JOURNAL
JOURNAL
WILD BLUE MOUNTAINS
Bald Head Ridge 12 May 2024 This was a short walk to Bald Head to celebrate Kate’s birthday! We never made it: a birthday cake materialised before we reached our goal and all good intentions were forgotten! The cake was a success: its mystery ingredient. had us talking for a while! The fog started to lift and we noticed several waterfalls falling into Hat hill canyon. We turned back: after all more cakes were awaiting … and enjoyed the magnificent […]
Redledge Pass To Rockpile Pass 25 April 2024 Redledge Pass is a natural pass between Narrow Neck Plateau and the Megalong Valley. The pass was used by miners from the Glen Shale Mine in the Megalong Valley and probably by the local Aborigenes. The pass starts down a slot into the gully formed by Corral Creek. After crossing the creek, the pass continues along the ledge. The area was badly fire-damaged however the logbook survived the encounter! The ledge continues […]
Western Ridge Hazard Reduction 23 April 2024 The weather being benign, National Parks took an opportunity to burn the south side of Woodford which had not seen any fire since the Mount Hall fire in 2001-2002. Being the only available member in my brigade, I ended crewing on Lawson 7. After the briefing we drove along the Woodford Oaks fire trail and the St Helena Ridge Trail where our section was. The burn went without a hitch! We did have […]
Kolonga Labyrinth 13 April 2024 When SBW put this walk on the calendar, I jumped at the occasion! The plan was to reach Wentworth Creek from one the spurs in Kolonga Labyrinth. John had already eliminated a few possibilities. We set out along Lawson Ridge Trail and made our way to Kolonga Labyrinth. We detoured to a hill that John thought might be the real Mount Twiss that Williams Dawes reached in 1789. However this does not match the location […]
Vertical Rescue – Level 02 10 April 2024 The Introduction to Rope Responder course run by Bill Proctor was so good that I signed up for the next level: Introduction to Rope Technician, a four-day training course. On day one, we entered the world of artificial high directionals in earnest! We practiced rigging a gin pole in the “lab” and in the afternoon we crossed the road and set up a system that would allow us to move a litter […]
Vertical Rescue – Level 01 WRITE 7 April 2024 I attended the Introduction to Rope Responder course, a three-day training course delivered by the always excellent Bill Proctor from Safety Access & Rescue in Lawson. A group of keen and like-minded participants spent time revising and learning new knots, constructing single and multi point anchors, constructing lowering and raising systems and of course rapelling and ascending. Day one was all about the law and standards, risk management, safety systems and […]
Undisclosed Creek 30 March 2024 I had unfinished business with this creek: 600 m of terra incognita which turned out to be nice! The rain and storms of the last few years were not kind to the creek: logs, debris, impenetrable scrub made our progress slow! We spent several minutes deciphering old graffiti dating back to 1949 on an overhang. As we continued on the scrub gave way to a forest of coachwoods. We soon arrived to a waterfall and […]
Darwin’s Walk 29 March 2024 After years in limbo, Darwin’s Walk has re-opened! At least two-thirds of it! So I went to check it out!A lot of work has been done as evidenced by the large amount of material (steel, sandstone, wood, etc) used! It is still a boring walk (for me anyway). “Following down a little valley and its tiny rill of water, suddenly and without any preparation, through the trees, which border the pathway, an immense gulf is […]
A Lawson Wander 10 February 2024 A blah day: so I decided to visit some of Lawson historical attractions. I called a friend and this became a dog walk. The so-called Convict Pit which was likely a grain silo, was first on the list. However I got lost in the Lawson industrial area as usual and ended up on Baths Road. We decided to check the Hazelbrook Baths remnants. This must have been a delightful place. Nature has now taken […]
