JOURNAL
JOURNAL
WILD BLUE MOUNTAINS
HYDRAULICS PRACTICE 16 April 2023 Bernard had organised a practice session at Lawson RFB as the hydraulics assessment looms large! The weather was cooperating for a change: bright sun and little wind! It also helped that we were in the mid-mountains…. The soon-to-be assessed members practiced closed-relay pumping between two cat 1 trucks. Meanwhile the branch operators had fun doing some hose and branch work.
MALAITA POINT 15 April 2023 Wet canyons are over for me in April: it is too cold! Malaita Point is a nice multi-pitch abseil: not technical and with little exposure! The day was glorious with barely any wind. The views on the Jamison Valley and Mount Solitary were outstanding! I would not be anywhere!
THOR HEAD TO VALHALLA HEAD 13 April 2023 A short walk from Thor Head to Valhalla Head. The views on the Grose Valley are always great from both heads. The trees on the slopes are slowly recovering from the 2019-2020 bushfires. Small landslides dot the landscape. With time, the wounds will heal!
CLIFFLINE NORTH OF SPOT HEIGHT 11 April 2023 Another Yuri exploratory walk! The goal was to explore a long cliffline hoping to find interesting ledges, overhangs or caves and of course an exit! We did not see anything mind blowing but it was a good walk! We did find a pass through the cliffs and continued the exploration from the top. The views were magnificent! We could even see Mount Yengo far far away! On the way back, we were […]
IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS 4 April 2023 After being cooped up for a few days, I did a short walk to stretch my legs in my neck of woods. No gracious views, but there were still a few flowers around. Someone has put a bench overlooking creeks and hills. Further along a teepee made of branches suggest that kids are playing in the area. I scared a yellow-tailed black cockatoo who was busy “attacking” banksia cones. Further on […]
WONGARRA RIDGE TO WALLS LOOKOUT 31 March 2023 The weather decided to cooperate and off we went to the Bells Line of Road. I had done Walls Lookout to Wongarra Ridge several times, but not the other way around. The views were magnificent as usual. Several climbers were having fun on Mirrorball and we spent some time watching them from Wall Lookout. A short day but a rewarding walk!
LITTLE ZIG ZAG TRACK 30 March 2023 The plan was to walk the Little Zig Zag Track and Rienits Pass in Mount Victoria to prepare for this pesky Arduous Pack Test. Remembering that Rienits Pass was closed at some point, I checked the Blue Mountains City Council website: no mention of Rienits Pass among the many temporarily closed tracks. Good to go!When we arrived at the start of the track, a sign informed us that Rienits Pass was after all […]
VALLEY OF THE WATERS 29 March 2023 After ten days of generally bad weather, I decided to pay a quick visit to the Valley of the Waters to get those legs going. A squall of rain almost made it a non-event, but the sun shone on the rest of the afternoon. There were still a few tourists and locals on the track as well as a commercial group doing Empress Canyon. It was still a lovely walk! The track is […]
2023 HYDRAULICS COURSE 26 March 2023 The hydraulics course was on and I was assisting! As luck would have it, the weather went in sympathy with its own hydraulics show… For me, the highlight of the day is the buoy wall: watching the participants unpacking and packing it back! They did well! I was at the Cat 7 station explaining the finer points of drafting… Then, surprise! I was charged to demonstrate to each group, foam production with the Quenchmaster! […]
BALD HEAD RIDGE 20 March 2023 The mountains were wrapped in mist that contrasted with the heat of the previous day. A nice little walk to Bald Head and Bennett Lookout was on the menu. Views: there were none! The mist made place to drizzle and we reconvene for a hot cup of tea at Karin’s place!
