4:48 TO KATOOMBA
My second weekend in Australia, I took the train out to Katoomba, in the Blue Mtns., 40 miles east of Sydney, just to explore and hike in the national park there on some of the trails. I had a great time, just on that day trip. While browsing in an outdoor gear shop (I just can't resist going in those, which is hazardous...), I saw that a rock-climbing course was being offered the following weekend. I had never tried it, but now seemed like the perfect time. So, after another rushed and busy week of work and city life, after getting off work at 4:30 pm on Friday, January 2nd, I rushed right down to Central Station with my bike and pack, and caught the 4:48 to Katoomba.
My two day rock-climbing course, run by the Australian School of Mountaineering, was all day saturday and sunday, the 3rd/4th. I found a nice room in a hostel, and showed up, ready to ascend, at 0830 sat. morning. There were just three other students, a late 20s British tourist named Paul, and a married couple from Sydney, Michelle and Paul, who were about my age. Our instructor was a really interesting and fun guy named Andrew Sharps, who had us call him Sharpy. He's only about 30, but has been climbing since he was 14, and has gone through all manner of courses, certifications, and done some amazing (and downright terrifying, to me) things. And of course his outrageous Aussie accent made him all the more entertaining.
The first day we drove east of Katoomba to an area called Mt. Victoria, where some great rock walls are to be found, with very steep pitches. The rating system in Australia for climbing is on a scale from 5 to 34, 34 being the hardest and steepest. I
n the U.S., a different system is used, a decimal system where 5.5 is the easiest, and 5.15 the hardest. Just do give you some idea, even on the first day, we went right into moderate-expert pitches, 12s, 14s, and even 18s, on the Aussie scale.Sharpy, to the right here, first "showed us the ropes" for an hour or so, before we started climbing. Explaining the rope knots and treatment, basic gear, and the different methods of pushing yourself up rock slabs, walls, and cracks using different foot and hand holds/methods. Then, it was time to head up. Ropes were set to hooks permanently attached on top of some of the faces, or metal tools were wedged into cracks. Attached ropes then were thrown down to the bottom. We attached one end of the rope to our climbing harness in a double figure 8 knot. Our partner attached a carabiner from the other end of the rope to their harness. The other end of the rope was also anchored to a tree or rock. The partners job was to belay while we climbed, meaning, just keep reeling in the slack on our rope as we ascend. So that if we slip, only a few inches will we drop. Even if they were to let go the rope, we would only drop a foot or two, so it was completely safe.
My first go at a moderately steep 14 face was, I have to admit, pretty stressful. Since I had never done it, and didn't really understand that to slip was no big deal, I put everything I had into it. And ended up scraping my knees pretty bad. There's a reason most climbers wear pants, a hard-earned lesson. I didn't slip, but it's amazing how exerting it is, when you use your whole body and mind to propel yourself up just 50-100 feet. My second climb was much better, Sharpy told me I used my hands/upper body too much, and to rely more on my feet (a common problem for men, since they usually have more upper-body strength). And, he told me to just let go and slip, to feel that, so I could understand, and try more edgier ways of foot and hand holds. So I did that, and it went much better. Realizing I was completely safe, I was able to extend myself more into different hand and footholds, and be more efficient. Like all human-powered sports, efficiency is the key to success! My partner was Paul, the British tourist, so we traded off belaying and climbing. We did four climbs that first day, up pitches of 60-120 feet, very tiring.
Day two's climbs were on Mt. Pennington, about 5 miles east of Katoomba.
These pitches were a little higher and steeper than saturday's, and we were going to do a couple of crack climbs, which require specific hand and foot holds. This is one of the pitches, to the left. Note the crack in the middle of the face below the tree branch. We used this crack to climb, and it was tough, having to brace your fingers in it, to help you get up. But we all did, and were quite happy. My fingers though got quite scraped up, but I think if I did this more often, they'd toughen up.
It was hard, and painful wedging your toes into the narrow crack, but I think with practice, my feet would toughen up for that too.
Here I am on that crack in the face, it took all my mental and physical focus to wedge myself in the crack and find other footholds at times, to get up. I think that's why I like climbing, using everything you've got to focus on a short-term task, is something I really like to do. Note, also that pants are being worn. My legs were much better off that day.
We all did another four climbs that day, and had great fun, and learned a great deal. All of us were novices, but came away from our course wanting to do more, and get the equipment we need. There are lots of great places to climb in interior Alaska, so this coming summer, that's something we'll be doing. Mattie might even get into it, and with her claws, she won't even need a harness and rope, I'm sure she could just zip right up those faces. But, I'll keep her harnessed, just to be on the safe side. Sharpy said when he was younger that he climbed, alone and without ropes for safety, 20 to 30 meter pitches! Just thinking about that made me shiver. He said he doesn't do that anymore, he doesn't want to die! Good on ya, mate!
