[FULL] Overnight Hike – Mugii Murum-Ban

Sign up for a truly epic overnight hike in the Mugii Murum-Ban State Conservation Area!

After exploring this area myself a few months back, just going off some grid references/mentions of canyons in an old guide book, I’m keen to take a few people back to show it off – it’s a special place out past the main part of Gardens of Stone, full of stunning dry canyons, amazing plants, stunning views and old mine relics. I feel like this is set to take off as the next big hiking-influencer hotspot so see it before it gets trashed!! Emily will also be a trip leader for this adventure!

This will be a beginner-intermediate one night hike with a maximum group of 7.

• Where/When:

The general plan is to drive to a dirt carpark just off Glen Davis Rd near the town of Capertee, about a 3 hr drive, on Saturday morning (9/11), hike up a fairly steep firetrail for about 2km, then set up camp on the plateau and explore some cool dry canyons. We’ll camp overnight then do some more exploration in the morning before hiking back to our cars. Should be back in Sydney by 6pm Sunday (10/11). There’s no strict route we have to follow; so it could be an 8km total hike or a 25km total, whatever the group feels like doing. This is a very rough indication though:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/new-south-wales/genowlan-summit-and-valley-of-the-dinosaurs

• What to Bring (Read Carefully – Note some of this can be borrowed from the Club):

– Clothes: Long hiking pants, hiking shirt (preferably with long sleeves/collar), solid hiking boots or trailrunners, well cushioned hiking socks (and thin liner socks if you like), wide brimmed hat, sunglasses. Raincoat, warm jacket (heavy fleece or down jacket), beanie, thermals. Gaiters for leg protection if you have them. And a spare set of hiking clothes, including socks, to change into.

– Hiking pack: A proper hiking pack with waist strap, at least 55L capacity.

– Tent: Hiking tent, consider sharing with others to share the weight.

– Sleep system: That includes a warm sleeping bag (down or synthetic), a hiking sleeping mat, a small inflatable pillow. Sleeping bag liners can help boost the warmth of your main bag.

– Water: At least 3L of water pre filled before you leave Sydney. This is vital as water in the area is unreliable at best.

– Food: Enough food for 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner and heaps of snacks! High energy, light weight, easy to cook. All the usual suspects like a simple pasta for dinner, oats for breakfast, wraps for lunch, and lots of choc and dried fruit as snacks. I can go over all this in more depth with participants – but while I think of it, to prove you’re paying attention, tell me in the comment box what type of lolly or choc is your favourite.

– Cooking stuff: Something to heat your food with if you need it. Lightweight hiking stoves are best powered by butane/propane canisters. Matches/lighter, cleaning things (a chux wipe and a drop of Wilderness Wash), light pot, spoon/knife.

– Medical stuff: Any personal medications, with any attached action plans, an emergency blanket, roller bandage, whistle, then any first aid things you have while not going overboard on weight (leaders will have first aid kits too).

– Miscellaneous: A head torch with charged and spare batteries, rubbish bag for really wet clothes and rubbish from cooking, sunscreen, your phone with spare power pack, some toilet paper in a zip lock bag, and a lot of optional things like water purification tablets if you have them, hiking poles, camera, compass, insect repellant…

Note that weight is key here, since we’ll need to focus on carrying up water, although everything above is basically essential for all participants. But we also won’t be hiking for too long before we can set up camp and then explore the area with much lighter packs.

Message me on Facebook with any questions about gear or anything else! You don’t need to have necessarily done an overnight hike before for this but some hiking experience is good. So make sure you’ve read everything then let me know in the comments what your hiking experience is and if you have a car/how many spots.

Thanks, Hugh and Emily🌳