I’d always wanted to have a look around Hidden Valley and on this trip we did just that. The drive from Sydney was via Goulburn and Nerriga, to the park entrance at Sassafras. Only the last 3.5km along the private road slowed us down, with a rather stony 4WD track forcing us to concentrate. Anne and I drove down on the Friday evening, had some jaffles and some Hammer ‘n Tongs, before being joined by Adrian on the Saturday morning. We had some more jaffles for breakfast then got going.
Party – Peter, Tom “Mr G” G, Dave L and Nicole, Greg and Kate, Rob H, Roger L, Marina, Su Li, Maria, Jo B, Ashley and Ann(e?), Albert and Kim, Lou Lou and Mitch, James B, Dave N
It had been raining a bit (or rather a lot) up the mountains just before the weekend – but that didn’t seem to deter any of the starters – but at the North Richmond Bakery – we thought it prudent not to do Claustral Canyon which most of the party intended to do (in two groups) and instead join a group that Peter Raines was leading down Why Don’t We Do It In The Road Canyon at Mt Wilson. So we drove to the mountain and met up with Peter at the fire station.
After no small amount of disorganisation on my part, almost all the people who expressed an interest in this trip instead buggered off down to Canberra and spent the weekend discarding their favourite possessions into the greedy waters of the Murrumbidgee River. But that’s another story. Suffice it to say that the same rabid weather system that allowed the canoe clubbers to risk life and sacrifice (several) limbs on otherwise calm rivers gave us some cause for reflection as we sped along Bells Line on Friday night …
Tayan Peak is a prominent basalt peak on a complex plateau region in the northern Blue Mountains. The plateau is surrounded by private property, so permission from the local landowners is needed to gain access. A contact from my old school had a link with one of the properties adjoining this area and through this contact I was able to gain permission from the farmer to access this area. This provided a great opportunity for some bushwalking in a new area that no one on the trip had previously visited.
We had a bit of a bumpy start on Saturday morning… half of us arriving at the Royal NP at 8.30am and waiting for Sang’s car to show up… and waiting… and waiting… and then when we finally gave up waiting, they showed up!! There was some kind of long-winded excuse relating to sat nav and petrol… but we’re pretty sure they just slept in!! 😛
Well it wasn’t altogether surprising that I ended up with no takers for this trip – not many people are attracted to the idea of walking day and night pretty much non-stop, the objective being to reach the summits of Cloudmaker, Paralyser and Guouogang from Katoomba and returning thence within 48 hours of. I’ll admit to having second thoughts about the madness of it myself on more than one occasion, succumbing to the lure once more only because I’ve done it before, can do it again, want to relive the experience of the vastness of the southern Blue Mountains, and, yes, because it’s there.
Just getting to the start was a problem as one of the major sponsor “Cityrail” decided to do track work on the western line between St Marys and Granville. After all that drama, I reached the start at 8 and found David and his friend. The ride snakes its way thru Sydney from North Sydney to Olympic Park in Homebush. David and I cycled the whole thing non stop finishing in about two and a half hours. This was hard but it meant we would avoid the midday heat. It was well over 30 degrees by the time we reached the finish at Olympic Park. At the finish there were lots of stalls and a band playing.
While everyone’s rushing to work on a busy Monday morning, four lucky people (James Bucknell, Sarah Hicks, Aaron Nguyen and myself) were setting off for a relaxing time in the bush. We drove up Putty Road and arrived at Howes Valley at around 12:30pm, so we decided to have lunch first. As soon as we stepped out of the car, we were welcomed by hundreds of flies (especially after Sarah and I opened our tins of tuna). I haven’t seen so many flies for a while.
The alarm went off at 2:30am but I didn’t sleep, two coffees the day before made sure of that.To increase my chances of staying awake I had another one before we left. By 3am Andrew, Cat and Myself were in the car, skis and all heading south along King St. I was drugged up ready and to drive the first leg down to Michelago. Initially, the lack of sleep wasn’t an issue, Bogong moths constantly exploding on the windscreen kept me awake and entertained. However, near Canberra my vision started to get blurry. Combination of tiredness and the fact that I ran out of water for the windscreen wipers. At Michelago drivers were changed and I didn’t wake up until Rhythm Sports in Cooma. Even though the store was open the lady behind the counter couldn’t help and had no idea when or even IF someone that could help us would be coming. Bakery was the next natural stop. We conveyed the message to the other car and I chose the most obvious landmark to meet up. Minutes passed, no call, no car. Would you believe there is more than one Woolworths yet no 3 phone service in Cooma? Luckily, Bruce at Wilderness Sports in Jindabyne was happy to see us and after a couple of jokes and a $240 worth of equipment we were finally ready to head up the mountain.