Day 193 Rydal

Walking out of Wallerawang

 NSW Day 51 (193) Friday 3rd December, 2021 29.1km

3917.4 / 1153.4

An early morning walk out of Wallerawang as I've got to go nearly 30km.

Going round the pine forest

At least it's cool clear skies and after initially climbing out of town I follow a pine forest to Rydal. I can hear the highway long before I get there but it's an easy underpass.

Looking over the valley

Under the Western Highway

Not too bad

They are setting up for some Mountain bike event at the Rydal Showground and I have a quick look around before taking the road out. Rydal's claim to fame was it was the end of the train line for many years and anyone or anything wanting to travel west was dropped off here to continue the journey.

It's a trudge down the bitumen road with a short bypass whilst giving me relief from the constant traffic dodge, slowed me down as the track was boggy.

Alexander Hotel Rydal

The day off hasn't improved my bruised hip but I've worked out the technique to minimise the problem. It's just a matter of stopping and undoing the belt and lifting the pack and retightening, not just hoiking it up. I have to do that every half hour but it saves some discomfort.

I drop down a side road to the hotel and they are rebuilding a lot around here. The motel rooms are small and not well set up but they are new and clean. I had to borrow a screwdriver to tighten the toilet seat. If I was paying the plumber there would have been a few things I would get them to fix. They haven't used the correct screws on the shower screen in about three occasions so they will rust and look ugly very quickly. The carpenter missed a bit of door furniture so the bathroom door doesn't latch closed. But the coffee, cake and meals are good.

Rydal Church

Rydal Train Station

I'll just stick to my 4 and a bit per hour

A side track took me off the road for a change

Day 192 Zero day Wallerawang

Thursday 2nd December, 2021

I needed to go to Lithgow to wash my clothes. Had a quick walk around waiting for the machines to do their magic in getting the smell away.

St John's Wallerawang

I also spoke to the new manager Adam and he has agreed to let me park the car out back for another 3 weeks.

I had enough food in the car to only have to do a small shop at the food land. The next section is 8 days to get to the next town.

A quick trip to the railway station coffee shop for food, they call it the Expresso Cafe. I don't know whether they made a mistake or it was deliberate as it is at the train station.

Bathurst weekend means I need to move. Rydal is hosting a mountain bike thingy, so I decide to move onto the Hampton Halfway Hotel for another zero day.

Expresso Cafe

Wallerawang Station

Day 191 Wallerawang

The road or the creek

NSW Day 49 (191) Wednesday 1st December, 2021 20.9km

3888.3 / 1210.6km

Tree down

Arose reasonably early and started the walk to Wallerawang. The niggles are annoying and I should probably slow down and let my body repair. Having discussed it with Belinda I've decided to keep going to the end and not going back to WA for Christmas. I'll spend Xmas and New Year up the Snowies somewhere.

4wd carve up

I got a bit lazy last night and didn't filter my water. I did get it from the creek, looked clean, but I'm not feeling good in the belly this morning. I should have been more careful here with all the rubbish around the camp spot. I've got to think better, especially when tired.

The first thing to do is walk up the track which is carved up and muddy by 4 wheel drivers and water running down the road like a river. The trail climbs up and passes through Baal Bone Gap. Now the only Baal I know is the God of fertility. Baal Bone???.hmm.

The track through Baals Gap

Then it's a climb down to a bitumen road and then the plod to Wallerawang. I got there just in time with my belly not liking the day at all and the best thing for me was a porcelain bowl.

I went back to the Commercial Hotel where my car is. I will zero here tomorrow and clean up. I have to talk to the managers that have taken over as of the 1st of December. I'm going to try and leave my car here for the next leg. 16 days should get me to Canberra. It will feel good to rest a bit.

Looking towards Newnes

Gardens of Stone

Day 190 Crown Creek

The 20k road walk had this as a backdrop

 NSW Day 48 (190) Tuesday 30th November, 2021 31.7km

3867.4 / 1210.6km

Today I had at least 20 kilometres of walking the bitumen before I get to turn off and go across country.

Getting closer

The actual walking is easy with the view keeping me enthralled for about an hour. The flies come out early. When I leave the bitumen there's a sign saying there is no access to the Gardens of Stone National Park down this road. This is where the National Trail membership comes in handy and generous property owners that allow us to access their private property to get through.

Walking through the paddocks at Dunrovin.

The gentlemen we rang was OK with us trail walkers and his property was called Dunrovin. Thanks to people like him this trail continues to provide access to magic spots.

The walk across the land follows the Crown Creek. I think the Crown is a hill called Pantoneys Crown. Named after a local colonist who was the son of a convict, born on Norfolk Island and one of the first settlers in the Bathurst area.

The entrance to the park

At the end of the day I had to decide whether to climb up the range or stay down and do it in the morning. I decided to do it this afternoon even though my legs were buggered. By the time I got to the top it was cold and drizzly again.

Crown Creek

When I got to the camping area I could see I was back in civilisation with rubbish strewn everywhere. Glass stubbies smashed in the fire pit. I like it when we get less traffic.

