Day 188 Cudgegong River

The Livery Stable. A cave with art

NSW Day 46 (188) Sunday 28th November, 2021 32km

3792.4 / 1306.5km

The hut is surprisingly bug and critter free. Had a fairly good sleep and the wind died down last night.  It came up again this morning.

I saw the red markings and didn't notice the horse
until I looked at the photo
The plan to day is to at least get past the Cudgegong River. I'm starting to get a few niggles, like my right knee is starting to get warm and pain a little. 

Also a problem I had with my right foot on the Heysen walk is coming back. I think it has to do with a couple of long road walks. Also, I have bruised my right hip when I left a toggle on my rain jacket got caught under the waist belt of my pack. Now I can't do the pack up it feels uncomfortable in the correct position on my hips so I lift it higher on my waist and then it drops as I walk till I have to lift it again. Makes the day longer as I'm always lifting. Much worse on a heavier pack.

The road through the State Forest

The first stop today is a small cave with some indigenous art. Then I come out on top of Nullo Mountain. A long walk down the road where I passed some pig carcasses with the backstrap removed. A little further I find a hunter with a bow. Have to be careful as there seems to be a lot of hunting in these State forest areas in NSW. Apparently there are deer up here but the Hunter is having trouble as the forest is choked with debris from the bushfire and of course that makes stealth hard.

Red Belly to cold to move
I then drop off the road down to the Never Never Trail which is fairly clear but the Middle Trail the National Trail follows is overgrown and doesn't look like it is maintained any more.

Middle Hill track Nullo State Forest

I get to the Cudgegong River and the designated camp is on the north side of the river I intend to cross.  Where the trail crosses the river it's about 3 metes wide but of unknown depth but it drops fairly quickly to about knee deep just on the edge. I spy a tree fallen just down and check it out. It was certainly wide enough and had a couple of branches to help steady. Just a matter of getting up and on the far side is a blaze at the base that gives me a step so up I get and get across. 

Gate back to Woolemi

Another obstacle out of the way. I walk up the track and find a clear spot for my tent and setup for the night. Some light showers but nothing really heavy to add so water flows. Just enough to keep everything damp.