The Three Peaks Attempt - March 2015

The Three Peaks is one of the classic bushwalking challenges in the Blue Mountains. The route starts in Katoomba and travels south into the Kanangra Wilderness Area. Here you climb and descend three mighty peaks; Mount Cloudmaker, Mount Paralyser & Mount Guouogang. Much of this section is completely off trail and even when there is a trail it’s usually faint and/or overgrown. There is history of this challenge going back as far as the 1960’s and it’s been something that I have really wanted to have a crack at for a long time!

Planning had been underway for quite some time in the lead up to our attempt with various potential team members but in the end it was just Mikey and I that were able to make the start. We met at a pub in Strathfield for dinner on the Friday night. We both could barely contain our excitement as neither of us had ever attempted anything like this before. We got through the meal quickly and hopped in Mike’s car for the drive up to Katoomba. The rain started to settle in as we made our way into the lower suburbs of the Blue Mountains and by the time we passed Woodford it was starting to get foggy. By the time we got to Katoomba the fog was so thick that we needed the gps to get down to Narrowneck as we couldn’t even make out the street signs. We parked the car in a side street and offloaded some unnecessary gear from the packs before getting underway shortly after 9:30pm. Leg one of the journey was intended to be about 30 kilometres and have us camping at the Cox’s River between 3-4am for a couple of hours sleep.

Leaving the streets of Katoomba, our walk would take us south onto the expansive Narrowneck Plateau. We quickly left the safety of the streetlights behind us and plunged into darkness. Thick fog with constant rain and occasional wind gusts made for really tough conditions. The fog dissolved any ambient light available from the moon so our visibility was reduced to about 5-10 metres. We felt like we were in a little bubble and a lot of the time couldn’t really see any more than a metre past the edge of the firetrail. Normally a very scenic walk along Narrowneck became a game of trying to work out where we were based solely off of my memory of the firetrail itself. In the end we walked straight past the huge firetower without even realising it! It wasn’t until we reached the pebbly section of trail and the wind really picked up that we knew we were getting close to Clear Hill. Clear hill normally has excellent views across to the Megalong Valley but that night it was like looking into the blackness of oblivion!

After approximately 3 hours we made it to Clear Hill at the very southern tip of the Narrowneck Plateau and swung off the firetrail to join the single track down to Tarros Ladders. About halfway down the descent we stopped in a little cave for a 10 minute chocolate break. Most of the descent is reasonably easy with a few short scrambles but the best part it a set of climbing spikes which take you down the final 10 metre cliff.

We were both looking forward to the challenge of Tarros Ladders in the dead of night and wasted little time once we arrived at the top. It was a quite enjoyable experience but we did need to be fairly careful as the spikes were a little slippery in the rain. From Here we traversed over the ridge of Mount Derbert and down into the clearing at Medlow Gap. After less than a kilometre of walking on the White Dog Ridge Firetrail we made the turn onto the Katoomba to Kanangra (K2K) walking trail. This was where our plans started to slowly but surely unravel.

Up until this point we had been making pretty good time and were only slightly behind were we wanted to be. Once on the K2K walking track however our visibility was never more than about 5 metres. The track is very overgrown in some places which meant that even staying on the path was difficult! The rain although not heavy was constant so between that and forcing our way through what seemed like an endless number of damp shrubs we both got completely soaked. Leeches were also very common in the marshes around Mobb’s Soak. I remember making a comment to Mikey at about 3am that I was glad it wasn’t pissing down. This promptly had us both in stitches for the next 10 minutes or so as even if we went for a swim we couldn’t have possibly been more soaked than we already were! We quickly got further and further behind schedule and by about 4am with a little over 20km covered we knew that we would have to walk all night to even have a chance at a successful attempt. We passed a few little campsites and stopped briefly at each one trying to figure out if we should stop for a quick sleep or not. At that time of the night we were both wired but deep down the body is keen for sleep so making even a simple decision is a struggle. Finally after approximately 25km we found a nice saddle near the top of Mount Yellow Dog and Mikey made the executive decision that this would be where we stashed our packs.

Proceeding with only day packs the going was much easier and we made good progress on the descent to the Cox’s River. The world slowly began to expand as first light approached and we were treated to some fantastic but imposing views of the surrounding mountains. It was really only at this point that you start to fathom the true scale of the mountains in this area. At long last we finally reached the Cox’s River shortly after 7am, it had taken us almost 10 hours to cover the 30 kilometres.



First light on the descent of Mount Yellowdog. Mount Konangaroo
on the far side of the valley - 28km mark



Finally at the Cox's River after walking all night - 30km mark

Crossing the Cox’s River was quite enjoyable but we only got to savour the flat terrain for a few hundred meters. The next big challenge would be the ascent up Mount Strongleg. It was a nasty climb with extreme gradients. It was so steep in some places that we were using the trees and shrubs to pull ourselves up the slippy and loose terrain. Finally after cresting Mount Strongleg the gradient eased off but it was still pretty slow going as the track was often overgrown with shrubs. There were a number of rocky outcrops where we were treated to some excellent views across the valley towards Mount Paralyser (the second peak). The final push to the summit of Mount Cloudmaker seemed to drag on forever but we finally arrived at about 11:30am and slumped down for some breakfast. It was our first proper food since dinner some 17 hours beforehand and as usual Mikey didn’t disappoint with a blueberry & chia pudding!

