Saturday 15 Oct 2022. Blue Mountains.

Due to heavy rain during the week, we moved the original walk from the Sasafras Creek area to the Linden Ridge.

Fourteen members met at the end of Glossop Rd then followed the Linden Ridge past the 4th Kings Own Regiment rock engravings, Aboriginal sharpening grooves and the Echidna Train.

Lunch was enjoyed on a rock platform with westerly views to Mount Twiss and northerly views into the valley of Dawes Creek and Dawes Ridge beyond.

On the return trip we visited the ruins of an adventure camp run by Scots College prior to the establishment of the National Park.

This was a great winter walk. Many thanks to Andy & Marion for your leadership, and for a great afternoon tea!!

Here is a map of our walk.

Sunday 28 Aug to Sunday 11 Sep 2022. Nordic Weeks 1 and 2.

We arrived to find some of the best snow in years. It was two feet deep climbing the stairs to the Lodge front door.

We had a good representation of XC skiers, most on traditional touring skis and some on the new AT Backcountry skis.

Week 1 started on Monday with a warmup ski along the valley and up into Trapyard Creek. We encountered good snow cover all the way to the Alpine Way look-down. Then after lunch in the snow gums we started back as the weather turned.

Tuesday was very windy and wet, a great 'hut day' although a few intrepid skiers went out for a gear testing trip behind the lodge.

Wednesday was the 'bluebird' day f the week no wind and excellent snow conditions. We headed along the Kosciusko Rd then dropped off and visited the waterfall on the North Arm of the Snowy River, then over to Clarkes Trees for a pleasant lunch .

Thursday saw our group heading up Spencer's Creek and then down to the new Suspension bridge via the Snowy. There was some beautiful snow along the river and well worth the effort although the climb out was memorable.

Friday we skied along the Nordic Trail then up to the Wrights Creek Waterfall. We had lunch in the snowgums and then progressed along the pole line towards the old restaurant. The run back down into Wrights creek was fantastic.

Saturday was a trip to Guthrie's Trig. After -5 deg C overnight the snow was rock hard which made the going difficult but lunch on the top was well worth the effort.

Other Week 1 destinations included Mt Carruthers, Twin Valleys, the old restaurant and The Foxhole

Week 2 saw various outings to Spencers Creek and Wrights Creek as well as to Townsend and Twynam. Stillwell was a favoured destination also. Some of the beginners worked on their skills on the flat areas closer to the village.

On 6 Sep some of our party saw some Emergency Services skidoos returning from a sombre mission to retrieve the body of a skier who had died at Watson Craggs.

The death of Queen was announced on 8 Sep 22. The Chalet lowered all of its flags. Thomas the Tank Engine was deeply moved yet remained in good spirits.

Many thanks to Nadia, Kimmy & Nick for looking after us for our two Nordic Weeks.

The slideshow below contains images from Week 1.

The slideshow below contains images from Week 2.

Here are a few GPS traces of our expeditions.

This video shows the aspect from Guthrie Trig.

Sunday 07 Aug 2022. Castlecrag Loop.

Twenty-five members turned out for some exploring around Castlecrag.

After meeting at Fiona and Colin’s place, we set out for for a loop walk. The route took in some urban walking as well as bushland pathways along the Sailors Bay foreshore and Castlecrag’s nicely laid out pathway and reserve network.

Our morning tea stop was at the Griffin-designed Haven Amphitheatre, a unique performance space set amongst the ferns and tall gums, and the scene of many community events over the decades. Sadly the venue is limited in its use at the moment while a decision is made about funding to rebuild the stage area and provide disabled access.

We saw picturesque waterfall on Sailors Bay Creek and then moved on to see a small handful of Burley Griffin-designed houses dating from the 1920s.

Tower Reserve, a nice high point with views to the ocean, was our lunch stop, after which we retired to Colin and Fiona’s place for afternoon tea.

As promised, there were plenty of steps to negotiate, but fortunately the warning about prolific numbers of leeches proved to be unwarranted.

