Posted by scribbly on Aug 19 2019 in Holiday, Hiking
Funny to think that it takes almost twice the distance to drive than walk to Jenolan Caves.
I'm trying not to say the phrase 'training walk' with Sandi (because she hates them), but the road to Melbourne (see I have a dream...) is going to have many in store for me as I tweak my gear, diet and generally just get back into the swing of things (after this walk it's obvious that I am very much not in the swing of things at the moment).
The Six Foot Track is another iconic walk in our beautiful Blue Mountains (they even run it as a marathon each Autumn), and we've walked it many, many times – and still love it; although it's not an easy walk by any means. There are many ways to walk it:
from Katoomba to Jenolan
from Jenolan to Katoomba (which we think is slightly easier)
one way (either way – there's a bus to and from Jenolan that we've used before)
or, there and back (which we've done once)
The height profile does look somewhat scary drawn like this, but it does show that it's not an easy walk
This time we walked:
Day 1: Walk from our house, caught the train to Katoomba, then walked to the Explorers' Tree (which is about the start of the Track) and then down to Alum Creek (that was about 26km).
Day 2: Walked from Alum, lunching at Black Range Campsite and pottering off to Kiaora Hill, just above Jenolan for the second night (which was just over 20km).
Day 3: Involved a long sleep in and a slow wander down the hill to Jenolan Caves (just under 4km).
One of our sons brought our car and his family down to meet us so we could take them through one of the caves (which we never cease to be amazed at)… so all in all a weekend filled with lots of beauty.
The Track
The aims for this walk included:
Test the Sawyer Mini Filter. I'm hoping to reduce the amount of water we carry by drinking from water sources as we come upon them. It worked pretty well, but it involves getting into better habits.
First multi-day walk on my Keto diet, which I think worked pretty good although it wasn't pure Keto as Sandi is still a carboholic, so the evening meal had way too many carbohydrates.
Try out my Scarpa hiking shoes (instead of boots), which I didn't really like. They were comfortable enough, but it just felt funny not being in boots.
The Photos
Nelles Glen is the most wonderful enveloping descent away from the hustle and bustle of Katoomba Town and the busy highway you've just walked beside.This Native sarsaparilla was also all abloom last week on Lindeman Pass: love seeing it flowing amongst the golden wattles.The Sawyer Mini Filter comes with a pump bag and a drinking straw. I'm hoping that having the straw within easy reach will mean short re-fueling stops beside creeks. We didn't try it out on muddy puddles this time, but we will – just to see how it goes when things get tough (something that our beloved SteriPen does not do well).We were pleasantly surprised to see that someone had managed to get on top of the blackberries in this paddock. Also surprised to see so many horses, who were very tame and actually refused to let us pass on the footpad.The bee hive was very active today — all abuzz it was.After the stiff climb out of the Coxs River, which is always a test at the end of a day, it is refreshing to crest the hill and come into this avenue like stretch in the setting sun.The campsite at Alum Creek has had a major refurbishment, with the addition of water tanks, toilets and a shelter. It's still the worst place to stop, but we were overdue for a stop. It's so nestled into the valley, it has limited solar access and the moist ground makes it very cold.One of the many benefits of the climb up to Black Range is the views, this one all the way back to where we started in the Megalong Valley.The wander along Black Range is beautiful and varied. In summer the canopy is very welcome; not so much on a cold winter's day.When we got up to the Pine Plantation, we were very surprised to large drifts of snow that was still sitting from last week's fall. It's times like this that I'm very thankful that Sandi is such a poor thrower of snow balls (or any ball that's smaller than a netball for that matter).We decided to have dinner at lunch time, where there was a water tank, and lunch at night, so we didn't have to carry too much water. Black Range still had snow on the ground as well!After a relaxed lunch, that was more like a dinner, at Black Range Campsite, we wandered off toward Jenolan Caves to find a suitable tent site. There are thousands of beautiful tent sites – but we decided not to walk past this one and set up camp for the night.Carlotta Arch is at the bottom of the steps down from the track from Mt George (that we really must take one day). Looks just like a bee hive, eh?Last time we walked here the Cafe was closed for renovations – they've really done a nice job: it was great to sit in the warm, wood paneled space and drink very acceptable coffee.We took the kids on a tour of The Lucas Cave, with a large group of other people. Spectacular, and very happy to see a lack of gaudy coloured lighting: the natural colours are just beautiful.
Very nice