy pain?
Cheers
Ian W.
Khabbazeh
02-08-17, 12:45 AM
Hi Dru,
Unfortunately it seems my car repairs will still take a while until complete so i won't be able to join this time. Have a good trip and look forward to joining the next one.
Khaled
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Khaled - that's disappointing! Keep an eye out, there will be plenty of trips where we can catch up.
daniel - any update, bloke?
Conditions update:
BOM long term weather forecast (MetEye) is pretty good. No rain, chilly first up but not freezing, warming to something like 12-14 degrees, some wind though and a little cloud.
Bush fire - there is a small fire only a few km to the northwest of the trip (Mount Davidson above the Wolgan Valley). NSW Parks last update is old - 21.7.17. Rural fire service isn't very current either last alert dated 28.7.17. It hasn't changed status over the last couple of days and seems localised. I'm guessing that Parks intent is simply to let it smoulder out (they generally like to let the smaller fires run out naturally). The wind predicted on the day would push it away. The Parks alert is simply to not cross into closed areas - there are none advised other than the usual management trails which we can't access anyway.
Also note that Kerry and I drove the trail last weekend, some smoke out over the Wolgan Valley but otherwise no impact whatsoever on the trip.
We will update again on Friday lunch time - but all systems are go!
Cheers
Dru'n'Kerry
To answer a query from last night - it isnt hard to find Maccas at Richmond it's just in the main shopping area. Address is Cnr March St and East Market St. Link with map:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/McDonald's/@-33.599337,150.752815,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x1ca55ab2bbe7e2e2!8m2!3d-33.599337!4d150.752815
Dru'n'Kerry
Stuart Tye
03-08-17, 12:46 PM
Hi Dru'n'Kerry,
Keeping in mind the trip limit of 10, I'd like to come if your ok with me coming along but only if you fall below 10. I don't want to respect the trip limit for all involved.
Stu
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To answer a query from last night - it isnt hard to find Maccas at Richmond it's just in the main shopping area. Address is Cnr March St and East Market St. Link with map:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/McDonald's/@-33.599337,150.752815,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x1ca55ab2bbe7e2e2!8m2!3d-33.599337!4d150.752815
Dru'n'Kerry
Hi there the link takes me to maccas in Sydney city [emoji12]
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Hi there the link takes me to maccas in Sydney city [emoji12]
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McDonald's
Cnr March & East Market Streets, Richmond NSW 2753
(02) 4588 5145
https://goo.gl/maps/HgckVYzvygv
Hope this link works.
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Thanks for the correction, Hitesh!
Thanks Dru. Looking forward to the trip tomorrow.
See you at Richmond McDonald's.
Cheers James
Thanks James. :smile-new:
OK final conditions report update:
Weather: It's going to be cold. Never actually below freezing but a bit of wind that is going to have some bight to it. Rug up! Bit of frost in the morning.
Tracks: There all clear
Fire: Last fire update from rural fires says the Mt Davidson fire status is "out of control". We are not worried as we think it simply means they are letting it burn itself out rather than trying to fight it. It was 4Ha 2 weeks ago, 4Ha last week and 4Ha in the last report. I doubt we'll see much more than smoke from the view point. There are option routes to exit Baal Bone if we had to.
See everyone tomorrow morning at Richmond. If you are using hand held two-way, remember to charge it up overnight. Please target 7:30 to meet up. Note that we will be hitting the tarmac at 8:00am sharp you need to be fueled and fed by then. If you have to contact us: Dru Spork M: 0419 855 121
Dru'n'Kerry
:highly_amused::highly_amused::highly_amused:
Steve x
04-08-17, 07:34 PM
Sorry Dru for the late notice, but we won't be able to join the trip.
Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow :grumpy:
Steve and lisa.
all good Steve, we'll be thinking about you as we check out the view . :grief:
Just back from the trip.....many thanks to Dru & Kerry for the way they ran the trip. A perfect example of trip leading, starting with the multiple reccies of the track, selecting appropriate but challenging tracks for the grade of trip, the pre-trip briefing (including some comments on the geology & flora of the area), the spotting and advice given during the trip, and the selection of places to stop.
All up, an excellent trip which was much appreciated by all who joined the trip.
Thanks again Dru & Kerry.
Greg
Thanks Greg. :smile-new:
Kerry and I are really chuffed with how this trip worked out, pretty much exactly as we hoped.
We particularly loved Hitesh mentioning in a trip last week he had a look at a climb and said "who would do that?" It happened to be our first challenge haha! I loved that by the end of the day everyone was happy tracking their own lines and driving through the tricky bits between challenges. Awesome.
10 out of 10 to everyone, drivers, passengers and kids, staying positive, enthusiastic and trusting. :shame:We're hoping all the kids enjoyed it and want to come again.
Dru'n'Kerry
BlueJKU
05-08-17, 09:41 PM
Hi guys, that was me in the blue JKU that you all passed out at Baal Bone this afternoon. Always cool to run into a convoy of Jeeps.
Kids loved it... they looking at printing a T shirt ... "I survived Hitesh's driving"
Thanks for the awesome organisation, support, encouragement and tips along the way...
Sign me up for your next trip...
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170805/5ec77276550c788671aa000f98c06a02.jpg
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Fabulous photo - don't know why I didn't think of a group pic at the lunch point. Big thumbs up to the kids!
BTW, I think Kerry made one of those T shirts a while ago. Strangely enough though the name on the T shirt is not "Hitesh". :drunk:
PS, will put something out on the SJC facebook site this morning. Hopefully everyone can add in a response with a couple of pics.
Dru'n'Kerry
Flatfender
06-08-17, 10:57 AM
Thanks Dru and Kerry for a great day out. Expertly and professionally run - as always!
It was a long day in the Willys (~350km and 13 hrs door to door) but still great fun.
Ian W.
Agarwal_rahul
06-08-17, 05:52 PM
Thanks Dru and Kerry, this was once again a signature Dru n Kerry trip which was well researched, well rehearsed and we'll choreographed... 10/10[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
P.S Anshul is writing his report and will publish once complete, he had a blast!!!
Thank you once again to Dru n Kerry and everyone for a great trip.
Cheer's
Rahul
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170806/36bb62b2c4a63400731dc7e370024a72.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170806/64f90a14fefb5fb14c17ac18b4028b1c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170806/c2d0c61b2a31fb26ea08f2ceb2dfb248.jpg
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