The Six Foot Track is from Katoomba to Jenolan. Early on Wednesday morning, the 29th of September a group of Cadets left Newcastle, heading for Jenolan. The party undertook the hike backwards, so they could catch the train home, and save their parents making two trips to the Blue Mountains. After everyone arrived at Jenolan Caves, the party set off, with the knowledge they had 48km to walk, three days to do it in, and that the last part was going to be up hill!
The first night's camp.
The first day of the hike was relatively easy, compared with what was still to come. But things got a little harder than expected on the second day. The Cadets realised that they hadn't quite walked as far as they thought the previous day. Leaving them with 28km to walk and one day to do it, if they wanted to reach the campsite. 28km didn't sound so bad seeing it was mostly downhill. But after a full day of walking, and only a couple of hours light left with further to walk, everyone realised walking downhill wasn't as easy as it sounde. Infact it was a real pain in the......knees and ankles!
The second day included three river crossings.This is Cadet Muncaster getting her feet wet and very, very cold!
Eventually the party made it to the campsite. It was dark and everyone was a very worn out. Still the day wasn't over until everyone got their tents up.
The morning of the final day. 'Well, it looks like everyone managed to put up their tents last night.'
As the campsite was right on the banks of Cox's River, it was a great
opportunity to go and have a wash.
'What the hell, who's up for a swim?' asked Cpl. Booth.
'Your insane, the water is freezing!...But why not.' The water sure
was cold, but at least we didn't smell so bad. After everyone packed up
their tents and ate breakfast, the party set off. In the back of everyone's
mind was two things. 1) Going home and 2) The scarier and much closer,
suspension bridge.
'I do NOT call that a bridge! No one mentioned I needed a degree in tight-rope walking! Did I mention I am scared of heights?'
'Any volunteers to go first? No. Well I volunteer Dawson!'
The bridge doesn't look too stable. Trust me it isn't. It sure does sway. HEAPS!
The last person across, Cpl. Booth.
Getting the whole party across the bridge took a good hour. There is a safety restriction of one person at a time. But that doesn't even seem too safe. By the time the last person got across the bridge everyone else was already in the water, rewarding their own bravery. Whatever happened to the Blue Mountains being cold? Every day the temperature was in the mid to high twenties. That didn't help the water though. It was still very cold.
This photo was taken from the suspension bridge.
After spending far too much time relaxing the Cadets set off, heading towards Explorers Tree, then Katoomba and via train, home. There was still a long way to go, and the day was getting very hot, the expected temperature at Richmond was 32° . As I asked before, whatever happened to the Blue Mountains being cold?
Rolling hills, and then the big climb.
Those are the cliffs we had to go up. Not an easy task.
The climb was a good one, and it really did separate the boys from the men. There are steps cut into the mountain side, but that doesn't make it much easier, and in a few cases a stepladder would be handy just to get up a step. Getting to the top was such a great feeling. Perhaps it was just relief it was over but still it felt great. However their was still further to go. First we had to go about 500m to Explorers Tree (most poeple ran this, with a a great feeling of accomplishment, fueling their weary bodies!), and from there it was about 3km to the Railway Station, at Katoomba.
From left to right; Mr. Nelson, L/Cpl. Dawson, Cdt. Muncaster, Sgt. Wardrop, Cpl. Nelson Cdt. Pope and Jnr. Cdt. Pope. Behind the camera is Cpl. Booth
From the Explorers Tree it was a cautious walk along the highway into Katoomba, and the Railway Station. But even before the station, it was time for some hot food. After everyone filled their stomachs with all the fish and chips they could afford, it was time to head home. To a hot shower, lots of sleep, and then even more sleep.
The train home. 'Almost a carriage to ourselves. We don't smell that bad, do we?'
Although a few people (the younger cadets) found the Six Foot Track
a bit difficult, everyone enjoyed themselves. But that left one problem,
where to go next? The Six Foot Track was recently voted the second best
hike in Australia by Getaway (a holiday program). It ran second to the
Overlander in Tasmania...
'Who wants to go to Tassie?'