Incredible view accross the Valley to Mount Paralyser from near the top of Mount Strongleg - 33km mark

 

Mikey had been hurting for a while and had been dropping subtle hints by suggesting cutoff times to reach certain spots. Over the course of the ascent we had both decided on 11am for the Cloudmaker Summit and we unfortunately missed it by 30 minutes. I must say, my disappointment in failure didn’t last particularly long. It was obvious that with better conditions we would have been several hours ahead of where we were and with the tiredness creeping in we were likely to only get further and further behind schedule. This meant that we would have almost certainly been trying to descend down off Mount Guouogang in the dark with no track to follow. Considering the mental fatigue we would have been carrying after many more hours on the move it was more than sensible to pull the pin and turn back.

We spent half an hour or so at the summit signing and reading the logbook. It was incredible to see that there hadn’t been a single visitor there in almost 2 months. It really highlighted how remote and untouched this wilderness is and it was and absolute pleasure to have it all to ourselves. After a while we dragged ourselves up and started the long descent back to the Cox’s River. I had been firing on adrenalin on the climb up to Cloudmaker and now that we were turning back my energy levels certainly took a pretty serious dive. It was however nice knowing that we could take our time a bit more on the descent. We just plodded along and enjoyed the views wherever they were available. We also stopped briefly at the Dex Creek campsite which is a beautiful high camp and well worth another visit. Neither of us were enjoying the steeper sections as the legs were getting pretty buggered at this point. It was really enjoyable looking at the different types of trees and shrubs and how they seemed to vary so quickly depending on the elevation and exposure to the elements.

Finally at the summit caine of Mount Cloudmaker! - 39.5km mark

Mount Cloudmaker Logbook - 39.5km mark

 

Eventually we made it back to the Cox’s River and all that was left between us and camp was the final 5km climb up to the top of Mount Yellow Dog. We had a short break by the river while we fired ourselves up for the climb. Once we got started I was determined to not stop until we reached our packs. The light slowly faded away as we climbed and the ascent seemed to go on forever. There were a number of little saddles on the ridge which neither of us remembered from the previous night so there were several times when we thought we had made it only to have to keep climbing. We eventually reached our campsite shortly after nightfall. It had taken us about 22 hours to cover the 55 kilometres!

We quickly got the tent setup and somehow managed to get a fire going despite all the timber being very damp. We boiled some water for hot tea whilst quickly trying to dry our sleeping bags out as we could hear what sounded like a pretty big storm rolling in. At long last we got into our sleeping bags and enjoyed our quinoa monk bowl dinner, Mikey had delivered the goods yet again! We reminisced over the adventure so far and what things we could possibly have changed to create a successful outcome whilst enjoying a whisky nightcap. The rain settled in yet again and despite falling asleep very quickly it was a pretty rough night. I awoke not long after midnight to discover a puddle in the tent only inches from my head. We had set the tent up in a bit of a hurry and positioning of the pegs for the fly wasn’t ideal. Under the weight of the rain water it was resting on the inner wall of the tent which was causing the problem. I got out of the tent in the rain with my headlamp and somehow managed to get it fixed. Fortunately the adjustments worked and after that we were able to relax and get a few decent hours of sleep.

Our high camp in a saddle near the top of Mount Yellowdog - 55km mark

Our high camp in a saddle near the top of Mount Yellowdog - 55km mark

 

We had a slow start the next morning as it was still raining and it was certainly hard to be motivated to get moving again. After breakfast in our sleeping bags we got everything packed up and departed camp about 9am. The fog was much milder than the Friday night but the rain still fell consistently so we were quickly re-saturated. Despite this we made fairly steady progress along the K2K trail all the while being on the constant lookout for leeches. It was a big relief to reach the White Dog Ridge Firetrail knowing that we only had one serious climb up Mount Derbert left between us and the Tarros Ladders. Whilst only short, the climb up to the Mount Derbert ridge is brutally steep and we took it at a snail’s pace. Cresting the ridge we were stunned to not only see a gap in the clouds but actually some direct sunlight for the first time! The last section of this trail leading up to Tarros Ladders is pretty smooth and one of my favourites so we really enjoyed it. We were also excited about the prospects of the views from Narrowneck which would make for a nice walk back to the car. It was a relief to be ascending the climbing spikes with light this time and we got some cool footage with the GoPro. By the time we had gotten to the top of the spikes the sun that was out some 30 minutes earlier was well and truly gone and all that could be seen was white fog in all directions.

