We began our Easter weekend with a two-day hike through Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. One of the local runners, Ray, organized the hike for about 13 people altogether. The day started out damp. It rained Thursday night, and light drizzle continued into the morning. We parked our car at Ray's house and rode with him, his wife, and Geoff to Berowra where we started the hike. The plan was to start the hike at 9 a.m., and it worked out that by 9:30 or so we were on the trail. The misty drizzle seemed like it would continue for awhile, but it let up shortly and just remained cloudy the rest of the day. The hike was to take place in two stages. The first stage was from Berowra to Cowan to Jerusalem Bay, and the second from Jerusalem Bay to Brooklyn. At Brooklyn, we would catch the train back two stations to Berowra where we started out.
The toughest part of the hike was from Berowra to Cowan, and consisted of a trek over several hills. The distance itself was not all that far, but the up and down hiking was very tiring when carrying full camping gear. It would have been far easier just carrying a day pack with water and a lunch. We were never far from civilization on this trail. We crossed a major dirt road and a highway by the time we reached Cowan station. (Geoff didn't camp with the rest of us. He only came for the first day's walk and took the train home from Cowan.) Numerous cottages also dotted the trail, so there was virtually no sense of remoteness.
We heard from other hikers on the trail that camping was forbidden at Jerusalem Bay and the penalty for doing so was a A$3300 fine. We hiked as far as we could from Cowan station before the sun started to set, and we made sure not to camp at the bay proper. The evening was pleasant, and we all had a nice dinner and some socializing before going to sleep around 8:30 p.m. We were all too tired to stay up further. Since it was somewhat warm, I opened an exterior air vent on our tent so it wouldn't get too hot inside.
Just as we were on the cusp of falling asleep, I stretched out a little and my feet accidentally rattled the pots at the end. Michelle suddenly sat up, started beating me on the chest, and screamed, "What was that?! What was that?!" (She had asked people in the group if we had to worry about any critters at night, and someone mentioned wombats -- which are docile, nocturnal foragers that look a bit like a large guinea pig.) Even after I explained the cause of the noise, I don't think Michelle really calmed down much for awhile. Later, around midnight, it started to pour rain. That's when I discovered that the vent flap on our tent could not be accessed from the inside (what a stupid design flaw!), so after spending nearly five minutes in vain trying to undo the clasp, I just cut a hole in the rain cover and cut the strap. (I'll fix it up later with a better design.) It continued to rain off and on the rest of the night and into the morning. There was enough of a gap for everyone to have breakfast and coffee, but then a light shower started when it came time to pack up.
We began the final portion of the hike around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, and the first half was more of the up and down stuff we had the day before. Fortunately, the final part of the hike was much less steep. We ended up in Brooklyn around 1:30 p.m. and had coffee at a local shop before catching the train.
The hike we did was only a small part of a much larger trail that goes from Sydney to Newcastle -- about 250 km -- and takes around 7-12 days. The full hike was first done in 1988. The total distance we covered was about 25 km. While the hike was tiring, it was not nearly as strenuous as the climb up The Castle. And I don't think it was nearly as beautiful as the area around The Castle, either. It was still decent, and made better by the fun group we were with. The hike was the perfect remedy for the final stages of my right calf muscle healing from the injury I sustained while at The Castle. The next day after we got back, I went for a 23 km bike ride. Keith and I have already begun talking about our next camping trip.
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