3rd long day meant I was very tired and went to bed early.

Up top looking back down the Crown Creek valley

Day 189 Grassy Mountain - Glen Alice

Some giant playing stackem

 NSW Day 47 (189) Monday 29th November, 2021 30.4km

3822.8 / 1271.5km

A long day planned today. Not the best for looking after all those niggles that are happening but I want to get onto the road again and there doesn't seem to be a spot to stealth camp.

Waterfall

The trail follows the state forest then up a road then back into the Coricudgy State Forest. Its a pleasant walk then I re-enter the Wollemi National Park where it turns into a magical walk.

The trail

The trail follows a creek and has cliffs towering one side and a drop off the other. There is a lot of water dripping off the cliffs and waterfalls in some areas. A lot of photo opportunities and it's hard to get the magic on the small screen.

Again when I climb to the top, the Forrest thins out and I arrive at the Grassy Mountain Shelter.

More trail

From here I get a good view down the Capertee Valley or canyon. It is fairly long valley but it's claim to fame is that whilst it's not as deep it is 30 kilometres at its widest which is 1 kilometre wider than the Grand Canyon in the USA.

Up top the country changes due to the rocky ground

It's about midday so I begin the descent down to the property known as The Nile. Where there may be a creek that will cause me problems. More magnificent views as you come down. Hard to photo but in person it's a joy.

Grassy Mountain Shelter

Down the bottom I'm back into cattle country and the annoying flies become a swarm. So the fly net has to come out again. It looks like someone is rebuilding at the property and they have created a stable crossing on the creek by using those wire cages filled with rocks. Whilst the creek isn't running fast it does make the crossing rocky and only ankle deep.

View down the Capertree Gorge (valley)

The walk is then a long one down the road to a little village of Glen Alice. I'm able to use the phone box to ring Belinda (thanks bloody Telstra). The camp spot is behind the church down by the creek. Some fellow looks like he has pegged out a block between the church and the cemetery. Not official survey pegs and a caravan and a toilet surrounded by bamboo screens. Also the ubiquitous private property signs. Ho hum. They are not there so I just walk down to the creek and setup. Another long day and the plan is for another tomorrow.

Umbiella Creek. The Nile creek crossing everyone
talks about.

The long road to Glen Alice

The church at Glen Alice. I camped behind
down by the creek.

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.

My bridge across the Cudgegong River

Bit deep and fast but I didn't want to take my boots off

Day 187 Sandy Camp Hut

The road to Widden Stud

NSW Day 45 (187) Saturday 27th November, 2021 17.6km

3746.9 / 1352km

The trick in working out how to proceed is second guessing the weather and effect it will have. I can see the bigger river heights but the smaller creeks are not monitored as well.

Widden Brook. Just a little fast in the middle.
I got a lift across.

There are two apparent creeks that cause trouble. Bit confusing as one they keep mentioning is Nile Creek. On my maps I can't find it but in the end it turns out it is the Umbiella Creek crossing at The Nile.

Through Widden Stud to the Woolemi National Park

The other is the Cudgegong River. I know already that Widden Creek is up but the Widden Stud has a solution by lifting staff and visitors across the creek on a tractor. So even though there are rivers still peaking I decide to move across the trail whilst there is a break in the weather. We've had one day without much rain and two or three days more. That gives me a couple of days to get to problem spots with hopefully no rain topping up the waterways.

Foaling paddock

The first stop is to get to Widden Creek and get across. Tracey drives me out and I miss the road walk and maybe if I walked it the creek might be down far enough to walk but with more rain predicted my concern is the Cudgegong crossing which is more remote and no tractor to get me across. In the end we got to the crossing but there was no mobile signal to ring the stud to tell them I was there. I was not willing to chance walking it. Tracey took off to find a signal and staff arrived just as she left to check the creek. I got a lift across and Widden has a local mobile network which works closer to the office. Had to walk back to the crossing to say goodbye to Tracey and her family. Had to throw a water bottle across as I left my water when I threw the pack in the Ute.

Myrtle Creek at Myrtle Grove

By the time I get walking it's about 11am and the plan is to get up to Sandy Camp Hut. About 20k. The first part of the walk is through the stud. An impressive place.

Up further is the Myrtle Creek near Myrtle Grove some water over the road to negotiate but proved fairly easy. I finally get to the gate to the park and start climbing.

Myrtle Grove

It's a spectacular walk especially as the creek is running and there are little waterfalls and drips everywhere. The climb is through a rain forest. There are portions of the track that are crowded with plants that seem to provide a citrus type smell so whilst it's a pain pushing through it smells OK.

The climb through Woolemi

The higher you get the forest thins out. There is a lookout called Keith's Lookout, I don't know who Keith was. About 2 kilometres from there is the Hut which was a welcome sight. The wind was blowing and I set up the tent inner inside. A little bit of rain but not enough to cause a problem I hope.

Myrtle Creek

The view back down. You can see the trail on
the right. This is from Keith's lookout.

Sandy Hut. Stopped here for the night
and set up the tent inner in the hut.