Caught by a Heuristic Trap – or two

BLUE MOUNTAINS – 15 September 2024
I was a little nervous about this multi pitch abseil trip (Malaita Walls).  I’d done it twice before (maybe even more times because I don’t always record trips), but this time it was an SRT trip (single rope, not double rope that I’m used to).  So, I packed my “Stop” descender which is designed for SRT, and I knew that I could slow myself down with it if need be. Continue reading

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Be careful what you wish for!

BLUE MOUNTAINS – 7 September 2024
This was supposed to be an overnight walk with Nicole but, with the threat of rain, Nicole and I talked it over and came up with a day walk which was on both our wish lists – Haystack Ridge and the Haystack Neck – an interesting geological formation.  Trish and Jim were both on board with the change and I talked Rob C (with the “should be easy” description) into joining us.  Continue reading

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The Horse Track

BLUE MOUNTAINS – 6 September 2024
If I’d looked more closely to the Katoomba Map, I would have been able to identify this route (although it was unnamed), but it wasn’t until recently that The Horse Track came to my attention.  When we talked about another fitness walk on this Friday, Marcia, who would be joining Trish and me, suggested The Horse Track.  She’d been on it recently and said it was good.  Having quite a bit altitude descent/ascent, it suited our purposes. Continue reading

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Return to Dharug

DHARUG NP – 24-25 August 2024
Now that I’ve been training for over a month, it was time to test whether the “getting fit” plan was working.  So, Trish and I decided that we’d tackle the fire trail in Dharug (and its biggish hill) to test our fitness.  We had planned for 3 days walking but as it looked like rain at the end of day 2, we called it quits (and that’s a story in itself). Continue reading

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The lead up to Mt Kinabalu – Part 1

15 July – 18 August – About 6 months ago, an acquaintance (when he heard I was going to Sarawak for the International Show Caves Conference) suggested that I climb Mt Kinabalu whilst I was there.  He said that I’d probably only have to climb 1,000m and I thought, “that’s not too bad, that’s all you climb from the Kowmung to Kanangra Walls”.  So, I decided that Mt Kinabalu sounded like a great idea. Continue reading

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