Ascension : New Letterbox Walk - ‘Echo Canyon’
Submitted by The Islander (Gary Robinson) 03.08.2006 (Article Archived on 28.09.2006)
The new Letterbox Walk, ‘Echo Canyon’ is all ready with its stamp and book in place and cairns for guidance.
Steve Roulston, ‘founder’ of the walk will officially open the walk on Sunday 13th August at 10am. The start is down North East Bay Road, ¼ mile before the Ariane turning.
Ok where is it? Well, generally speaking, it is on a top of a cliff, on eastern side of the plateau, which rises behind Hannay Beach/Ariane site. It overlooks an impressive south to north gorge with a sheer eastern wall, which is very distinctive with its multicoloured strata. The gorge drops northward, from the flank of Devil’s Cauldron, gradually opening into a wide riverbed, running towards Hummock Point. You get excellent views of the coastline from Hummock Point, eastwards as it disappears around to Spire Beach. How do you get to it? Well with out the aid of a GPS here goes…
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At GR 728242, park off to the right hand side of the North East Bay road, on a flat sandy area, just after a left bend about a ¼ mile before the Ariane turning.
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Turn to face the escarpment.
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Walk towards it but bear slightly left and parallel to its base and you should be able to make out a gully cutting up towards the skyline.
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Head up the gully initially following a sheep trail on the left flank.
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Stay with, probably in, the gully - it does flatten out a little but continues to climb more gradually.
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Keep to it and you should top out at a distinctive Bermuda Juniper tree with a cairn close by.
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At the cairn, bear right over a short rise to a flatter area.
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Here ease left and you should come to a deep dry gully running south to north.
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Drop into it and cross to climb up the right hand side of another gully cutting to the skyline again, eastward in direction, the same as the initial gully already negotiated.
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After the gully tops out above a dry fall follow the streambed out and the plateau area opens up before you.
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Head eastward looking for an outcrop of rock that should have a marker on it. This should be a pole with a mainly orange coloured fish windsock attached to it.
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From the rocky outcrop look west and you should be able to distinguish a grey ridgeline falling from right to left, with a slightly more distant cliff face, red in colour, overshadowing the grey ridge.
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Once identified head eastward for where the grey ridgeline intersects the plateau horizon. You will go over a few undulations in the process and should end crossing a wide and sandy dry watercourse.
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