Nothing but fog to look at from the top of the Tarros Ladders - 65km mark

 

Once back on the Narrowneck Firetrail the rain quickly closed in. Leaving Clear Hill behind us we made the climb up to the fire tower for a final chocolate break. After this it was simply a matter of ticking off the kilometres back to the car. Slowly but surely we made progress along the plateau and although we couldn’t see too far, the visuals of the fog swirling over the cliffs was pretty spectacular. It was great to see some familiar landmarks as we closed in on the finish. Finally at about 3pm we reached the safety and comfort of the car. Our adventure had lasted over 42 hours and we had covered 78.5 kilometres with a staggering 3800 metres of vertical climbing and descending!!!

Finally back at the car!!!

As mentioned previously there was simply no regret that we didn’t make it to all three peaks. It was such an incredible experience between two mates in such an epic landscape. It’s funny to look back on how our friendship begun some 15+ years ago and see how far we have come. It all started out with late nights playing video games and over the years our interests have evolved to finally arrive at an adventure like this. The other exciting thing about not completing the challenge is that there is now more desire than ever to give it another go. We will reassess what went wrong and what can be changed and launch another assault in the future. Perhaps the best thing of all is that you never forget an experience like this. It’s the sort of adventure we will both be able to look back on in 50 years and although the finer details will probably be long forgotten there will still be that lingering sense of epicness that remains!!!

Strava GPS Data
Full Photo Gallery

For more info on the route if your interested in giving it a go, check out Ashley's Burke's brilliant website:


                                                                                  Epic Video of the Hike!

 

Brutal but Fair 300 2014 Ride Report

Wow, that proved to be a real battle against the mind!

The Brutal but Fair is one of the more popular 600's on Sydney's Audax calendar, and for good reason. The scenery on the Great North Road on the way up to the Hunter Valley is stunning and then the journey through the Hunter itself is fantastic. 14 riders showed up to have a crack at the 600 and there were 4 of us on the 300.

I have been dealing with some sciatic pain in my left leg for the last few months but fortunately up until now its really only affected the range on motion in my left hamstring. I awoke at 4:30am and for the first time had a burning pain in my right hamstring, it was far worse than anything I had experienced to date. The long ride I did two weeks prior had provided some relief for my sciatica so I (Probably Stupidly) decided to go ahead and attempt the ride. Once on the bike the movement appeared to provide some relief but once I arrived in Hornsby for the start and hopped off the bike the pain came back with a vengeance. For some reason I decided to still go ahead and we rolled out at 6:05am.

The Great North Road in the Wollombi Valley

The rollout was surprisingly fast, especially considering most of the riders were doing the 600. On the first set of rollers I discovered that riding out of the saddle was out of the question as a jolt of nerve pain resulted. I managed to sit in the group for the first 70 kilometres to Kulnura as most of the climbs were long and gradual and could be climbed in the saddle. The shorter steeper rollers that follow shortly after soon saw me sliding out the back of the group and riding solo. I dropped down into the Wollombi Valley and was really enjoying the scenery. The valley is filled with small farming fields and lined by forested hills on either side, simply stunning. 

I arrived in Wollombi with 127km in the bag and was instantly in agony as soon as I got off the bike. I had tweaked the back even further swinging my leg to get off the bike and I couldn't even stand up straight! I sculled a coke and then ate my ice cream on the bike just so I could get moving again as quickly as possible. I was more or less at the point of no return now and figured there was no point turning back. I also fired up some Metallica on the iPod as the pain was starting to get to me and metal always helps when pushing through pain!

Could this be the greatest bakery of all time?

The run though to Cessnock was quite enjoyable. The road is reasonably flat so I was able to maintain a decent pace and just enjoy the scenery. Eventually I arrived safely and met up with Paul who was planning to wait for me there. Unfortunately I didn't stop for lunch at the greatest bakery ever but still was able to order some hot chips from the cafe where the rest of the group had stopped which really hit the spot. The back was sore here but a definite improvement on how it was at Wollombi.

Leaving Cessnock it seemed that the movement of the riding was finally starting to loosen up the lower back. I was now able to ride out of the saddle without pain although it did feel awkward as the pinched nerve had rendered my right hamstring numb. As a result it wasn't firing correctly so the glute and calf muscles were having to pick up the slack. It was also great to have Paul for company again as the companionship really helps when the going is tough. We were making our way south through beautiful farmlands towards the Watagan Mountains. The roads were also extremely quiet so it made for very pleasant riding. I was also really looking forward to the climb up Sandy Creek Road which I had remembered from two previous rides. Its a nice thin road that winds its way up through the forest, its a pretty ideal distraction from pain and fatigue. About 10 kilometers or so after this section we reached the climb up to Watagan Gap which was a real brute and much tougher than I had remembered with a few long stretches around 10%. We stopped here for a stretch and the back was feeling heaps better. I could now stand and walk without the nerve pinching which was a big improvement.

