Bushwalking – Day walk – Grand Canyon and Popes Glen

Hey folks!

On Saturday 29th Feb, Oliver and I are looking to run a somewhat demanding day walk around the beautiful Grand Canyon, Govetts Leap, and Popes Glen.

No experience necessary, but a decent level of fitness is needed – we are looking to complete around 18km in ~8 hrs with quite a bit of elevation involved. New members welcome!

We might get an interesting opportunity to experience some recently burnt areas and their regrowth!

Track notes/more info

What to bring

1. Water! – You will need AT LEAST 3 Litres of water (recommend 3+).
   There are some rivers to refill along the way, but the water needs treating.
2. Sunscreen! – Australian sun is brutal. You will need to apply every 3 hours or so.
3. Hat – Should be wide brimmed or a bucket hat to protect your ears and neck.
4. Food – You will need to bring lunch as well as 2+ decent snacks. we’ll be doing a lot of exercise so you’ll need food for energy. Especially to get up the stairs (; We can try to grab some dinner/afternoon tea on the way back, but don’t rely on it.
5. Hiking clothes – Be logical. Wear comfortable shoes like joggers or hiking shoes. Bring light clothes because you’ll get hot hiking, BUT also bring a jumper in case of bad weather. Optimally, you want
   • Joggers, hiking shoes or trail runners. Hiking boots are ok, but can be quite heavy.
   • SOCKS! – Care for your feet! Wool or poly-wool blend optimally, non-cotton is preferred (gets cold and slimy when wet). I like to have thin liner socks inside my thicker hiking socks (nylon business socks are ok) that help wick away sweat and minimize blisters.
   • Light, breathable clothing – optimally a long sleeve, collared shirt for sun protection.
   • Warm jumper and/or a light rain coat or poncho
   • Thermal top can also be a great layer when cold/wet
6. Rubbish bag – Carry out your own rubbish and might grab some more that we come across.
7. Backpack – To carry everything. Not any big hiking pack (we wanna stay light!), but a waist strap is helpful to reduce the weight on shoulders.
8. Head Torch – If you have one please bring it! We will almost definitely get out before dark but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
9. Bandaids – for little cuts and or blisters
10. Opal Card or Petrol Money – If you are going via train, bring the card! If we are going by car, bring some petrol money for your driver.

Plan

The walk leaves and returns to the Blackheath Station, so public transport is an option.
However, given current Trackwork due to fire and flood damage, we’ll try to use cars if possible.
If you can have a car available, please let us know!

Car

If we end up driving, we’ll organize cars and aim to meet at Blackheath station at 8:30 or 9am.
If we end up going via train and you’d prefer to drive, meet us at Blackheath Station at 9:50am, to get walking by 9:55-10am.

Train

If we end up catching trains: the train we are catching will leave Central Station Platform 7 at 7:18 am, to arrive at BlackHeath at 9:50am. YOU WILL NEED TO BE AT LEAST 10 MINUTES EARLY. It looks like the next train won’t arrive for another hour and we don’t want to wait for you. If you want to meet up with the train from somewhere further down the line, please let us know.

Return

Do whatever to get back home. We will return to BlackHeath station, so can public transport from there or figure things out with your driver. Figure out transport via https://transportnsw.info