The Three Peaks
The Classic Southern Blue Mountains Bushwalk
All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2008. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission.
The Three Peaks The Classic Southern Blue Mountains Bushwalk
All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2008. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission. |
The Narrow Neck Plateau, part of the Three Peaks route
Contents
The Trail Runner's Guide to the Three Peaks
Aborting your Three Peaks Attempt
The Three Peaks is one of the classic hard and very challenging walks of the Blue Mountains. Starting and ending in Katoomba, the walk is more than 90km long and involves over 4000m of vertical climbing and descending. The walk includes the summits of three major Blue Mountains peaks, Cloudmaker, Paralyser and Guouogang. A key challenge of this walk is to complete the entire walk within 48 hours. The trip is not considered the Three Peaks unless it is completed in under 48 hours. The route heads south from Katoomba along the Narrow Neck plateau, then through the Wild Dog Mountains and down to the Coxs River. It then ascends each of the Three Peaks in turn, descending into deep gorges between each peak before returning to the Coxs River and heading back through the Wild Dog Mountains, along the Narrow Neck and back to Katoomba. The route includes two major national parks, the Blue Mountains National Park and the Kanangra Boyd National Park.
On this web page I describe this challenging walk in detail, provide some photos of the area and provide some useful information for people intending to undertake this 24-48 hour adventure.
The Three Peaks only counts as the Three Peaks if it is completed from start to finish in under 48 hours. In order to achieve this, some walking is normally done at night and periods of sleep need to be timed carefully so as not to let too many hours slip away. A very fit and fast walker carrying a light pack can complete the walk in under 48 hours with an allowance of around 12-15 hours for sleeping, cooking and resting.
Some hard core walkers attempt to complete the trip in under 24 hours. In order to achieve this you have to walk continuously for 24 hours with no sleep and only short and infrequent rests. Completion of the Three Peaks in under 24 hours is relatively rare.
Personally I normally aim to complete the walk in around 40 hours and I normally achieve this time after having had an overnight break of between 10-12 hours during the walk. My fastest ever time was 28 hours and this was achieved by walking for the entire time without sleep, with only occasional brief stops plus about two longer breaks of a little under 1 hour.
Typically I use the rule of thumb that at my walking pace, I need to walk for 26 hours to complete the trip. My actual Three Peaks time will be this amount plus however much time I spend resting or sleeping during the walk.
With this in mind, a key consideration is what time of day or night to start the walk, as your start time dictates what sections of the walk will be covered in daylight and what sections of the walk must be done at night. The central part of the walk on the far side of the Coxs River, which includes all three of the Three Peaks is the part of the trip where the terrain is roughest and trails faintest or non-existant and therefore the timing of your trip should be such that this section of the walk is done in daylight. This usually means starting out from Katoomba on Friday night and walking the length of the Narrow Neck and beyond to Medlow Gap, Mobs Soak, Mt Yellow Dog and on to the Coxs River at night. Regardless of whether or not you choose to catch some sleep when you finally reach the Coxs River, you should aim to time your trip so that it is just beginning to get light as you are on your way up Strongleg Buttress towards Mt Cloudmaker. An alternative programme is to start from Katoomba at around sunrise and then walk continuously as far as Paralyser by daylight. You can camp the night on Paralyser, then start at first light the next day to complete the trip. This method results in a faster overall Three Peaks time the closer you do it to the summer solstice.
Below I show the timings of my various Three Peaks trips including the time of day or night that I reached each milestone. These timings can serve to help plan your trip, should you ever be crazy enough to want to do the Three Peaks in a similar number of hours that I have done.
The Three Peaks starts and ends in Katoomba although there is sometimes some disagreement or misunderstanding about where in Katoomba is the precise starting and ending point, and at what point the trip must be timed from. Here are some generally accepted boundaries about which there would be no disagreement.
The "official" Three Peaks starting point is the Water Board Ladders car park, otherwise known as the Climbers car park, situated on the Narrow Neck road about 1km closer to Katoomba than the Golden Stairs. It is at GR 489644 on the Katoomba 1:25000 topographic map. This is where the walk is timed from. Normal etiquette is to walk to this point from somewhere in Katoomba, although driving to this point and then starting from here is generally accepted.