Climbing Sandy Creek Road with Paul

The Lower slopes of the Sandy Creek Road Climb

Almost at the top

Climbing Sandy Creek Road with Paul

Leaving the Gap with 186 kilometres covered we were treated to some flatter roads with the downside being that we now faced up to higher traffic volumes which was a bit of a bummer. Eventually we passed a sign that said only 10 kilometres to Wyong which was pretty exciting, we would be on much more familiar roads once we reached Wyong and the time always seems to go quicker when the roads are familiar. We passed by the edge of the Yarramalong Valley and then blasted down the motorway into Ourimbah which was to be our final planned rest stop with 240kms covered. It was time for the old staple salt and vinegar chips paired with a coke, plenty of sugar from the coke but also a nice salt hit from the chips which is nice after eating so much sugar on the bike.

From here it was straight onto Dog Trap Road. This was certainly one of the highlights of the whole day. The light was starting to fade and the rainforest was looking stunning as it was damp from the sprinkles of rain that we experienced earlier in the day. We were even lucky enough to have the lyrebirds singing as we went by. Unfortunately its quite a tough climb so it certainly took a fair bit of energy out of me and by the time we reached the top it was really starting to get dark. The road continued to drag slowly upwards to Peats Ridge but once we got there it felt like a real milestone as the following 35 kilometers was going to be a long gradual downhill!

The final stop at Road Warriors Cafe, Mount White

It was now completely dark and these first few hours of the night are always some of my favorite on an Audax ride. I don't often get to ride at night which is fun in itself but more importantly I simply love to look at the stars and you have a fantastic viewpoint on a pitch black country road. Once we got to Mount White we were extremely surprised to see the Road Warriors Cafe open and decided to take an impromptu stop for one last breather with 282kms in the bag. After 10 minutes or so we were off and descending down to the Hawkesbury River. Fortunately the temperature was quite pleasant once we were moving. The climb up to Pie in the Sky was a toughy and I couldn't really get out of the saddle anymore as my right glute and calf were really paying the price for the inactive hamstring. Pauls tail light slowly but surely disappeared into the distance. I was pretty well physically and mentally exhausted from everything and was relying on my last bit of emotional strength to get me home to the finish line. Paul was waiting for me in Berorwa and we slogged out the final 10 kilometres of rolling hills together, reaching the finish in Hornsby in 14 hours and 31 minutes.

The police there always have a good chuckle when we roll in there completely shattered at the end of a tough day. We ended up chatting to one of them for 10 minutes or so out the front who was a bit of a rider himself. After about 25 minutes we finally worked up the motivation to get back onto the bike for the final run home. I was extremely glad to reach the front door and finally shut down the garmin with a total of 336 kilometres for the day.

Strava GPS Data:

Garmin stats at the end of the day.

The recovery has been a bit of a struggle and walking extremely difficult. My right calf muscle is absolutely shredded after having to compensate for the hamstring all day. It is with deep regret that I have decided for the time being not to enter the Great North Walk 100 Mile Endurance Run. I had also planned to ride a few more big Audax rides over the coming weeks but I will play those by ear depending on how things go after seeing the chiro. The nerve pain that I have been dealing with over the last few months hasn't been much more than a nuisance but this new pain in the right leg is very debilitating. Its certainly a big wake up call that the body is not indestructible and for the moment I think my priority needs to be to get healthy and injury free before tackling any more significant increases in training volume.

Mount Solitary Ultramarathon 2014

That was one hell of a tough race put on brilliantly as always by Running Wild. My weekend started out as a camping trip with Jem and two mates, Matt & Nick. After getting a late start we made our way over the Mountains via Bells Line of Road to rendezvous in Lithgow. Matt discovered that there was a medieval festival taking place in the town called Ironfest so we decided that it was absolutely essential that we go and check it out. After looking at all of the swords, axes and suits of armour we eventually made our way out to our campsite at Lake Windemere.

Once the camp was setup we enjoyed some beers and a pasta meal that was beautifully prepared by Jem. After enjoying the fire and stargazing for a few hours we finished off the night with a whiskey and then headed off to bed. I was up at 4am and enjoyed my breakfast in complete silence and darkness. The stars were incredible and it was tempting to stay for longer but I needed to get moving. I was in the car and rolling by 4:30 for the 2 hour drive up to the start at Kings Tableland.

Paul and I Charging up the outside of the field in the first 100 metres

The check-in was very smooth and I was quickly ready and waiting on the start line where I caught up with Paul. As the gun went off we settled into a fast pace as we charged down Kedumba Walls into the Jamieson Valley. After about 1.5km’s or so I said to Paul that I hoped I would start to feel better as the race went on…. Unfortunately this was not to be the case. We continued to blast down the firetrail and onto the singletrack that leads down to Kedumba Ck. Finally at the bottom we crossed over the creek and started the climb up Mount Solitary.

