Cowan and Cockle Creek Grand Circuit (23km)

Notes:
While waiting for the Blue Mountains to be deemed safe to hike, and to walk something other than the flat asphalt around base, I thought I’d try one of the longer North Sydney hikes. My boss is actually an avid hiker so a big thanks to him for lending me his Sydney Walks books.

In doing so I finally had the chance to use my Trekking Poles, my GoPro, my Buff and my “cool” hat.

In a Nutshell

• The trekking poles were indispensable
• The GoPro is gonna work. One day you may all be able to walk the Camino-Frances with me (in quicktime)
• The Buff did it’s job keeping the sun off my neck
• My “cool” hat kept the midday sun from smashing me AND someone I passed on the trail said “I like your hat” – so that’s two of us. Ha ha.

What I did Right

• Like any good “map maker” I created the KML/GPX file of the exact route I wanted to walk and loaded it into my Suunto watch. I’m not an experienced hiker but with so many fire trails and tracks around, even with my GPS it was surprisingly easy to end up heading in the wrong direction or trekking down the wrong track. You can probably spot a few of those on my GPS track above. So my pre-preparation saved me a few times today both allowing me to recognise when I had strayed from the route and indicating what I had to do to get back on it.

What I did Wrong

• Started too late – I had intended to get to the hiking track early but didn’t actually start my walk until 1130h. This meant I had to power walk the entire time just to try and beat the clock and avoid having to hike in the dark with my head torch (I had batteries this time). As it was I barely made it with probably 15min to spare.
• Need to carry more water – on the Camino there are plenty of opportunities to top up your water bottles or purchase water during each Stage. I’ve been training with this in mind and have only carried 1.2L in my pack thus far. Long hikes in the Australian bush will require me to wear the additional weight and carry a tad more. Fortunately for me, today there was a cafe at the Burrum Heads Marina where I could buy a can of Coke Zero and a Gatorade for $10. Bargain.

Other Lessons Learnt and Discoveries

• Any doubt I had about the usefulness of my Trekking Poles has now diminished. This kit certainly helped me on the inclines, saved me slipping in the mud a couple of times, and helped keep my momentum going as I tired in the final 5kms.
• The moment you start walking through spiderwebs on the trail you need to check your route ’cause you’ve most definately strayed off-route.
• Visually check for leeches. Those little “suckers” (pun intended) inject you with an anti-coagulant and are suspected to have anaesthetic compounds in their slobber so you won’t necessarily feel a bite. Sneaky buggers. I spotted one mungin’ on my finger after getting home.
• Expect the unexpected and adapt accordingly. I had planned to walk the “Grand Circuit” but at the 13km point (including 1.5km of off-route mistakes) I found the track to be closed due to a Blue-Mountain-esque landslide (see last image above). Disappointing I know but with my vehicle about 12km away I just had to suck it up, turn around and head back the way I came.
• Surprisingly, my feet were less sore walking on uneven ground with mud and rocks underfoot than when walking the asphalt.
• Although I have no concrete proof, I’m pretty certain 1km on a flat asphalt track is shorter in distance than 1km on a proper hiking trail (or at least it felt like it).

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Distance walked today: 23km

Weight of Pack and Contents: 10.8kg

Surface: Mixed (mostly dirt, rocks, mud)

Weather: Mostly Dry.

Total Distance Walked for Training thus far: 247km

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