Hi Injasuthi. I think sticking to the river after Fergy's Cave is probably the more official route, I'll GPS this when I'm out there again. Indeed the climb up out of the valley just after the cave is a little steep, but it is short lived and then simply contours along the valley. You do loose a little bit of altitude just before the stream-crossing after which the killer climb starts, but its not too bad. The advantage with the higher route is less river crossings.