Within the first few hundred metres I could tell that the legs weren’t feeling good and I let Paul go past. It wasn’t too long before I knew that I wasn’t having a good day at all and this was going to hurt a lot. People started passing me in ones and twos and my legs started to get heavier and heavier with every step. Eventually I managed to find a group that was going a similar speed but I was going as hard as I possibly could just to hold onto them. It was an absolute death march, so much so that one of the kilometres took me over 23 minutes. It was during this period were I was seriously questioning whether or not I would be able to finish, not good thoughts to be going through your head before you have even made it 25% of the way into the race.

Finally we made it to the top of the hill and we started traversing our way across the top of the mountain. The track is super rough, windy and overgrown which makes for very tough going. The only advantage here for me was the fact that although everyone else around me was way fresher they couldn’t really put a big gap on me as there were so many sections that had to be walked anyway. The decent is very technical and the group I was in took it pretty easy. We passed one guy who had sliced his arm on a rock and he was covered in blood. He said he was ok and was going to continue on slowly to try and get patched up by a marshal.

Making my way across The Landslide at
the 21km mark

Off the bottom of the descent you finally hit a beautifully buffed out and flat singletrack. The problem was that I was too stuffed to take advantage of it. I had a killer stitch and was only able to muster 6:30-7:00/km pace. Originally I had set myself a goal of 6.5 hours for the run with a stretch goal of 6 hours. Across the top of the Mountain I had maintained hopes of a sub 7 hour finish but this seemed to be fading as I couldn’t even maintain a run on some of the flat sections. Finally we made it to the base of Furber Steps and started the march up to the only Aid Station on the course at the 24km point. It’s a brutally steep climb and every step was a challenge of its own. The one good thing about this section was the fact that the detour to the Aid Station was an out & back so we were getting heaps of encouragement from the runners coming back down the hill.

It was the Aid Station that saved my race. I got to the top of the stair a broken man and decided to take 5 minutes to try and regroup rather than get in and out quickly. One of the ladies was awesome and took my pack for me. She refilled the water bladder and even took out the front bottle and refilled it with electrolytes, what amazing service!!! Meanwhile I tried to consume as many calories as possible without upsetting my stomach. I had three massive pieces of watermelon, a banana, a few snakes and two cups of coke. Thanking the staff I put my pack back on and started cruising back down the Furber Steps. A few hundred metres out of the station I unleashed an almighty burp which received a hearty “NICE!!” from one of the runners making their way up the steps.

I reached the bottom of the stairs and started making my way along Federal Pass towards the Leura Forest. I was still utterly exhausted but something about the experience of the Aid Station and possibly the caffeine in the two cups of coke was allowing me to atleast maintain a run. I tucked in behind another runner and tried to ignore the pain by staring at his feet. I managed to stick with him all the way until the final climb up to Leura Forest at the 29km mark. There was a quick mandatory gear check here before we started the descent down Sublime Point. My quads were absolutely trashed and I had to make my way down very gingerly while unfortunately being passed by many runners. I was glad to reach the bottom as the downhill running was excruciating and dunking my head in the icy water of Jamieson Creek was super refreshing.

The climb out was tough and I was getting passed by heaps of people that were simply out-walking me. The final descent down to Kedumba Creek was horrible and it took every ounce of mental willpower to maintain a run and not slow down to a walk. At the bottom I dunked my head in the creek again which felt great. I had a gel and took 30 seconds to prepare myself mentally for the final climb to the finish. I settled into the fastest walk I could manage and tried to just zone out. Every now and then I would get passed by someone but the sense of comradely between everyone made it easy to not be too depressed by this. To be honest I knew I was going to finish and at that point that was more than enough for me, I wasn’t even worried about the time.

I reached the halfway point of the climb and looked down at my watch, I knew there was a very outside chance of a sub 7 hour finish but I was going to have to absolutely bury myself. I started to push a jog on the less ridiculous sections and maintain a strong walk the rest of the time. About one kilometre from the top I was passed by a runner who said the thought of the finish line was the only thing that was keeping him moving. When he was about 50 metres ahead he yelled at himself “Come On!” and started running up a particularly steep section. It gave me a massive surge of adrenaline and I started running up the hill in his footsteps. Unfortunately after 100 metres or so I got a massive cramp in my left calve and was forced back to a walk. Approaching the final corner of the climb I passed a runner who had run out of water. I stopped for 15-20 seconds so he could take a swig from my water. He said that he too was hoping for a sub 7 hour finish but was wrecked and was going to have to walk it all the way into the finish.

Crossing the Finish Line

Still inspired by the last guy that had passed me I told him that I was going to give it one hell of a crack. I ran the final few hundred metres of the climb and crested it with 2km to go to the finish. I followed old mate’s lead and yelled at myself as loud as I could “Come On!”. It was excruciatingly painful to run and both calves as well as my quads were cramping with almost every step which ultimately made it more of a semi controlled stumble. There is a final uphill sting in the tail with 1 kilometre to go and I yelled at myself again before settling into the strongest power hike I could muster. I made it to the top and looked down at my GPS, I had 6 minutes to complete the final 500 metres. I couldn’t believe I was going to make it. I yelled at myself one final time and started running for good. I was flooded with emotion after what I had put my mind and body through to get me to that point and was fighting back a tear as I rounded the final corner. As I approached the finish I heard my name called out over the loudspeaker and I raised my arms in triumph.

