Su Li had organised a weekend to welcome back Stacey. She had recently returned from a long overseas trip. A walk was planned on the Asgard Plateau at Mt Victoria and after that we would meet others and camp at Mt Wilson.
Digi Dave and myself went up the mountains on the Friday night to camp at Perrys Lookdown. The plan was to get up early and photograph the dawn. Continue reading
Stu has finished the iPhone version of the Sydney Climbing Guide that he has been working on.
Years ago, Peter Monks from the Sydney Rockclimbing Club started an online guide to the crags of Sydney called “Sun, Surf and Sandstone”. It was quite common when at Sydney region crags to see climbers walking around with large printouts from the web pages of that guide. The latest version of the project has been undertaken by Stu, also from the SRC. It is still available as an online guide or in print on demand books.
The iPhone app has a huge amount of information in it. Plenty of photos of the routes, topos, maps, crag information etc. As well you can tick off the climbs you have done and add your own notes.
Update (November 2014) Now available for Android – See this link.
Blue Mountains based photographer, bushwalker and climber, Ian Brown, has produced another very nice calendar for next year. The RRP is $35 and it is available from various outlets in the Blue Mountains or from Ian directly. He also has discounts if you buy more than one.
Ian can be contacted by email – ianbrown (at) lisp.com.au or via his website at Windy Cliff Press
Continue reading
This was a walk I organised for SUBW. Here is part of the trip report –
Blue Gum Forest was saved 80 years ago on the 2nd September 1932. This majestic forest lies at the intersection of the Grose River and Govetts Creek near Blackheath. Back in 1932, a large portion of the forest (it was then private land) was going to be felled and replaced by walnut trees. Visiting bushwalkers were alarmed, and rallied together and ended up raising money to purchase the block in question and saving it for conservation. Many regard this as the start of the conservation movement in NSW.
Over the years, the Forest has remained a truly magnificent place. In danger of being loved to death by bushwalkers, a ban on camping in the forest was put in place in the 1970’s. An alternative campsite, Acacia Flat was set up nearby. Continue reading
Late August was a nice time for a ride on the road bike. The route I chose was mainly on city cycleways – a loop of nearly 100km. It went from Dulwich Hill out along the off-road M5 Cycleway and then along Salt Pan Creek to Bankstown. Then a few kilometres of roads to pick up the cycleway near the Chipping Norton Lakes. This took me to Canley Vale and Fairfield. Then along the Orphan Creek Cycleway to Prospect Reservoir.
Photo-pfaffing – a term used to describe a situation where there is a photographer in the party, and where plenty of photographic stops are made – which usually involve tripods, changing lenses, screwing on filters, waiting for the right light etc. A camera artist at work (but somewhat boring for others in the party…..)
Digi Dave and myself headed up the mountains for the weekend. The weather forecast was not too bad. Snow at first – but that would soon clear to a nice fine Saturday and Sunday. We took our cameras plus a bit of other gear.
Chris, Clare and myself went on a nice ride yesterday at Kentlyn.
We started by doing the long loop to the east of Boronia Road. Bob the Builder has been busy adding a few more sections to his track and that made for a fun start to our ride. The track is only in a small area of land but it winds around for about 4 or 5 km before returning to the road. Continue reading
Last weekend I went on what was more or less a repeat of a trip I did in late May to some canyons in the Gardens of Stone National Park. Some friends hadn’t been to these canyons and given the cold weather forecast – some dry canyons seemed a good idea.
So I will post here a few of the photos from the second trip. Once more they show a selection of images of the delicate rock formations found near the canyons as well as the canyons themselves. On the trip were Su Li, Wendy, Dave W and myself. Continue reading
A friend, Rik, was keen for a winter canyoning trip. Not content on visiting familiar canyons – he wanted to head out to a remote part of the Greater Blue Mountains and explore for something new.
A few years ago, on a winter walking trip, Rik together with Rob and Zen had found a canyon in a creek near their campsite. They had headed down into the headwaters of the creek to get water, and when they explored a bit downstream they found themselves at the top of an interesting canyon. They had no ropes for abseiling with them so were unable to proceed.
Many years ago, I too had been in that area, and we had gone down a nearby creek. It too had been canyon – it was nice but not that spectacular.
Anyway, Rik talked a few of us into a new trip. It was winter. The forecast was cold (snow was possible). Any canyon could be wet. In winter that is not pleasant. But – we thought – not that many canyons in the Blue Mountains are really that wet. And many in the more northern parts tend to be drier. So five of us set out – Rik, Rob, two Michaels and myself. Continue reading
Recently an old friend and fellow bushwalker Michael Maack passed away. When he joined SUBW in 1983, he was given the nickname “Ted” and this was how he was known since then by many bushwalkers. At that time in SUBW, there were several other members of the club with the name “Michael”, and some were given nicknames to distinguish them. Michael’s nickname was derived from then politician Ted Mack.
When Ted joined the club, he was already a graduate electrical engineer. He had studied at UNSW and was in the workforce. To round out his education he then undertook an Arts degree at Sydney University. He also joined the bushwalking club to round out his recreational life.
Once in the club, he became an active an popular member. He went on a wide range of trips – bushwalking, canyoning, bike trips and ski touring adventures. Many of these trips he organised and led. He also served a term as SUBW president.
On walks and other activities he was always a solid, reliable and sensible person. He had a good sense of humour and was always willing to help others with his wise counsel. Ted was in fact a most generous person. He would never hesitate to lend equipment or tools to others and always shared his good advice. Ted did not make enemies. Only friends.
Ted was a person who deeply believed in service. At high school, he had served his school as school captain. Later in his bushwalking life he served the greater bushwalking community in so many ways. He was very active over many years in the Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs. He served as a delegate to the Confederation not only for SUBW but also later on for Springwood Bushwalking Club when he moved up the Blue Mountains. For the Confederation, he served a term as President. He was also, for many years, the Confederation’s Conservation Officer. Wilderness Rescue, the bushwalker search and rescue section, also benefitted from Ted being their transport officer. This meant being ready anytime to use his 4WD to tow the S&R trailer to call out incidents. Continue reading
