Byangee Mountain

It is hard to believe it is almost four years since we scrambled up The Castle in Morton National Park, and I have to wonder why I had not been back to the Budawangs to walk up onto the top of Byangee Walls before. But I had been back to the Budawangs in those quick four years. Most recently when I walked Corang Circuit solo with a side trip to Yurnga Lookout in 2019. In 2018, with mountain bikes we cycled into Quiltys Mountain and Round Mountain, and, on the very last day of 2016, we walked the Corang Circuit as a day trip.

The 2019/2020 bush-fires gave me new impetus to get back to the Budawangs, simply because, despite being horrified by the extent and devastation of the bushfires, the idea that some of the infamous Budawang scrub might be easier to negotiate was appealing. We had not walked up Byangee Walls and, as a semi-reformed peak bagger, getting above the big sandstone cliffs was an alluring idea. Particularly when getting there is so easy.

I had no hopes of finding the Byangee Trail, marked on the topographic map, clear from scrub, but it was clear of scrub all the way and with only a few big toppled trees to clamber over. At the very top of the old road, near the southern most cliffs of The Castle, the track is very steep, but in about an hour, we were below the southern cliffs of The Castle and traversing east to Castle Gap.

There is a foot pad of sorts. Not that defined in places and requiring some scrambling up and down through scrappy bush, so covering the kilometre of distance to Castle Gap takes longer than you think. Part way along is big cave created by a massive fallen boulder, known as the Cathedral Cave to bushwalkers, and it is interesting to explore.

We came out slightly above (to the northwest or Castle side) of Castle Gap just below the, also well known, Castle Gap Arch, which we hiked up to inspect. The route then lies along the north side of Byangee Walls and the foot pad is quite prominent in places, loose and scrappy in others. After somewhat more than half a kilometre, we came upon a piece of pink tat tied to a fallen tree and a couple of cairns. These mark the ascent gully, a twisting, eroded path up to the easier plateau.

Scrambling up, we followed a faint pad first to climbers right (west), then back to the left (east), gaining elevation gradually. The track then twists west again into a deep gully. The hardest move in the gully is scrambling up a big boulder stuck in place by a large half toppled tree. There were two very burnt and twisted old ropes hanging over this which should not be used as they are hanging on by the barest threads after the fires.

Above this chockstone, the scramble is straightforward up what could be described as steep dirt. At this point you are above the lower cliff lines and a second very good foot pad heads left (east) on easy terrain until the pad ends abruptly below a narrow chimney blocked by a couple of chockstones. A second scramble, employing a few straight forward chimney moves and some wriggling and you are almost at the top of Byangee Walls.

A faint foot pad leads up to the height of land past multiple stunning view points and ambles westerly to Byangee Mountain where there is a large permanently mounted register. I presume that the summit was somewhat scrubby before the fires but it is now very open and easy walking. We enjoyed lunch in the winter sunshine before reversing the route.