I had finished in 6 hours, 56 minutes and 33 seconds. I know that each one of these events has its own unique challenges but this was something else. I didn’t have the stomach issues of TNF100 but I just had no energy in the legs. From about the 8 kilometre mark I literally had to fight for every step. It was pure suffering on a level I’ve not experienced before. Despite not achieving my original target time I am really proud of my effort. I had to absolutely bury myself to even finish and in the end breaking 7 hours is a pretty respectable result. The cramps after the race were intense and it took several electrolyte caps to bring them under control. My whole body is in agony today and it’s tough to even walk, it’s going to take a while to recover from this one!

Paul ended up smashing it and broke 6 hours, good enough for a top 20 finish! Returning to Lake Windemere I had one of the most satisfying showers ever and enjoyed an extremely well earned beer by the campfire. Congrats to Paul on an awesome run and thanks to Jem, Matt, Nick and BK for their support on the day.

Strava GPS Data.

Celebratory beer by the campfire

Race Number and 2014 Finisher's Medal

Jabulani Challenge 22km 2014

Once again the guys put on another cracking event. It was my third Jabulani Challenge, it always attracts a great bunch of entrants and is very well put on. I arrived with ample time before the start which was nice as I wasn’t at all rushed. 5 minutes or so before 8am we gathered around the start and listened to the pre-race briefing and then we were off.

Cruising at the 1km mark

I wasn’t really sure how things would go, my preparation hasn’t exactly been ideal with a few sporadic weeks of mileage due to an ITB niggle. It seems to have sorted itself out thanks to the fantastic work of James at The Body Mechanic. The pace at the very start wasn’t crazy and I managed to settle into 3rd position leading into the first singletrack section of the Gibberagong Track. The pace through here was a little hot for me but I managed to stay right behind the two leaders until the first big climb at the 4.4km mark. I immediately feel into a powerhike on the climb and had dropped back into 5th spot about half way up the climb. My legs were feeling the effects of a couple of tough training days on Wednesday & Thursday and soon were screaming with lactic acid.

Finally after a number of steep rocky switchbacks I crested the climb I managed to get moving again and cruised up to the Grosvenor St aid station at 6.4km. 4th spot still had about a 100m gap on me which I was able to maintain all the way along the fire trail that circumnavigates Cliff Reserve. At the 8.5km mark I hit the big steep climb that leads up to the Golden Jubilee Field. My legs were on fire here and running was out of the question. I was hiking strong but got passed by one runner about halfway up and then another caught up to me near the top. We crested the climb together and blasted down the other side. I dropped a gel here which perked up my energy levels a little but unfortunately I couldn’t hold onto old mate and he slowly opened a gap on me on the next few kilometres of fire trail. 8th place was also closing in which was a bit of a worry, I was determined to stay in the top 10.

At the 11.8km mark I hit the next single track section with a small gap over 8th and managed to hold him off for a while before he eventually passed me on a short steep section at the 14.3km mark. I had another gel straight after he passed me and maintained a pretty solid pace through to the second aid station at the 15km mark. The legs were finally starting to feel a little better and I could see a runner up ahead who was clearly cracking as he had been in 3rd postion when I had last seen him almost 10km earlier. I bridged the gap and passed him approaching the road crossing at Bobbin Head Road.

Back in 7th position I was determined to stay there and decided to turn up the throttle. I absolutely bombed down the Sphinx Track which drops about 150m over 1.5km and pops out right alongside Cowan Creek. I knew it was about 4km to the finish so I took my final gel and just tried to hold it right on the limit. The trail ungulates quite a lot and is reasonably techy so a fast pace proved to be pretty difficult. I was certainly pretty shattered but the kilometres ticked by and eventually I popped out of the trail into the Bobbin Head Marina. I looked at my watch and saw that I was going to be pushing it fine to crack my goal time of 2:06:00 (an average of 6min/km for 21km – the race ended up being 22km). I pushed as hard as I possibly could through the carpark, over the bridge and crossed under the finishing gantry in a time of 2:05:36.

I am really stoked with this time, especially since it was a kilometre longer than the half marathon distance. 7th place overall is also a pretty sweet bonus. Although I don’t always enjoy the higher pace of these shorter distance events there is the definite advantage of getting the finish and recovering quicker without the body being totally destroyed. It was ton of fun and I really enjoyed hanging around at the end chatting with the other runners for an hour or so. It was the exact hit out that I needed in the lead up to the Mount Solitary Ultra at the end of the month

Not only was it a great run with some awesome folks but more importantly, the money that was raised by the event is going to feed 300 children in the Kayamandi community in South Africa for the next 12 months. Such a great cause! Looking forward to next year already!

Strava GPS Data.

