Monthly:February 2026
Birthday Creek DRAFT 25 February 2026 There is no birthday creek in the Blue Mountains. The 80th birthday of one of my usual walking suspects fell on the day of the exploration of the creek. Unfortunately I was unavailable on that day so a year later, we went there to satisfy my curiosity and took the opportunity to celebrate his 81st birthday! Access was through a shrubby gully: the side cliff was imposing with an amazing balancing rock on the […]
Fallen Timber Creek DRAFT 19 February 2026 Unfinished business! I had walked the first section of this creek but had not completed the whole thing. It had rained the night before: by the time we were in the creek, we were soaked … The start of this creek is pretty: with the past rains, the water was flowing. The small waterfalls in the creek can be avoided but we had the abseiling gear: everything was wet and slippery, it was […]
Upper October Creek 18 February 2026 There are a few small creeks in this area that form a J-shape when going through the sandstone. We went to explore such a creek. We followed a heavily-vegetated ridge for a while. Fortunately as soon as we left that ridge for another the vegetation became easier. It was not hot yet but I was sweating profusely, attracting all the flies of the Creation! These little monsters packed a bite!We soon descended into the […]
Steps And Leeches Galore DRAFT 14 February 2026 Is there a better way to spend Valentines Day climbing up and down thousands of steps and removing tens of leeches? At least some 20 people thought so!We met a the top of the Perrys Lookdown track on a drizzly day. Last time I had an helicopter ride to get me out, today I would not! There were no views – just a thick blanket of fog. As we descended the steep […]
Charles Darweed Walk 11 February 2026 Last September the second section of the Darwin’s Walk was completed and opened to the public. It was time to check it out! Darwin’s walk is not my favourite track but it is historically significant. During his stay in Sydney, Charles Darwin travelled to Bathurst via the Blue Mountains and stopped at Wentworth Falls. There he walked from the Weatherboard Inn and followed the Jamison Creek to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the […]
Geocaching In Katoomba 8 February 2026 My lower back was unhappy so I went for a walk to the Katoomba Falls area on a misty day – translation: heavy fog. That would also be the occasion to prepare a GPS navigation exercise for the RFS. A surprise awaited me: the tracks on the Reid Plateau had just been closed and would remain so for the next five months for “upgrade works to the Night-lit Walk”. The Council must have money […]
Upper Wollangambe WORDS DRAFT 7 February 2026 I had thought to put this walk on the club program but I got beaten to it so I joined the walk. On my last visit to the Upper Wollangambe years ago it had been cold; I walked as fast as I could: it was all a blur! Today it was going to be hot! On our way we came across a couple in shorts carrying nothing more than their phones and a […]
VR Practice In Empress Canyon DRAFT 5 February 2026 I had not been through Empress Canyon in a while so I Jumped at the occasion for a brief practice with the lightweight gear. The canyon is surprisingly short but quite pretty. The water levels were low. We were soon at the abseil and set up the ropes: that took a while because the two ropes had threaded themselves into a mess…I was the first one down. On two ropes, the […]
Wild Dogs Search 3 February 2026 The call came out for a search in the Wild Dogs. I had mixed feelings about this one: the last time I was there I swore I would not go back: the regrowth was insane and the small rocks obscured by the vegetation on the ground presented the perfect opportunity to twist a knee or an ankle… Anyway I went! The tasking was ambitious for a day search but there are not many access […]
