The Six Foot Track was originally a bridle trail from Katoomba (New South Wales,
Australia) to the Jenolan Caves, and is now a demanding to hard strenuous, but
popular, 45 kilometres (28 mi) walk that is usually covered in three days.
The Jenolan Caves are a tourist attraction that first became popular in the mid and
late nineteenth century. The journey to the caves from Sydney was a long one,
though, and even after the western railway was completed to Bathurst in 1870, the
journey involved a lengthy horse ride from the nearest station at Tarana.
In 1884 a New South Wales government party marked out a new horse track from
Katoomba across the Coxs River to shorten the journey. The track was constructed
to be six feet wide, and was completed at a cost of 2500 pounds, although it was not
until 1937 that the track became known as the Six Foot Track, by which time it was
already close to impassable.
The first recorded journey on the track was in 1887 by the NSW Governor, Lord
Carrington, and his wife. The journey from start to finish took approximately eight
hours and was very popular until motor vehicles gradually took over in the twentieth
century.
TRACK
Starting on the western outskirts of Katoomba at the Explorers Tree, the track
descends via steep steps through the temperate rainforest of Nellies Glen to the
Megalong Valley floor. Here in the valley the track passes the historical site of the
abandoned shale mining Megalong village and continues on through farmland past
the Megalong Cemetery (this is off the track).
The track winds along the steep sided banks of the Cox's River. The river is crossed
either via ford or by using a suspension bridge, called Bowtells Bridge, built by the
1st Field Squadron of the Royal Australian Engineers in 1992. A dedicated campsite
is available where most people camp the night before the demanding climb up to
Mini-Mini Saddle the next morning and then the descent to Alum Creek.
Another challenging uphill climb is then tackled with the rise to the top of the Black
Range ridge. This is followed by a gentle walk along the ridgeline to the next
dedicated campsite. From here the track hugs close to Jenolan Road before a final
descent to the limestone caves at Jenolan.
The track is best walked in spring or autumn due to the heat and bush fire hazards of
summer and the cold nights and rain of winter. The track can be walked in either
direction. There is a popular running race, the Six Foot Marathon, along the length of
the trail each March. This race has become iconic, one of the premier long distance
events in the world and due to celebrate it's 25th anniversary on March 8th 2008.
Relevant topographic maps for the track are available from the NSW Department of
Lands, maps Katoomba (8930-1S), Hampton (8930-4S) and Jenolan (8930-3N)
cover the entirety of the track.