Mikey's Birthday Hike 2014

Day 1: Scenic World to Splendour Rock via Blackhorse Mountain & Mount Merrimerrigal Traverse

Group Shot before leaving Scenic World (Gallzy, Krtek,
Me, Chris & Mikey)

Waking early at 5:30am, I was quickly out of bed, dressed, and double checking my hiking gear. Mikey arrived shortly after 6:30am after having already picked up Chris and Gallzy. We were soon on the M4 and making our way up into the heart of the Blue Mountains. Talk began of a pre-hike breakfast. It originally began with a take-away coffee and a muffin and eventually became a sit down pancake feast at my favourite Blue Mountains café, Lily Pad in Leura.

We arrived at Scenic World at about 9:10 and started getting ready to commence the journey out to Splendour Rock. Some of the boys had a few things to shuffle around in their packs while I was making a failed attempt at getting my GPS tracking beacon to work. Finally after an obligatory group photo with our mascot Krtek, we got underway just before 10am.

We quickly left the streets of Katoomba and started the journey south along the Narrowneck Plateau. I love Narrowneck, it contains such a diverse range of plant life and is surrounded by incredible cliff lines. There are also stunning views of Mount Solitary as well as the Jamieson, Cedar and Megalong Valleys. I enjoyed pointing out a lot of the landmarks to the boys as we walked. We made pretty good time and it wasn’t long before we passed the fire tower and were on the descent down to Clear Hill at the tip of Narrowneck. We were treated to a fantastic view of Warragamba Dam and the Wild Dog mountains whilst we tucked into the first of Mikey’s gourmet meals.

 

Krtek enjoying the view of Mount Solitary from Narrowneck

Descending Tarros Ladders

After a hearty lunch we made our way down to the Tarros Ladders where the real fun began. Tarros Ladders is a series of climbing spikes that runs down a ~10m cliff face on the southern tip of Narrowneck. It is one of the very few access points on and off the plateau and is certainly pretty exposed and potentially very intimidating. Mike was feeling pretty confident and decided to proceed down the spikes first with his pack. I was a little apprehensive about descending down with a heavy pack and suggested lowering the packs down via rope. Gallzy climbed down to the bottom to help Mike while Chris and I proceeded to lower each of the three remaining packs down one at a time. Finally after all the bags were safely lowered Chris and I proceeded down the spikes so we could continue onwards. It was an excellent challenge and also a great opportunity to test out my new GoPro.

Our mood was high after the excitement of Tarros Ladders and we proceeded quickly over Mount Debert and down to Medlow Gap. After a short stop here to refuel we proceeded along the White Dog Ridge Firetrail before swinging off onto the narrow singletrack that would take us up to Blackhorse Mountain. The single track was crazily steep and our pace slowed drastically on the climb. About a third of the way up the trail appeared to disappear likely after a semi recent fire. We followed cairns left by other bushwalkers for a while but eventually we were just scrambling up the side of the mountain. There was a lot of loose soil and scree which made for very tough going but after an extensive slog we made it up to the ridgeline and reunited with the track. The views from the summit of Blackhorse Mountain were spectacular. Breakfast Creek and the Megalong Valley to the north looked stunning whilst to the south huge storm clouds were ripping through the Three Peaks and coming straight for us.

The trackless ascent of Blackhorse Mountain

I suggested that we quickly get off the ridge as the descent looked particularly steep and best not tackled in the rain. We made it down to the saddle of Blackhorse Gap in the nick of time and the rain began to fall as we commenced the trek along the Wombat Parade. The Wombat Parade runs along the base of the eastern cliffline of Mount Warrigal. It was beautiful and rainforested but certainly provided sections with difficult footing which kept us on our toes. Fortunately the heaviest part of the storm missed us and we only coped a short and reasonably light shower. At the southern tip of Mount Warrigal we also faced an interesting drop down two smallish cliffs. The first one was pretty easy and we managed to pass the packs down without too much problem but the second one involved a little shimmy over a ledge which was a little more exposed than we would have liked.

Onwards through the saddle we made our way up the short climb to the Mount Merrimerrigal clifflines. After a short search we were able to find the small cave that you must climb through to gain passage onto the plateau. Our progress had been slowed drastically by the climb over Blackhorse Mountain and the Wombat Parade and the light was certainly beginning to fade at this point. We made our way across the top of the plateau known as the Playground of the Dingos and talk started about whether we should just stop at the next available campsite. Determined to press on we lost the track in the fading light and managed to continue onwards in the rough direction using the gps.

The Playground of the Dingos

Finally under the cover of darkness we hit the final climb up Mount Dingo and proceeded across the top making our way down towards our campsite at Splendour Rock. As we approached 200 metres to go on the gps, much to my disappointment we could see a fire in the distance. I had hoped we may have the place to ourselves but there was another small party of three there. They joked that we had arrived late and pointed us in the direction where we could find some clearings to set up our camp.

