A day out at Wattigans (on my own)

[SteveC]

Well I woke up this morning and thought I needed to get out, So I headed to the Wattigans with just my dog & I and drove with the intention of an easy & relaxing drive
It had obviously been raining but it was now sunny, so I decided to keep to the main trails or at least stay within a short distance to the main Wattigan Forest Road.

It's been a while since I drove that road and I'd have to say it was rough as. Really rough for a main road. Not till I got to the Pines Picnic did it calm down a bit. Obviously its easy but wet and no one else around.

As it took me longer than I had expected I decided to head home via the northern part toward Morriset, So I edged my way home and eventually came to a fork that said Morrest 17k or Wyong 30k. I thought Wyong was the best bet - but I was wrong... After about 20 minutes the road (Lemon rd I think) started to descend but not too steep but it was quite muddy. the first few holes were easy enough but as I went on the mud got deeper (and I mean deep 1 meter holes that made my dog feel, well.....quite sad, especially when he hit his head after I miscalculated the terrain) and a bit longer I went until I came up to a stretch about 100M, well 100m that I could see and decided. Hmmm with others, I'd go on but on my own, too risky.
So I decided to do a u turn and headed back to the main road and try the Morrist exit. I think its called Prickly Ridge /Sauls. Well that wasn't much better but luckily it had dried out a bit, besides I was committed and slowly I managed the ruts and mud, to exist at a road called Robes. Then on my way home. About half way through that road there was a HUGE mud area that I was able to "mostly" by pass, that would be great fun next time.
It was good day out but next time, I'll take a friend, especially if it's wet.

It's not extreme but could be good fun none the less and I'm sure it would catch out one or two.
I was also quite amazed that my road GPS (IGO Primo - great s/w by the way) had most of the roads and trails.

[Dieselcon]

Yes I understand the feeling of.... I wish I had someone else with me .......I have done a few trips on my own aswell. Obviously the biggest observation is my confidence drops when on my own.... Safety in numbers. Thanks for your description of your day. Sounds like you still had fun...maybe not your dog.
hope you got your dog a nice bone when you got home.
Cheers jose

[Hunty]

Maaaaaaaaate
Good onya for hitting the trails! well done!
Jax & I used to be very apprehensive when wheelin alone until I installed a winch! - now we go where ever we want to! - well worth the $
cheers hunty

[SteveC]

Hunty - I now do have a winch. Got one a few weeks ago. A beauty too.

But still, if I'd known what was around the corner, I would have pushed on. I'd never been through that track before. But having the track quite narrow, meant little chance of backing up or turning around. As it was, my U turn was more a 16 point turn,,,,,,,,. As the edges were very swampy ,the last thing was to get stuck AND get my winch dirty hahah. As it was I slipped over to the edge once and luckily the momentum got me through.
It was fun but "bottom" clenching none the less. Even the dog had his claws firmly clasped on the leather seat!

BTW the dog gave me that LOOK you get sometimes, you know the look the wife gives you when you bought "another safety" device for your truck.

If any one wants to trip out during the week. let me know if there is any interest...

I think it would be good for Jambo trips even if slightly distant from base camp.

[Paul-JK]

Was up that way about 2 weeks ago with a mate in his Triton. He wanted to try out his new rear bar (which he managed to and proved it's worth!) and we got turned around on pretty much every track we tried.

Tried Lemon Tree (from the south) but got to a section of big deep ruts full of mud and decided that was a no go (I suspect this will be the same section where you stopped Steve). My (unfortunately still stock) JK wouldn't have had a chance so the Triton on HT's had no hope at all. Intending getting some BFG muddies in the next few weeks but don't even think I'd have gotten through with them. It was big tyre & big lift territory.......or just blast in, spray mud everywhere and winch through the rest. There was a guy with a stock TJ parked on the north end of the ruts contemplating it but he thought better of it as well and turned around.

The next track we tried was Boundary Forest Rd I think, just off the bottom of Lemon Tree. It looked like some bikers had been through recently but I don't think anyone had driven it for a while. It wasn't difficult but it got very closed in so we turned around on that as well. I'm not frightened of a few scratches but I did want to keep some paint on the sides!

In the end we worked our way around onto Prickly Ridge Rd and Saul's Gully Rd and up to Muir's Lookout, then round the main tracks to Boarding House Dam before heading out to the F3 and back home.

Was a good day out. I'm not working at the moment so have a fair bit of free time. If you fancy a run out during the week just let me know and I'd be happy to meet up. Any day bar Wednesday is usually OK.