West tower access road?

[LeftRightShoot]

Gday,

I spied a track on google satellite that might considerably shorten the west tower ascent time. Can anyone validate its location and/or report its condition? See attached

[Tortoise]

This doesn't answer your question, but I thought it may still be of interest, especially if you want to visit East Tower as well.

The old logging road from the road near East Tower (shown in the 2nd edition of Vol 1 of the Abels) makes access pretty easy from that direction. The junction doesn't look like a road at first - just a large fairly clear area. Last time I was there, there was a cairn a bit hidden behind a bush on the side of the road. The formed old road soon becomes obvious with a bit of a look around. Very easy walking to the end of the road, in the saddle between East and West Tower, with a stake there. Then follow the notes in the book. iirc, there was a large cairn leading off the to NE ish at one point, as the were skirting the north side of the ridgeline of West Tower. We had to ignore that to go back the way we came. It may lead to the road you're talking about, but I haven't heard of anyone going that way.

I've marked what I think are the beginning and end of the old logging road.

[north-north-west]

When I did Tower Hill, I found a line of reasonably new tape heading from West Tower ridge down in the general direction of that road. About four years ago now so not sure if they're still in place or whether access would be possible, but someone has probably done it.

[Warin]

I've marked what I think are the beginning and end of the old logging road.

That track is clearly visible in Bing Imagery - a legal source for OSM .. so I have put it in

https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/66926 ... 7&layers=C

Nothing that visible for west tower hill though. I have added some tracks around it but not that close. Any 'paths' that I saw were not distinct enough to trust putting on a map. But there are some 'possibilities', but I think they are so indistinct that I'd not map them .. they are 'natural ways' being clearer than other places.

[Tortoise]

Thanks for looking into it, Warin. I think you've actually marked Cabin Rd and O'Tooles Rd, not the old logging track I was talking about that goes to the saddle between East and West Towers. My brain is only working on a couple of cylinders tonight, so I could be wrong.

[LeftRightShoot]

I'll send you a gpx of the logging track tomorrow. Message me if I forget!

[Warin]

Thanks for looking into it, Warin. I think you've actually marked Cabin Rd and O'Tooles Rd, not the old logging track I was talking about that goes to the saddle between East and West Towers. My brain is only working on a couple of cylinders tonight, so I could be wrong.

No, you right .. I'd not got that is was a track to the saddle. Nothing in the satellite views that I could reliably use to map it. But at least those tracks are now there.

I suspect there are many 'old logging tracks' in the area, only have to look at the recently logged area to the west to see how many there are.