Finally after 25km of mountainous terrain and just shy of 10 hours we put our packs down for the final time. We worked as a team to get the site setup as quickly as possible. Mikey was straight onto the cooking whilst Chris Gallzy and I got the tarp and tent setup. Mikey’s pre-prepared curry was again fantastic and we all chowed down on it. We tried and unfortunately failed to get a fire going, everything was so damp after all the rain that the area had experienced over the last few days. Chris & I indulged in a quiet whiskey before everyone got ready for bed and we all hit the sack suitably exhausted.

Day One Strava GPS Data.

Day 2: Splendour Rock to Scenic World via Mobbs Swamp

Krtek looking forward to Mikey's Quinoa & Berry Porridge

With the Boys on Splendour Rock

After a particularly uncomfortable and restless sleep we all awoke shortly before dawn as the plan was to watch the sunrise from Splendour Rock. Unfortunately the whole region was shrouded in thick mist and it wasn’t to be. Certainly a little disappointing after the epic journey that we had endured to reach the view from Splendour Rock but also a fantastic reason to revisit the place. Mikey was quick to get the breakfast going and he certainly didn’t disappoint with another cracking feast, Quinoa and Berry Porridge. After breakfast  and packing up camp we all wandered back down to the lookout to check out the view of the slowly fading mist and sign the logbook.

Once the log book was signed it was unfortunately time to leave the ambiance of Splendour Rock and begin the 25km journey back to civilisation. We decided that it was sensible to take the alternate route home via the valley which would avoid the technical traversing that we had to do on day one. The descent down off Dingo Mountain was enjoyable in the mist and only involved some light scrambling. It wasn’t too long before we reached the valley floor and began cruising along the trail. The terrain was far flatter and the track was well established so we powered along at a pretty good clip. Shortly before reaching Mobbs Swamp we passed another party of four that was heading up to Splendour Rock to check it out. They had camped overnight at Mobbs and were making the quick walk up with only day packs.

Gallzy was loving the many different mushrooms that
we spotted along the way. This purple one was
my personal favourite.

Gallzy & Mikey climbing Tarros Ladders

We continued around the base of Mount Warrigal and Blackhorse Mountain before eventually linking back up with the White Dog Ridge Firetrail. We had been pushing a decent pace and decided on a quick stop at Medlow gap before the climb up to Narrowneck. This proved to be a good idea as the climb up Mount Debert with its 50+ percent gradients was an absolute slog! Up and over Mount Debert we trudged up the final pinch and reached the base of the Tarros Ladders. Everyone’s packs were a little lighter and we all felt more confident climbing the spikes which was great as avoiding the pack hauling saved quite a bit of time. From the top of the ladder it was only a 5-10 minute climb up to the lookout at Clear Hill were we enjoyed our lunch, just as we had the previous day. Mikey brought out the goods one last time with a beautiful pasta salad which we enjoyed whilst marveling at the view.

We were all starting to feel pretty buggered but set a very respectable pace on the climb up to the fire tower. Pressing on from here it ungulates all the way with spectacular views off to both sides. The fright of the day came about halfway along the plateau. I was talking to Gallzy whilst trying to maintain a solid walking pace and as a result wasn’t concentrating too much on my footing. All of a sudden the stick that was about 30cm away from my foot started to move. The stick turned out to be an Eastern Brown Snake and he was rightfully pissed off that I had almost stepped on him. I stopped dead and after his initial warning rear up he made a quick departure into the bushes. This was probably my closest ever brush with a deadly snake and a reminder that the bush must always be respected.

The firetrail snaking it's way along Narrowneck

As always after a snake sighting I was hyper-vigilant looking at just about every damn stick for the rest of the journey. Despite the setback we still maintained a solid pace and eventually made it to the locked gate, home to the first aid station on the North Face 100. We also happened to run into a couple here who were both in training for TNF100. It was great to see them out there enjoying the wilderness along with a number of friendly groups of mountain bikers that had been passing us back and forth throughout the afternoon. The father and son group that we saw was particularly awesome. It’s a pretty full on trail for a kid who couldn’t have been older than 10, certainly a respectable effort.

Leaving the locked gate was a relief as it marked on 3km left until the finish. We passed the top of the Golden Staircase and began the final climb up to the streets of Narrowneck. There was a surprising amount of traffic on this stretch which was mildly annoying but it was also good to see people getting out and about. Cresting the climb it was a cruisy final kilometre back to Scenic World which was absolutely bustling with tourists.

We had completed our 50km journey and were all feeling the aches and pains of a hard effort. After loading the car up we popped over to the old Skyway gondola to pose for a final group photo with the four of us and Krtek. I want to thank each of the boys for a being a part of what was a fantastic adventure. It’s hard to explain how deeply inspired I am by the natural landscape and this outing like many before it has left me excited to get back out there and continue exploring! A final and special shout out must go to Mikey, Happy Birthday mate and thank you for organising what was certainly the best hiking food I have ever had!

Day Two Strava GPS Data.

Full Photo Gallery.

With the Boys and Krtek after completing our 50km journey