Not lost in the bush
The shiny green moss was wet and slippery from the overnight rain. I couldn’t find a suitable place to put my left foot that would hold my weight and every time I tried to reposition myself I hit my head on the rock I was trying to crawl under and around. It was dark and cramped and somewhat concerning. I eventually pulled myself up on two little handholds until I could contort my body through the narrow gap in the rocks and squeeze my way through. From there I could see light again and managed to crawl out with a sigh of relief. I had just managed to negotiate the exit of The Altar, so called because it resembled a magnificent cathedral of towering rock in a rarely seen recess of the Blue Mountains.
Climbing high up on the escarpment above the ruins of the old mining town of Newnes a group of us led by Geoff scrambled through this bush, up steep slopes and through tight holes in ancient rocks to finally reach The Altar. This is a crack in the huge rock that is an astonishing 70 metres deep but in some places only 1 metre wide. To stand in this cathedral of stone and marvel at not only how it was formed but how many millennia it took to form makes you feel seriously insignificant.
This summer I’ve had the chance to explore rugged and trackless terrain around the Wolgan Valley with a group of similarly-minded bushwalkers in the Upper Blue Mountains Bushwalking Club (the UBMBC to their mates) and the Bush Club. These two clubs organise and lead a huge range of walks from those that involve leading your dog from latte to latte in the quaint old mountain villages to full exploratory expeditions where the walkers are completely dependent on their GPS and advanced bush skills.
I’ve also had the chance to give back a little of the enjoyment I’ve had in walking through new unknown areas by leading a couple of walks myself, one of which started from our private property. And with every new place we explore I keep detailed waypoints on my GPS so that I can bring family and friends back to these same amazing places.
One of the real pleasures I’ve had this summer is walking with three of the most experienced and influential bush walkers of the Blue Mountains. Michael Keats, Yuri Bolotin and Brian Fox have an astounding 3,000 documented bush walks between them and have written about a dozen books on the history, flora, fauna and walks of this area. They are also well known for their environmental work and Michael, the senior statesman of the trio, has been awarded recently with an OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia) by the Queen. These guys set the high bar for bush walking in remote and untracked areas and it’s been a real hoot to walk with them.
If you want to learn more about bushwalking in the Blue Mountains, or read a bit more about the amazing stuff that Michael, Yuri and Brian are doing then try the Upper Blue Mountains Bushwalking Club, which I am a member of, at www.ubmbc.org.au, or www.bushclub.org.au which is a larger group catering for a broader audience. Finally, don’t miss www.bushexplorers.com.au/ which is the website of Michael, Yuri and Brian and highlights not only the the multiple of books they have written but the outstanding environmental and conservation efforts they are committed to. Well done guys!