Despite a tiny shower of rain about midday, the whole day was accomplished in magnificent weather.

Here is a map of our route and a couple of vital statistics.

Thursday 21 Jul 2022 to Sunday 24 Jul 2022. XC Summit Tour.

This 2022 summit tour was blessed with both great snow and weather. Twenty-eight skiers, including 18 first timers, enjoyed the conditions with three days of excellent XC skiing along the range from Thredbo to Perisher via Charlottes Pass lodges.

On Friday a group of 12 skied from Dead Horse Gap up to the Rams Head Range, across to the Eagles Nest and then back via the Village Trail. Others enjoyed the fabulous snow on the Thredbo downhill slopes.

On Saturday, we did the crossing to The Pass: some went via the Summit Road; some via Twin Valleys and the Old Restaurant; and a few via the Kosciuszko summit.

On Sunday the ski out of Perisher saw some heading down the road and others enjoying the good snow cover on the XC Nordic Trail.

It was interesting to note that most of the ‘younger’ skiers had adopted the newer All Terrain style skis and boots while the ‘old hands’ were using the more traditional patterned touring skis.

Thanks to all skiers for your support and to our lodge managers for helping make the tour such a success. We hope to see everyone back in 2023.

 

Saturday 02 Jul 2022. Film screening - Jed Coppa's "Following the Flow" at Golden Age Cinema, Surry Hills

Jed Coppa is the son of Bruce & Kay Coppa, long time SASC XC'ers.

Jed writes this:

“I've recently produced a documentary that I think might be of interest to many of the members of SASC. Following the Flow is an eco/travel documentary exploring the places and ecology of the Macquarie Wambool River in Central Western NSW through the eyes of the people that know the river best. It's a fascinating insight into life out West and the often impenetrable complexity of water management.”

A couple of members were able to brave the wet weather and get to Surry HIlls for the screening. Jed’s film is a remarkable piece of work. He plainly lays out all the competing social, economic and environmental inputs into what constitutes a healthy and sustainable waterway.

Sunday 05 Jun 2022. Cape Baily Track. Kamay Botany Bay National Park.

On a windy winter day 25 members met at Kurnell for a return walk along the coast from Cape Solander to Cape Baily.

We met at the Endeavour Café for a pre-walk cuppa, then travelled in convoy to the Yena carpark for the start of the walk.

We passed the new Cape Solander whale watching visitor area, currently under construction. It will be amazing facility when complete.

The Cape Baily track is a combination of easy boardwalk and wind worn sandstone with some mud and surface water in places. There are fabulous views along the cliffs and out to sea.

A short track up a mild slope brought us to the 1950s Cape Baily lighthouse. The lighthouse is of historical interest as the Chance Bros lantern dates from the 19th century, albeit that the modern lamp is solar powered.

An interesting highlight before arriving at the lighthouse is Tabbigai Gap where, among the steep sandstone cliffs, a small community of people lived between the 1920’s and 1960’s. These Tabbigai Cliff Dwellers (as they were known) built their dwellings there following the economic depression years in the 1920s and 1930s. The Sutherland Shire Environment Centre notes that these people were “Permissive occupants at Tabbigai, not squatters … they paid an annual fee to the Lands Department and also paid Council rates for the right to occupy their precarious ledge”. The community was eventually moved off this Crown Land in the 1960s.

The true highlight of the day, however, were pods of whales, with over 20 sightings, some very close to shore just below the cliffs.

After a pleasant lunch just short of Potter Point in a sandstone hollow with some wind protection we retraced our steps to the carpark.

We completed 9.5 km and it was great to welcome nine new walkers to our group.

Many thanks to Russell and Jan for the planning and leadership. Special mention to Russell for his efforts in training the whales to put on a show for us.

This GPS trace shows our route for the day.

Sunday 01 May 2022. Eastern Suburbs Ramble.

Our walk today was very successful and greatly enjoyed by the 22 people who attended.

Everyone came by train to Edgecliff and we started the walk at Flat White cafe on Jersey Road Woollahra. We threaded along Queen Street, down and up Cooper Park to morning tea at Bellevue Hill.