Provided that you start from the correct starting point then you may choose any route, as long as you climb each of the Three Peaks (Cloudmaker, Paralyser and Guouogang) and sign the log book that is on top of each peak. Although you are free to choose what route you take, most people choose one of two main routes, or a minor variant of one of these routes. Most people climb Cloudmaker first, followed by Paralyser and then Guouogang although doing the route in reverse is possible. Below are the two main routes that people normally take on the Three Peaks.
I have highlighted the difference betweeneach route in a different colour. Routes 1 and 2 are the same as far as the final peak Guouogang. It is the return journey from Guouogang to Katoomba that differs between these two routes.
Route 2 is longer than Route 1 but is more scenic and a more complete round trip with less repetition. Whereas on Route 1 you do the entire section from Mt Yellow Dog to Katoomba twice, on Route 2 only the section of the Narrow Neck Road north of the firetower is done twice.
Early Three Peaks trips of the 1960s did not have the convenience of a track around the Wild Dog Mountains via Mobbs Soak so a different route was taken. These early trips were a variant of Route 2. From Medlow Gap they would walk down White Dog Ridge to the Coxs River and then follow the Gangerang Range to Dex Creek and on to Cloudmaker. Nowadays, Three Peaks trips done by this traditional 1960s route are relatively rare.
Upon the summit of each of the Three Peaks is a logbook and for your trip to count as the Three Peaks it is a requirement that you enter your name and the date and time in each of these three logbooks as proof that you were there. There have been instances of bushwalkers neglecting to do this to save time but it is widely felt in the bushwalking community that entering your name in each logbook is compulsory on Three Peaks trips. Of course, no one is obliged to do so, and anyone is entitled to so the route without signing the book, however it is considered an error to refer to such trips as "The Three Peaks". It is only a Three Peaks trip if you sign each logbook and return to the starting point within 48 hours. Any other trip is just a normal bushwalk.
The Three Peaks trip has a history and tradition going back to when bushwalkers in the 1960s undertook the challenge of doing the walk in under 48 hours with minimal gear and fanfare. It has always been a personal challenge and never a race. These days the route has attracted modern adventure runners and wild claims have been made by people stating that they have completed the walk in something like 13 hours. Funnily enough, the people making such claims also mention that they don't bother signing the logbooks on each peak and hence these claims cannot be verified. In the interest of maintaining the integrity of the Three Peaks walk in keeping with its traditions, there are some basic parameters which most traditional Three Peaks walkers would agree are etiquette that should be adhered to for a trip to count as a legitimate Three Peaks trip. These are:
It is quite possible to do the Three Peaks in reverse (climbing Guouogang first, then Paralyser and Cloudmaker) although this is normally harder because of the timing required. To get to Guouogang first means leaving formed trails sooner than you would if doing Cloudmaker as the first peak and therefore you would be walking off-track while it is still dark. Doing Route 1 in reverse means departing the track at Mt Yellow Dog which you would normally do at around 3-4am if you want to have daylight for the time needed to climb Guouogang, Paralyser and then Cloudmaker before reaching the track again on the summit of Cloudmaker. Doing Route 2 in reverse is even harder as that would mean walking out to and descending Carlons Chains at night, as well as walking down Breakfast Creek in the dark.
The Trail Runner's Guide to the Three Peaks
The sport of trail running has enjoyed a spectacular increase in popularity recently and organised ultra marathon events in the Blue Mountains such as The North Face 100 attract many hundreds of runners every year. Some ultra runners with a keen eye for seeking new challenges at the extreme off-trail end of their sport have shown interest in the Three Peaks. I absolutely welcome this and indeed, I have taken up trail running myself with much enthusiasm in the last couple of years. I am therefore providing this "Trail Runner's Guide to the Three Peaks" section to provide my fellow runners some information from the perspective of a runner rather than a bushwalker.
Trail runners should be under no illusions about what the Three Peaks entails. In fact, the Three Peaks is not a trail run. Well for a start, most of the route has no trail. And for seconds, much of the route is not runnable. That's why the Three Peaks is called a bushwalk. Bush+Walk. It is also why the Three Peaks is not called a trail run. Trail+Run. Well, sections of the Three Peaks can be run. In fact, the entire Narrow Neck and beyond as far as Medlow Gap overlaps with The North Face 100 route. And much of the Wild Dog Track down to the Coxs River can be run. Beyond that there is little opportunity for running. It's either too steep or there is no track and the terrain is too rough for running. Some (but certainly not all) of the track from the Coxs River to Cloudmaker can be run, and there is some limited opportunity for running downhill on some sections. One downhill section that is certainly NOT runnable is the route off Paralyser to the base of Nooroo Ridge! This is steep, loose and rocky and must be taken with care. Trail runners must be aware that there are no first aid officers at call and no aid stations. Please take care, and don't be ashamed to walk!
To give you an idea of where The Three Peaks sits on a scale of "tracklessness" or "wildness" compared to other well known trail runs, check out this "Wildness" scale:
Unlike trail running where official race records for each event are well documented, no official data is kept for The Three Peaks. The Three Peaks records appear to be the following. Please contact me if you know have details on any Three Peaks records and evidence, dates, times etc.
| Fastest Male | Warwick Daniels and John Fantini in 18 hours 22 minutes in 1966. |
| Fastest Female | Emma Murray in 23 hours 40 minutes solo. |
| Oldest under 48 hours | Believed to be a guy from Sydney Bushwalkers who completed the 3 Peaks in just under 48 hours a few weeks before his 70th birthday! |
I am interested in compiling a more comprehensive record of Three Peaks records and past Three Peaks trips. There have been some epic trips, some extraordinarily fast times, many just scraping through in the 48, and a countless number of colourful capitulations. If you would like to share your Three Peaks experiences, please email me.
Please note: If you want your Three Peaks trip to be recognised as such, then please adhere to Three Peaks Etiquette. Do the trip unsupported, without aid, sign the logbooks and do not mark the route in any way whatsoever. Leave the bush in at least as wild a state as that in which you find it.
Unlike trail runs, where runners must keep to a clearly defined course, The Three Peaks has no defined course except that the starting point and finish point are defined (see Starting and Ending Point) and you must climb each of the Three Peaks and sign the logbooks.
Much of the route is not marked and nor should it be. Unlike most trail runs, there are no ribbons tied to trees, no arrows, no tape - nothing. Much of the route is wilderness and should be respected as such. Anyone attempting the Three Peaks needs to be competent in navigation and able to find their own way through untracked country. Do not spoil the wilderness nature of the trip by marking the route in any way whatsoever.
There are no aid stations and no possibility of resupplying yourself with anything other than water on the route. Leaving a cache of food for you to pick up along the way is grounds for disqualification. If you get yourself into the Three Peaks you need to get yourself out of it again, either by completing the trip or by aborting the trip by one of the escape routes mentioned below.
Other Bushwalking Challenges for the Trail Runner
Are you one of those people who are always looking for some new trail run or hard core ultramarathon course to add to your repertoire? And the Three Peaks isn't enough to quell your appetite? Well here are a few more classic Southern Blue Mountains bushwalks that might pique your interest.
| Acronym | Name | Description | Time Required (Fast) | Time Required (Normal) | |
| K2K | Katoomba to Kanangra | Narrow Neck - Medlow Gap - Mt Yellow Dog - Coxs River - Mt Strongleg - Dex Creek - Cloudmaker - Gangerang Range - Kanangra Walls | 12 hours | 24 hours | |
| K2K2K | (K2)² |
Katoomba to Kanangra Return | Just like a K2K only you walk back to Katoomba rather than bother with the huge car shuffle needed for the one way trip. | 24 hours | 48 hours |
| K2K2K2K | (K2)³ |
Katoomba Kanangra Kowmung Katoomba | K2K, then follow Gingra Range to the Kowmung, follow the Kowmung downstream to Ti Willa Creek, then cross over the lower Gangerang Range to reach the Coxs River, then Splendour Rock, then back to Katoomba. A truly classic trip, further and arguably harder than the Three Peaks. | 40 hours | 48 hours+ |
In hot and dry weather keeping properly hydrated can become one of the many challenges to deal with on your Three Peaks trip. There are long distances to walk between each water source and you need to balance the need to keep hydrated on the one hand with the need to avoid carrying large amounts of water on the other. There are only four points along the walk where water can be obtained with absolute certainty without making deviations from the route. These water points are:
In addition to the abovementioned water points there is Dex Creek, crossed on the approach to Cloudmaker, which normally contains a few pools of good water although in periods of prolonged drought this creek can sometimes be completely dry. Another water source is Mobbs Soak between Medlow Gap and Mt Yellow Dog but this can often be dry at the point where the track crosses it.
Given the very strenuous nature of the walk and the long hours on the move, combined with the need to keep the weight you're carrying at a minimum, it is particularly important to carry an appropriate amount of water with you - not too much and not too little. I normally adopt the rule of filling a one litre water bottle at each of the four water points mentioned above, except if I intend to camp before reaching the next water point, in which case I take two litres. At each water point I drink substantially before continuing on. I would say that carrying this amount of water would be the minimum needed to avoid dehydration, especially if doing the trip in hot weather.
An added complication is that some people consider the water in the Coxs River to be unfit for drinking without treatment. I never treat the water that I draw from the Coxs River and am happy to drink it straight but that doesn't mean everyone can or should. Just be aware that some people have been known to have had stomach upsets after drinking water from the Coxs River.
Food is a personal matter and everyone will have their own opinions and preferences regarding what food is best to take on a Three Peaks attempt. It also depends a lot on whether you are intending to do it as a bushwalk in 40-48 hours, or as a trail run in 24-30 hours. Those bushwalking and sleeping during the Three Peaks would be well advised to take a billy and matches and cook themselves one hot meal on the trip. A trail runner aiming for a sub 30 hour Three Peaks may choose to do the trip on high energy foods without stopping to cook. One thing is certain though, and that is that no matter how fast you plan on doing your Three Peaks, you must take enough calories with you to sustain you for at least 40 hours on the move. To set out on the Three Peaks without enough calories to last 40 hours is foolish, even if you're asub 30 hour 3 peaker! Always allow enough food for emergencies and unforseen delays.
For a list of food suggestions check my Three Peaks Food List. You must be totally self sufficient, and for your Three Peaks trip to be recognised you should not leave caches of food on the route in advance, nor should you have a support crew supplying you on the way.
You need to bring everything you need for total self sufficiency for up to 48 hours in the southern Blue Mountains wilderness. At the same time you must keep weight to an absolute minimum. I have compiled a kit list to help you prepare. This kit list has similarities to what would be compulsory gear on trail run events like the North Face 100 or Bogon to Hotham, but with some notable differences. Check out my Three Peaks Gear List.
Aborting Your Three Peaks Attempt
The history of Three Peaks trips is littered with the carnage of failed Three Peaks attempts so no treatise on this walk is complete without mention of the various ways of cutting it short or aborting the trip altogether. Perhaps the most common method of abandoning a Three Peaks trip is not to start it in the first place, and it seems that the number of people who say they are going to do the Three Peaks always far exceeds the number that ever actually end up doing it. Saying you're going to do it and actually doing it are two different things.
There may be many reasons for needing to abort your Three Peaks trip. Exhaustion, sleep deprivation, injury, knee pain, feeling sick, getting blisters, heat exhaustion or simply a wilting will to press on can lead the Three Peaks aspirant to decide to exit the trip early or cut it short. As it happens, there are many opportunities along the route for bailing out. At the summit of each of the Three Peaks the walker is confronted with two options:
Option 1: Continue along the Three Peaks route which involes doing a withering knee crushing descent all the way back to river level losing all the altitude you have just toiled hours to achieve and then face the prospect of climbing all the way up the other side in order to get to the next peak or back to Katoomba
or
Option 2: Abort the Three Peaks by taking the relatively easy exit route that exists from the top of each peak.
