Mt Warning - Summit signing, time capsule

A Mt Warning Visit, summit signing

Drove up the long road from Sydney, leaving early to grab a beer at the Mt Warning Hotel at Uki in the afternoon. There's a nice view of the summit from the smoker's deck. The tip of the mountain was catching clouds and then letting them go. I met Roger, a one-legged ex- navy seal and former security guard to Gloria Estafan. He was an interesting bloke, sucking a large Cuban cigar and slamming spiced rum on ice. He had one eye, apparently, he had lost the other blue pearl in a firefight with Somali terrorists in the Persian Gulf. We had a brief discussion of current affairs and the insanity of public parks being closed for no good reason, and vandalism of the tourism industry by a woke broken Bureaucracy - just light conversation. I mentioned I had a mission that might suit him and he agreed to join in. We headed to the Mt Warning Rainforest Caravan Park.

Mt Warning from the Mt Warning Hotel

Roads around the area are still not repaired from last year's deluge, but some construction signs point to slow progress being made. Looks to be at least another 12-24 months before repairs to the Kyogle Road will be completed. The temporary repairs to the causeway on the Mt Warning Road are still in place. The short detour around the failure on the road near Mavis Kitchen and Cabins is still operating - the red light sequence still in need of adjustment. I almost ditched Roger at this point as he is also colour blind and kept insisting the light was green. 

We decided to quickly check out the Mt Warning Park carpark and the "improvements" put in place since my last visit in August 2022. The information signs have been replaced with a sign with less information and a low picket fence has been erected across the start of the summit track that does not actually prevent access to the track. There is no indication anywhere in the park as to why the track is closed. Marlene Boyd's wonderful statement about the Mt Warning summit climb is still missing: "How can the public experience the spiritual significance of this land if they do not climb the summit and witness creation."  No moves appear to have been made to include statements by Wijabul elder Fletcher Roberts that the "No climb" message is a modern-day invention. The whole saga at Mount Warning reminds me more and more of the "secret women's business" that held up the construction of the Hindmarsh Island Bridge in South Australia. Unfortunately, there appears to be little interest in holding a similar Royal Commission into the "Secret Men's Business" at Mt Warning. Roger could not believe a country could be so stupid as to close something as good as this. "Y'all got rocks in your heads", he said, as he hopped back to the car; having left his prosthetic leg in the back seat.

New "information" sign at Mt Warning

After discussions with the park owner and a quick dinner, we bedded down for the night to catch a few hours sleep. 

Two thirty in the morning is an unnatural hour to wake up, and it took a while for the brain fog to lift. By the time it did we were on trail just after 3:00am. By some miracle we had been joined by Demetri, a Greek pastry chef from Skyros, on holiday and also looking for an adventure. Demetri and Roger got on well owing to a shared appreciation of the finer points of rolling the perfect dolmades. Roger said they taste better if you roll them in puff pastry and put them in the deep fryer. He was good with hints like that.

The summit trail is still largely clear despite the continued lack of maintenance by NPWS. The dew makes any exposed rock surfaces quite slippery so care was taken not to slip and twist an ankle. It's a quiet walk in the dark under torchlight. Roger did very well on one leg. His prosthetic eye weirdly doubled as a torch and it was hard to get him to look away and not blind you when he turned to talk. The rainforest is occasionally dimly lit by swarms of fireflies forming random constellations in the bushes. Vegetation is slowly encroaching further into the track. In some sections, you need to walk on the outer edge of the well-built drystone walls to pass and there are a few trees to clamber over. It's a long way from the high standards of tourist walks anywhere else in the world, and this was the case well before the "temporary" closure in March 2020. In my opinion the ankle sprains and leg injuries noted by NPWS are attributable more to lack of maintenance rather than walkers' ability and experience. Demetri and Roger both concurred. Demetri said in Greece there would be a cafe at the top serving coffee and Sfakianopita for breakfast. The level of neglect and mismanagement worthy of another Royal Commission, or at the very least an investigation by the NSW Ombudsman.  

The rock scramble passes quickly and we are at the summit lookout about 10 minutes before sunrise at about 5.30am. It's one of those cloud catcher mornings, but the clouds time a break to perfection and reveal a glorious sunrise view. Demetri takes a wonderful sunrise photo. It's better than Mykinos, he laughs, Roger agrees, but then says he has not been to Mykinos:

Good Morning Australia!

My own shot is not quite as good but I'm happy to be up here once again:

Author at the summit.

I brought with me 5 copies of "A Guide to Mt Warning: the fight for awe and wonder" and sign them at the summit. Demetri says they are now collector's items. 

Books see the Morning of Australia.

Book signing at the summit. 

With me also is a time capsule, prepared earlier. I look for an appropriate place to stash it for posterity that does not require disturbing anything. It is to be opened when the climb officially re-opens, but if found, it maybe opened, read and returned as found before then. There's a log book to sign.  Contents are shown below:

Mt Warning Time Capsule contents - open if found but please return as found.

Roger talks me into a brief video then hobbles around the summit lookouts. The sunrise captured and appended. Some beautiful reptiles are about. He is a true artist with a camera!

Summit python

A Mt Warning sunrise

We pack up, collecting an un-opened can of creame latte with a used by date of 2013. Demetri is upset by the quality of the coffee and says those offered in Skyros would have at least been the correct date. We carefully descend the mountain. 

2013 vintage Latte

We are back at the Caravan park by 8am. Leech count was about 4 each, thanks to ample use of aeroguard. I say bye to Roger and Demetri, pack the car and head off for breakfast in Murwllumbah. 

Notes on the trail condition will be compiled and sent to the NSW Ombudsman for their thick Mt Warning file.

Note I was wearing a Save our Summits T-shirt and gave one each to Roger and Demetri but nothing here was sanctioned by or approved by the SOS association.