WICKED FUN
It so happened that the weekend after my rock-climbing course was to be a three-day off one. I had seen funky little mini-campers zipping around Sydney, and so planned to rent one for that weekend, and hit the road. I had two goals, to spend the night and walk around the next morning on a beautiful section of coast to the south in an area called Jervis Bay, and to see Australia's high country and do one of my fast-packs there.
I picked up my Wicked camper http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/ on my lunch hour on Thursday Jan. 8th. What followed was my first leftie driving experience, since they follow the British model here in Australia. It was terrifying on the cramped, crowded, chaotic Sydney streets, clogged with mid-day traffic. I almost side-swiped a city bus on the way back to work, and arrived back sweaty and highly agitated.
After getting off at 4:30 I raced back to the motel and threw my stuff together, and got on the open road at 5:30 pm. I had good maps, and getting out of Sydney, the traffic got lighter. After an hour or so, I felt much more comfortable with the new driving method, and enjoyed the quieter highway in the cool, cloudy weather with a few showers.
It took three hours to drive 200 km south to Jervis Bay. The campground I had wanted to stay in was full, but just a little bit down from that was a boat ramp parking area, called Murray Beach, secluded and mainly empty. I pulled in there and hoped for the best. Sure enough, I had a nice quiet night, no hassles, and the gusty south winds and chirping of birds ensured a nice relaxing sleep in the comfortable camper. These little campers, based on a minivan plat
form unavailable in the U.S., have a bed, table, and little kitchen area, perfect for one or two people. Run by 20 something kids, the company is a classic hipster operation. Picking it up took a long time and was a chaotic affair, but worth the effort.Here it is parked in our nice little spot friday morning. I sure wish I had one of these at home! It was fun to drive and got about 28 mpg.
Friday morning, I got up around 800 am, and after breakfast, hiked on the Murray Beach and Grosvenor Head trails. What awaited was Aussie beach/coast paradise. I don't know what it is here, but the water at all the coastal areas is the most beautiful pale blue colour I've ever seen. Hawaii and Florida come close, but don't quite match it. I just wanted to dive right in and stay in all day, but couldn't. I had alot of driving to do, to reach the Alpine country.
Still, it was hard to leave, I wish I had several days, my scuba gear, and a kayak, to use around this beautiful area, which is protected by two national parks.
I pulled out around 1100 and continued south on the coastal highway, south to Bateman's Bay, a beautiful resort/surfing town. Here I cut inland on the Kings Highway, a newly widened but still extremely windy road that ascends 2000 feet as it heads inland toward the capital, Canberra. Once inland through the moister coastal forest, the land opened up into wide valleys reminiscent of parts of Northern California and Southern Oregon. I turned south at Canberra, and dropped down to Cooma, a dry dusty town at the eastern edge of the Great Dividing Range, wherein lies the highest terrain on the continent.
I drove past the upscale little ski town of Thredbo, which has a downhill ski area of the same name. The base elevation of it is 4800 feet, and the top 6200. These are pretty low elevations for an area at only 36.5 degrees south of the Equator. What gives? In California at 36.5 degrees north of the Equator, you certainly wouldn't find a ski area at that low of an elevation.What gives, is Antarctica. It gives the Southern Hemisphere colder weather all year, and especially in the summer. Since Antarctica stays well below 0F even in summer, this contrast keeps the summer jet stream, which is usually very weak in the northern hemisphere, much stronger. Thus, more frequent and stronger low pressure systems are pushed around by a stronger summertime jet stream in the southern hemisphere, keeping things cooler, than at similar latitudes, in the northern.
On the other side of a 5000 foot pass, Dead Horse Gap ( on the highest road in Australia), I stopped at a little camp ground at about 4300 feet. Here, while still cold enough for winter snow, live some of the largest trees on Earth. These blue gums can reach up to 300-350 feet, as tall as redwoods. I had a nice relaxing evening here after a short run through the forest, listening to the screechy sulphur-crested cockatoos.
After another wicked sleep in the camper, I hit the road back to Dead Horse Gap, to start my planned all-day hike over the highest terrain on the Continent. I got to the trailhead at 0930 and started in. As with all my fast-packs, I just had about 18-20 lbs. on my pack, my sleeping bag, in case of unexpected delay/injury, extra layers/raingear, and food/water. Unfortunately, in my mad rush to get out of Sydney, I forgot to bring my trekking poles, which was to have an effect. I then had to wear my hiking boots, instead of running shoes, since I needed ankle support, in the absence of poles, which also was unfortunate.