I will now describe the various options for aborting a Three Peaks attempt once started. These options might be described as the Three Peaks pikers handbook.
| Piking before Cloudmaker | If you need to pike before reaching the first peak Cloudmaker, then most likely your best option for aborting the trip is to retrace your steps back to Katoomba. |
| Piking at Cloudmaker | The summit of Cloudmaker is one of the most tempting points on the whole route for abandon your Three Peaks attempt. It is a long trek from Katoomba to here and two out of the three peaks still lie ahead of you. From the summit of Cloudmaker you can continue south along the Gangerang Range following the track to Kanangra Walls, a walk of about 4 hours. At Kanangra Walls it should be possible to flag a lift back to civilization from the car park. Another option from Cloudmaker is to follow Marooba Karoo Ridge north past Marooba Karoo Hill and onwards down to Kanangra Creek. Then follow Kanangra Creek downstream until you reach the Coxs River and then take the track up Yellow Pup Ridge and back to Katoomba. |
| Piking at Paralyser | With two out of the three peaks in the bag, piking at Paralyser is less common but it has still been done. From the summit you can continue along the ridge over Mt Cyclops and beyond to Thurat Ridge and Mount Thurat, from where you can pick up a fire trail leading out to the Jenolan Caves Road. Once on the Jenolan Caves Road you can flag a lift back to civilization. Another option is to descend from Paralyser to the junction of Kanangra Creek and Whalania Creek. You can then bypass Guouogang by following Kanangra Creek downstream until you reach the Coxs River and then take the track up Yellow Pup Ridge and back to Katoomba. |
| Piking at Guouogang | It is unusual to reach the summit of the third and last of the Three Peaks only to then abandon your Three Peaks attempt by taking the exit route that I am about to describe. But it can be done if injury or fatigue make it unwise to continue. It is quite easy from the summit of Guouogang to follow the Krungle Bungle Range south-west past Mt Krungle Bungle until you reach fire trails that eventually lead out to the Jenolan Caves Road. Another option from Guouogang is just to proceed back to Katoomba as you would to complete the Three Peaks trip only slacken your pace and resign yourself to completing the trip in more than the requisite 48 hours. |
My Three Peaks Trip Logs and Times
My first successful attempt at the Three Peaks was in 1988 and since then I have done the trip around 15 times. From 2001 to 2008 I did the three peaks every year. The table below catalogues each successful Three Peaks trip that I have undertaken, with timings that indicate when I started out, what time I reached each peak and when I returned.
| Date | Route |
Start time | Rest at Coxs River | Cloudmaker | Paralyzer | Guouogang | Rest on 2nd night | Finish time | Total Three Peaks time | Remarks | Trip Report | |
1 |
Sometime in 1988 | Around 9pm | Around 3 hours | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded | Around 12 hours on Guouogang | Around 4:45pm | 43 hours 50 minutes | Solo | ||
2 |
30 Dec 1989 - 1 Jan 1990 | Around 8pm | Around 3 hours | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded | Around 12 hours on Guouogang | Around 7:30pm | Around 47 hours 30 minutes | With Anja | ||
3 |
24-25 Oct 1992 | 7:50pm | Around 2.5 hours | 7:50am | 11:10am | 3:35pm | 10 hours on Coxs River | 10:26am | 38 hours 30 minutes | With Rob Hynes | ||
4 |
26-27 Sep 1998 | 8:30pm | Around 2.5 hours | 8:30am | 12:15pm | 4:50pm | Around 12 hours on Guouogang | 2:30pm | 42 hours | Solo | ||
5 |
9-10 Oct 1999 | 8:30pm | 3 hours | 8:15am | 11:45am | 4:45pm | 11.5 hours on Bullagowar | 1:45pm | 41 hours 15 minutes | With Rob Hynes | ||
6 |
14-15 Oct 2000 | 8:22pm | 3 hours 45 min | 8:25am | 12:05am | 4:40pm | Around 12 hours, past Bullagowar | 12:45pm | 40 hours 30 minutes | Solo | ||
