Faulconbridge to Blaxland 16/8/2015
Garrett M, Sarah K, Steven J, Greg V, Roma S, Jayne L, Jeroen L, Hannah V, Isabelle K, Kevin, James W, Stefan C, Sarah N
With fine weather on the forecast, and a rare free weekend for me, I decided it would be a good idea to take some people on a bushwalk. The trip was posted on Wednesday and filled up almost instantly - no one can turn down a walk to somewhere called “Lost World Lookout.”
On the bus to Central I met Greg who mentioned that it was very early. I don’t seem to get up as early for anything as I do for outdoor activities. Most of us met up at Central to take the bus (boo to trackworks) to Blacktown where we picked up Isabelle and then continued via train to Faulconbridge. James arrived to the station not too long after we arrived and then we headed off to the trailhead.
The track was well established and meandered its way comfortably down the Victory Track beside the creek and down to Sassafras Gully. There was a fair amount of smoke in the air from a hazard reduction fire that added a bit of character to the early parts of the walk. We didn’t bother to check out any of the waterfalls as there was nary a trickle in most of the creeks. We continued on to a nice clearing at the junction of Glenbrook and Sassafras creeks where we stopped to have a snack and remove some layers as it was beginning to warm up.
A whir of activity
Quiet Kevin calmly contemplating
We crossed the creek to continue on our way past Perch Ponds; an excellent looking place for a dip had it been warmer. We crossed Glenbrook Creek not too far downstream of Martin’s Campsite and headed up the spur to Bunyan Lookout. The trail continued to be easily navigable and led us to an easy pass through the small cliff line. There was a fair amount of wildflowers, though I only took pictures of a couple.
Wildflowers
The sandstone erosion was also intriguing as always.
Sandstone formation
Bunyan Lookout offered us clear views of the lower blue mountain towns as well as a hazy view of the Sydney CBD. We stopped here for lunch, took the obligatory group photo, and discussed the important issues of the day such as, “Stefan, how did you get that shirt?”
Trust me, there are 13 people in this picture
How did you get that shirt, Stefan?
We then hiked to Lost World Lookout for similar views and a look at the white cross erected in memory of Rev Raymer. The hike to St Helena Ridge lookout (which is neither on St Helena Ridge nor a great lookout) was uneventful. The trail back down to Glenwood Creek was fairly steep and exciting with loose leaf litter and rocks that were easily dislodged. We passed some of the largest grass trees that I have ever seen on the hill below St Helena Lookout. We all made it down with no problems, crossed the creek and headed up the other side. The ascent was steep at first but then levelled out and became very enjoyable. The gully we walked parallel to on the way out was full of tree ferns.
We made it back to Blaxland station and waited less than 20 minutes for a train to take us back to Sydney. Overall the hike turned out to be about 17.5 km (only 2.5 longer than I had promised) and didn’t appear to scare anyone off of bushwalking in the future. Thanks for coming along, everyone!
View from Lost World Lookout
Proof that we all made it back
-GM