5 Jan: Katoomba aka Blue Mountaints (NSW).

Got up, had breakfast and ventured out to hike what is known as the "Grand Canyon". +Marc and I knew it was going to be a long hike with a steep descent to kick things off, and then another steep ascent to end things. Awesome. It will be at the hottest part of the day when we climb and of course, that will be when we are the most tired.

The drive to Blackheath was pretty uneventful, and parking wasn't an issue. We had 2 liters of water each, plus sandwiches, snack bars, etc., so we were ready to set off. A number of ways exist to see the Grand Canyon (drive to a lookout/take pictures, do a couple of abbreviated loops, or do the full-on hike). Of course, we chose the latter because why not? 

Initial descent conditions - ugh!

The initial descent down from Govett's Leap was treacherous. I HATE going downhill, especially steep downhills. I have this fear of heights (yes, I have skydived and loved it) and worry more about falling downhill than falling as I move uphill. Marc, of course, cruises on the downhills so we have a deal that he has the daypack on the downhills and I take it on the uphills. On the flats, we kinda split the difference but we haven't seen much of those yet!!!

Sigh of relief on hitting a milestone on walk

It took us almost an hour to get to the base of the falls, called Bridal Veil Falls, and it was just under a mile in terms of distance. It was muddy, which meant slippery, and very steep. But I was happy to have it done. We kept moving downhill, and we knew that meant we were going to have to climb it all back uphill. That said, the views were amazing and we saw interesting things along the way, including some lizards (or 'Lizzies' as Aussies like to call them). We were keeping pace with two guys from the Netherlands, and when we took a wrong turn, fortunately they were there to help out and get us on pace.

Our inaugural "lizzie" sighting on the hike

The lucky thing about this walk is that it was 75% shaded. It was hot. Probably low 90s. We walked through plenty of bush, so I guess the term 'bushwalking' does have its place. We had lunch just past one of the main milestones on the trail, and then pressed on. We were concerned that we wouldn't finish in time for dinner, but I told Marc that we would make time up on the uphill and the relatively flat portion of the hike. At one of the falls, I filled up one of my water bottles with some much needed liquid. I wasn't concerned about contamination because it was moving water and we were upstream.

No lie: This felt AWESOME (caps on purpose!)

Once we got into the actual Grand Canyon part of the canyon, it was really a treat. Yes, it isn't as impressive as the one in the States, but this was pretty darned cool. I started using the walk as a workout as we made our way uphill. Heck, I am a runner and cardio is what runners can do. Yes, I had the backpack. Someone coming the other way told us a nice shower was up ahead, and sure enough, it felt AWESOME! The water was so cold, but I was so hot that I didn't even care. It probably brought down the body temps about 2-3 degrees, which was helpful for the home stretch.

We made it to Evans Lookout, and then had the final Cliff Top walk back to Govett's Leap. It was a tad frustrating because you saw the car park and the elevation, and then all of a sudden you were heading down instead of up. Yep, more steep climbs at the end. It wasn't horrible but you really do want to be done at that stage when you have been hiking up and down for over 10 miles.

Look carefully & you'll see the initial descent we took

We finished, picked up more liters of water to guzzle and headed back to the hotel. A long shower and a well earned dinner awaited. The sunset was really pretty. And our server informed us that it was over 100F when we did the last 1/3 of the hike. Oy!

Sunset from Echoes during dinner after a great and hard hike

Pics posted at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeasawaterclown/

Think Sunday is going to be a rest day, per Marc's request... although laundry will be on the agenda at some point. :-)