Overnight Intermediate Bushwalk – Wild Dog Mountains

Hi everyone,

Ping and I will be leading a bushwalking trip out to the Wild Dog Mountains next weekend, south of Katoomba in the Blueys, to camp overnight and visit the Splendour Rock lookout. Here are the track notes I am using.

I am driving and that leaves us with 3 spots in my car at the moment. If someone else can also drive, we can bring  more people along.

Who would enjoy this trip?

I’m grading this as intermediate. I’m thinking of people who have done one or two overnight bushwalks or hikes before, e.g. the RNP Coast Track or Blue Gum Forest, and want to walk somewhere a bit wilder and in more challenging conditions.

What should I expect?

The southern Blue Mountains is classic and remote bushwalking country. We will drive right up to the end of the winding Megalong Valley dirt road and start from there. We will be walking on natural tracks, so no stairs or signposts, and there will be a little rock scrambling to get out to the lookout at Splendour Rock.

Due to the bad drought we currently have in NSW, I expect most of the creeks to be dry, we will have to carry all our water. You should have drink bottles for 2 to 4 liters.

It is also the middle of winter. It will be cold and windy! If the weather is really bad we will talk about alternative options.

What do I need?

• A big enough backpack
• A big warm puffy jacket, and preferably a rain jacket as well, and some thermal long underwear is also nice to have for winter camping.
• A nice warm sleeping bag. It doesn’t need to be a monster warm enough for an Arctic expedition, but a cheaper traveling sleeping bag might leave you a bit miserable.
• Sleeping mat, a nice and thick foam one, or inflatable one.
• Water bottles or bladders, as I mentioned above
• Food. You don’t need to go crazy with ultralight dehydrated expedition food, in fact as we will have to carry water, tinned and fresh food is better! A good tip for winter camping, don’t go light on the snacks, food will warm you up, so don’t feel any guilt about packing plenty of chocolate and sweets (or fatty nuts and sugary fruit if you prefer)
• Tent and stove if you have them…we will share these items so not everyone will have to bring their own stuff.

How do I come along?

Contact us directly or sign up on the page here, I will try and contact everyone on Facebook and we will start a group chat to finish the organising. Anything we need can hopefully  be sorted out this weekend, ready for next weekend. (or whatsapp or email etc)

Cheers, Sam