We set off just after 6:00pm and with all the rain in Sydney over the past three weeks it was no surprise that the trail was wet - we just didn't expect it to be still so wet! The creeks were still well up in level and still many puddles on the trail. In order to save some time we decided against doing the "double-back" sections of these legs so when we arrived at the Wildflower Gardens we headed straight on to Kitchener Road rather than going all the way into the Gardens. The intention was to do the same at the Cascade Track junction (bypassing the Macfarlane Reserve checkpoint) however we unintentionally introduced a double-back by taking a wrong turn just after we had paddled across Bare Creek - this added nearly 4km to the total walk for the night and provided some light entertainment.
After our little detour any thought of going up into Macfarlane Reserve was quickly banished as we took a quick break at the Cascades before heading into Fangorn Forest. We were very glad that we postponed last weeks walk when we saw how much debris and how high up the water had reached. A relatively uneventful section this time (no Ent tackling from Ian) saw us emerge from the trail and face the long climb up Warringah Road to where we parked the car. We finished in just over 6 hours for the 25km and it was a good reminder to us all that walking when you are tired is a lot different to starting fresh. Great experience all round!
THE WALKERS: AJ, Deborah, Ian, Tony R
THE STATS:
Cp4 – Cp7 (and up to Valley Road)
Start Time: 6:09pm
Duration: 6:06:59
Finish Time: 12:16am
Distance: 25.37km
Average Pace: 12:28 min/km
Average Speed: 4.1 km/h
Total Time: 6:06:59
Total Distance: 25.37km
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