The trail quickly ascended from around 5000 feet through these snow gums, and rapidly got above tree line, which was only at 6000 feet. Vast wildfires in 2003 decimated huge swaths of this area. Tree-line in Calif. at 36.5N is about double what it is here!
When I got up and over the plateau that is around 6000-6500 feet, I could see a few small lakes, like that to the right, and vast areas of alpine tundra and rocks. What really struck me is how much this area looked like the White Mountains, near Fairbanks. Of course, there is no permafrost here in Australia, but the granitic rocks, and tundra were quite similar. One big difference was the higher sun angle. Even at only 6500 feet, sunglasses and good sunscreen were essential. The walk up to Mt. Kosciuzcko, 7316 ft., the highest point on the continent, was interesting. A wide paved track, the start of which was at the top of the ski lift from Thredbo. Hence tourists could ride the lift up, then just walk 5 km to Mt. K. And did they ever, there were hundreds, many on cell phones! Gawd, get me away from that s..t. Relief was just one km away, on a 25 km loop trail which traversed all the higher peaks and gave views of some lakes.
I really wanted to put my newly-acquired climbing skills to work on rocks like these, but didn't have time. Still, it was nice just being around such beautiful terrain. And once I was just a few km in on the loop trail, seclusion returned.
This is Blue Lake, at around 6300 feet. Glaciers scoured out this valley in the ice ages, and it is over 100 feet deep. What a great place for a dive that would be! If you look closely, there are still a few little snow patches above it. I've been told that many people cross-country ski here in winter, and saw many beautiful pictures. It's a six hour drive from Sydney though, so it's not something that could be done too often, unless you live close by.
All told, I walked for about nine hours, about 42 km. I think I managed to see all the terrain in Australia that lies above 2000 meters (6560 feet), as there are no other peaks above that elevation anywhere else. I had a great time, since very few people were on the middle parts of the loop. And I talked with some park rangers, at the beginning, and end, when they were laughing at/with me, for having hiked so long. I've never had problems on my other fast-packs of 25-40 miles (42-64 km), but the absence of my trekking poles and running or multi-sport shoes with extra cushioning took it's toll.
By km 35 or so, I knew I had blisters on the bottoms of my feet near my toes, and my hands swelled up some. That is because they are low and swinging all day, forcing fluid into them, turning them edemic. This doesn't happen on long ski outings or treks with poles, because my hands are higher overall through the day.
Dig these puffy hands, right as I finished. Usually my hands are thin and veiny, not today! I decided to get a cheap motel room in Thredbo to clean up and drink beer in, so after I got there and had a few, they returned to normal!
My foot blisters were hideous, but not totally incapacitating, and most importantly, my knees and hamstrings were not too sore, as it was quite an up and down trail, with 2500 ft. elevation gain in the first 8 km, then several 1000 ft. dips and rises thereafter. So, I was quite happy, my goal of a good, long, fast hike in high, somewhat secluded country was achieved, and I got all the city crud out of my lungs. Research now shows that people living in Southern California in one week get as much lung damage as from smoking a pack of cigarettes. I'm sure Sydney would be similar. Thank God A.P.R. is headquartered in the clean cool air, in the hills above Fairbanks!
The weather on my all-day outing was perfect, some building cumulus, but no real threat of storms. But, around 10 pm in Thredbo, a strong storm with frequent lightning and heavy rain came through and freshened things up. A great end to a fun day, and even better, I didn't get caught out in it, above tree-line.
The next day, I left Thredbo around 1000 and headed out of the mountains, back to Canberra, and Sydney.
Just about 10 km out of Thredbo, I saw a large dead animal by the side of the road. I had to stop. It was a wombat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombat
These incredibly cute creatures are like koala bears but bigger, and ground-dwelling. This poor little guy was lying on his back, it's face grimaced in it's death's agony, probably from internal injuries/bleeding. I was very sad, remembering Coyote, Stikine, Nahanni, and Kiana, my former canid companions, who perished this way. I said some prayers for the poor creature, and turned it over. They are fairly rare too, all the sadder that this happened. I would have buried it, but I had no shovel.
That put me in a downer mood for awhile, but having to focus on the leftie driving snapped me out of it. I got to Sydney in just six hours, and drove straight to Bondi Beach, to cool off in the sparkling blue waters after the long hot drive. I'm not crazy about being in a city as big as Sydney, but the beaches here are so incredibly beautiful, and am so glad I got to see them.
Cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment