In which Wallaby heads home (part 2)

While I was travelling in Sydney, I'd been expecting the city to feel like home. I was surprised when it didn't particularly feel like a homecoming.

I was even more surprised when being in my tent in the woods did feel like home. Apparently I'm now most at home when homeless.

Air mattress update:

It turns out my air mattress is still leaking, but slowly enough that I was able to get lots of good rest. I did wake up needing to reinflate it twice. I think I may be forced to replace it, but for now it still works.

(I know. Boring story. Most of hiking is about minutiae, really.)

Day 2

Day 2 opened with a beautiful sunrise over Pigeon House (I think) in the distance.

Sunrise over Pigeon House

[Ed Note: I have confirmed the Pigeon House sighting.]

I sat and quietly watched the sun come up for a bit and then broke camp, had breakfast, replenished my water, and headed off for the day's hike. Originally, I didn't think a 10-15km hike would be that bad, but after the trail yesterday I was now a lot more concerned about the clock. If today's trail was as challenging, I was going to be in trouble.

In the end, the hike was considerably friendlier (though still a good trek). And the rewards were well worth the effort: The Nibellung Pass and the deep, dark, lush vegetation was amazing.

A little more work than
your typical stroll

Hard to believe what can grow
in the dark

Lush green. It was too dark to really
get good pictures in the depths.

From the dark wet valleys, I'd come up to what felt like dry ridges, but was really the Monolith Valley corridor between Mount Cole and the Seven Pinnacles. It was truly spectacular. Unfortunately my camera seems to have had enough of my adventures so the photos aren't coming out as well as I'd have liked.

Monolith Valley

A quick shower to cool down

I had planned to walk around Mount Cole and climb over through a small ravine between Mounts Cole and Owen, but as I approached the entry point to the ravine, the clock started ticking in my head. The access looked passable, but I couldn't tell from below how technical it would be, and I knew if I was going to retrace my steps I needed to do so right away. I'm not usually one to take the easy way, but hiking alone in an unfamiliar area, and knowing that the last 7k of trail was going to be challenging, I decided not to risk the climb.

Besides, I'd enjoyed the Seven Pinnacles and the Nibellung pass so much that I was happy to experience it again.

Final verdict: It felt really good to be back on a trail again. I really wish I could have made it a three day hike though, especially after reading this report.

GPS trail info: Cooyoyo - Mount Cole - The Castle, The Castle - Long Gully Campground