JOURNAL
JOURNAL
WILD BLUE MOUNTAINS
Hat Hill Canyon DRAFT WORDS 15 March 2026 I joined this walk at the last minute: Hat Hill creek is always fun!My last visit was three years ago: I am surprised by the amount of fallen timber in the creek and the number of people visiting the area. It is not yet as degraded as Dalpura Canyon and the end of Fortress Canyon though! After the rain we had in the last weeks the water levels were high and the […]
Fungabella Pass DRAFT 8 March 2026 International Women’s Day!Springwood Bushwalking Club had scheduled several women-only walks this week and I was a helper for this one: Warrimoo to Blaxland via Florabella Pass and Pippa’s Pass. There were some 16 or so of us, all different ages and walking abilities! The weather was uncertain: rain was forecasted for the day. We set out in the back streets of the “Moo” and were soon at the head of the track. The bush […]
A Hot And Muggy Day 4 March 2026 A short walk along the cliffs overlooking the Grose Valley before the afternoon heat: I was in! As soon as we left the tree cover, things became hot and muggy quickly! There had been showers overnight and the humidity was horrendous: we could have been in Brisbane! We made our way to the cliff edge for our morning tea and enjoyed the views on Blackheath Walls, Hanging Rock, Bald Head, Burra Korain […]
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 […]
