Over the years I had visited most of the Narrow Neck Passes but there was one I had not visited – Dunphys Pass. This was an early Narrow Neck pass found by Myles Dunphy and party. Bob suggested a walk from the Dunphy Camping Area up to Dunphys Pass onto Narrow Neck and then back via Duncans Pass. It seemed like a good plan.
In an earlier essay I had listed the passes of Narrow Neck that I know of. Dunphys Pass was the only one on that list that I had not visited. Bob had done the pass many years earlier.
Bob and myself set off from the Dunphy Camping Area in good weather and soon reached the Fire Road to Medlow Gap. We walked along it and crossed Sliprail Creek. Not long after, we left the road and started climbing towards the base of Glen Raphael Head. Not far below the cliffs, we traversed to the right towards a gully east of the head.
It was quite easy going just under the cliffs. In places we could follow a very rough and indistinct track.
We soon started climbing up the gully which forms the lower part fo the pass. We climbed up through tree ferns and soon reached the top of the gully. The way ahead seemed blocked, but near the top it is quite easy to climb on the right onto a ledge. This is easy to gain and requires no technical scrambling.
Then easy going traversing along the quite broad ledge. We went around another headland, then past a recess and around a second headland. Then it is easy going up a slope to the top of the pass. It is quite scrubby, and it is best to follow a slight watercourse here.
So Dunphys Pass is perhaps one of there easier Narrow Neck Passes to negotiate.
One on top, the difficulties start – the thick heath of Narrow Neck. If you try and walk straight to the Narrow Neck Fire Road you have to cross a nasty area of swamp. More thick scrub! We chose to walk to the right around a small knoll to whee we could easily cross the drainage creek for the swamp (Glen Raphael Creek) very close to the Narrow Neck Road.
Just as we left the scrub, we met another party of walkers on Narrow Neck walking back from Clear Hill. We continued walking to Clear Hill where we admired the views and had lunch.
We then descended Duncans Pass. There has been some confusion over this pass. Many walkers seem to think it is the route that bypasses Tarros Ladders. This is wrong. The Duncan Party when pioneering the pass – went down, with the aid of a rope, the place where the spikes of Tarros Ladders are located. So Duncans Pass is the whole pass from Clear Hill down. Tarros Ladders is part of the pass. And so is the bypass route – probably best called the Wallaby Pass by which means you can avoid Tarros Ladders. That was the way we went – and it is quite easy but also quite long. It is much quicker to use Tarros Ladders.
In the gap where the Electricity Pylon is, we left the track and descended easily down to the Medlow Gap Fire Road which we followed back and then turned off to the Dunphy Camping Area.
This was a very worthwhile walk. More photos are online here on my website.