After making our way down into Rose Bay and along the harbour, we stopped for lunch at Hermits Beach.

After this it was a quick but scenic walk past Vaucluse House across Parsley Bay bridge to Watson’s Bay.

For some it was a ferry home via Circular Quay, and for others a bus back to the city.

The brilliant weather sparkled the stunning scenery. Everyone agreed it was a day well walked.

Huge thanks to Annette for planning and leading today.

Here is map of our walk.

Thursday to Tuesday - 15 to 19 Apr 2022. Easter at Kahane Lodge, Perisher.

Friday 15 Apr 2022. Wragges Creek walk.

This was the introductory walk on our Easter weekend program.

Easy walking along a seldom-used vehicle track took us past a Snowy Mountains Council maintenance hut and a rather nice waterfall where we had lunch.

Saturday 16 Apr 2022. Perisher Valley discovery.

Steve and Tony led us on a circuit of some of the well-known locations at Perisher.

The tour took in Mt Perisher, Pretty Valley, North Perisher and Interceptor lifts. Most of us have been over these locations on skis, but it was a new perspective to traverse on foot.

Fabulous weather and great views contributed to a wonderful day’s walking.

Sunday 17 Apr 2022. Charlotte Pass - Guthega.

The group split up today, with some walking Charlotte Pass to Guthega, and some walking the other way.

Cool and windy conditions prevailed today, with most walkers opting for long trousers and jackets the whole time.

The two groups met briefly for lunch and then completed their journey.

NPWS has done a huge amount of work to provide new track at the Charlotte Pass end, and to improve the route from Guthega to Illawong. Significant lengths of raised steel deck and steel stairs help to protect the alpine environment from the large numbers of users.

Despite the brisk conditions it was a flawless day with blue skies and scudding clouds.

Monday 18 Apr 2022. Porcupine Rocks loop.

Cool conditions accompanied a group of 16 to Porcupine Rocks. This well-used track provided some excellent views from the top.

The group broke in two for the return to the lodge, with four members retracing their steps and the remainder following snow poles across country to the coffee shop at the bottom of the Eyre T-Bar.

Sunday 06 Feb 2022. Towlers Bay Track. Ku-ring-gai National Park.

For the first walk of 2022, thirteen of us set off in a slight drizzle, walking the Towlers Bay fire trail from West Head Road down to Lovett Bay. A short detour took us to our morning tea stop at the little-known Birnie Lookout. From here there were spectacular views over Scotland Island to Church Point and beyond, the drizzle having amounted to nothing. Also near the lookout was an interesting cave/shelter, complete with picnic table.

Annabel's muffins were popular at morning tea. It was actually a well timed stop as Annabel had walked hard enough to lose the sole of one of her shoes. Fortunately, it was possible to make some running repairs which lasted the rest of the day.

From the lookout we had two options to carry on down to water level: either continue straight down to the bay or backtrack a little and continue via the main track. Karsten opted for the rapid descent (despite a leech warning) while the rest of the group headed back to the main track.

We stopped at a second lookout with more views into Morning Bay and across to Pittwater then walked down to the bay to locate Karsten and enjoy our lunch by the water.

At the Morning Bay wharf lunch stop, we found a dozen or so girls from the nearby Youth Hostel taking a swim after a kayak trip. Tim joined them and it looked most inviting, but no one else had come prepared with swimmers or a towel.

After some more repairs to Annabelle’s shoe, we struck a new route straight uphill behind the Youth Hostel back to the road, Karsten having advised us that he'd come out of his earlier excursion leech free. A small wallaby watched us from a distance.

Back at the cars, Sally came up with a rather magnificent raspberry and poppyseed birthday cake for Ron's special “21-again” birthday. It's hard to believe his real age is any more than that.

And just as we got in the cars to go home, down came the rain.

Truly great organising once again, with thanks and credit to our fearless leader Bob.

Here is a GPS trace of our walk. The 2 hr 41 min noted is our “moving” time. We were actually out for a little over 4.5 hr.