7 |
3-4 Nov 2001 | 8:00pm | 3 hours 20 min | 8:25am | 12:20am | 5:05pm | Around 11 hours, on Krungle Bungle Range | 1:00pm | 41 hours | With Scott M and Alex M | Trip Report | |
8 |
19-20 Oct 2002 | 7:15pm | Around 3 hours | 7:25am | 11:20am | 4:00pm | Around 11 hours, past Bullagowar | 12:30pm | 41 hours 15 minutes | With Andrew Mitchell | Trip Report | |
9
|
1-2 Nov 2003 | 9:00pm | 3 hours 30 min | 8:20am | 11:50am | 4:30pm | 10.5 hours, past Bullaowar | 12:05pm | 39 hours 5 minutes | Solo. | Trip Report | |
10 |
11-12 Sep 2004 | 11:30pm | None | 8:00am | 11:50am | 4:50pm | Around 10 hours, past Bullagwar | 12:15pm | 36 hours 45 minutes | With Jo and Rob. Climbed Guouogang via Bullagowar | Trip Report | |
11 |
19-20 Nov 2005 | 10:50pm | None | 8:10am | 12:00pm | 5:05pm | Around 10 hours, past Bullagowar | 12:30pm | 37 hours 35 min | With James Bevan | Trip Report | |
12 |
28-29 Oct 2006 | 10:40pm | None | 7:35am | 11:10am | 3:55pm | None! | 2:50am | 28 hours 15 min | With Jo | Trip Report | |
13 |
27-28 Oct 2007 | 10:50pm | None | 7:55am | 11:50am | 4:40pm | 10 hours, on Krungle Bungle Range | 12:40pm | 37 hours 50 min | Solo | Trip Report | |
| 14 | 15-16 Nov 2008 | 7:40am | None | 4:10pm | 8:00pm | 8:55am | 9 hours, on Paralyser | 6:18pm | 34 hours 40 min | Solo | Trip Report | |
| 15 | 1-2 Dec 2012 | 10:35pm | None | 8:15am | 12:30pm | 7:50pm | 8 hours, on Guouogang | 4:30pm | 41 hours 55 min | With Iza | Trip Report |
I never carry a camera on the Three Peaks as it is essential to carry the bare minimum of weight on this trip. Here are some photos of the area taken on different trips. This will give an idea of the landscape and terrain of the Three Peaks route.
 |
 The peak in the centre background is Cloudmaker, the first of the Three Peaks. This photo is taken from Kanangra Walls which is to the south and not on the Three Peaks route. Cloudmaker is climbed from the north, from the far background horizon in this photo. |
 |
On the far horizon can be seen the Narrow Neck plateau, which must be walked along at the start and finish of the trip. In the middle distance can be seen Strongleg Ridge with the sun on it, rising gradually with an undulating profile. This is the ridge that you climb to get from the Coxs River to the summit of Cloudmaker which is not in the photo but lies to the right of it. In the foreground is Marooba Karoo Ridge. |
 |
Here again is shown the view from Mt Marooba Karoo, looking into Kanangra Gorge. From the summit of Cloudmaker, which is behind and to the right you must descend into this gorge and then climb out of it again to reach Paralyser. Paralyser is off the left side of the photo. In the far distance at the top right of the photo can be seen Mt Jenolan, and to the left of that Mt Queahgong, the broad summit of which is cutoff at the very top of this photo. If heading back via Route 2 then you will climb over these two peaks while following the Krungle Bungle range north from Guouogang. |
 |
A gorge of similar depth and size of this lies between Paralyser and Guouogang as well and this gorge too must be climbed into and out of on the Three Peaks. The Coxs gorge is similar too, and this must be crossed twice. |
Some of the Three Peaks trips that I have been up have been written up. Here are links to trip reports for each Three Peaks trip where a trip report was written.
Three Peaks Trip Report, 3-4 Nov 2001
Three Peaks Trip Report, 19-20 Oct 2002
Three Peaks Trip Report, 1-2 Nov 2003
Three Peaks Trip Report, 11-12 Sep 2004
Three Peaks Trip Report, 19-20 Nov 2005
Three Peaks Trip Report, 28-29 Oct 2006
Three Peaks Trip Report, 27-28 Oct 2007
Three Peaks Trip Report, 15-16 Nov 2008
Three Peaks Trip Report, 1-2 Dec 2012
Web page created 11 Nov 2008, last updated 18 Dec 2012. All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2008. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission. |
