Before starting my journey up the eastern coast, I wanted to make sure to check out Australia's famous Blue Mountains National Park. Driving down the highway listening to Jack Kerouac's On the Road, I began to see the scenery change right before my eyes as I started climbing in elevation and begin entering the park's lush greenery. Pulling up to the "Three Sisters" lookout point, Wich is a famous landmark in New South Whales, I was in awe as I gazed out upon what I can only describe as a green Grand Canyon.
It was beautiful, to say the least, and had me standing there with a huge grin, excited to explore waterfalls I could see in the distance and hike trails that appeared to be carved right into the sides of the cliffs.
After packing a bag and locking up the car, I headed out into then forest, not knowing where the trail was going or what I was about to see, however very optimistic I was about to have an amazing time. Hiking along a trail, I was overwhelmed with the happenigs of the forest around me. Exotic red birds with purple coloring were perched on lush green tree branches along the trail. Incredible panoramic views of the canyon perpetually had me stopping in my tracks just to try and take in how beautiful it was. And off in the distance I could faintly hear the sound of falling water, which had me crossing my fingers I would come to its edge. Continuing on, the sound became louder and louder until sure enough I was before one of the tallest waterfalls I had ever seen in my life. There wasn't copious amounts of water falling off it's edge, however the site of the falls running right off into this green canyon was phenomenal! I knew I had to get a closer look, so I hiked down to the edge off the cliff, right beside the waterfall. Slowly creeping inch by inch right up to the edge, I clung to a sturdy tree branch as proceeded to peer straight over and down hundreds of feet. My heart immediately began to pound and my body became faint, as I watched the water rush right by me and hurdle towards the rocks below.
Slowly retracting from cliff, I knew I had to see this marvel from below so I headed out, searching for a way to get to the bottom of this towering waterfall. Doing a bit of rock climbing and maybe a few balancing acts along a very narrow trail that was literally cut into the side of the cliff, I finally made it to the base of the waterfall. Once again, I wanted to get as close as possible to experience the falls to the fullest, so I began rock climbing up to where the water was splashing on the rocks. The problem was that it was quite windy that day which made for a light mist that covered the rocks, making it seem like I was trying to climb up blocks of ice. Nonetheless, I made it right up next to the falls, and looked up at the cool, brisk water falling right next me.
I had to get some great shots from this angle, and just as I pulling out my GoPro, the wind quickly changed direction, which pushed the full force of the waterfall down on me, forcing me off of the rock I stood upon. I uncontrollably began to slip and slide down the rocks, unable to grab on to anything because of how slick everything was. Bouncing from rock to rock, almost positive this wasn't going to end well, I then splashed into the safety of a small pool. Drenched and chilled, I looked up to where I had been standing and shook my head with a grin. Even the Angel on my shoulder nearly fell off on that close call.
Deciding not to test my fate anymore that day, I decided to find a place to set up camp while I still had some sunlight. After another short hike I came upom a place where it had looked as though someone else had camped not too long before me. I began collecting wood and preparing for a very cold night. Remember, it is currently the end of Australia's winter and the blue mountains have been known to get snow right up through the end of August. So with my minus twenty degree sleeping bag that I had picked up in Nepal on my Mount Everest bass camp trek, I threw on a down jacket, and fed the fire until it was good and hot enough to keep me warm throughout the night. As it became pitch black all around me, I sat back and began to gaze at the sky above. I was so enthralled with feeding the fire full of wood that I hadn't taken a break just to sit and enjoy where I was. Lying on my back with a huge smile on my face, bundled up in my gear, I slowly started to fade as I lost count of the satellites dancing across space and made enough wishes upon shooting stars to make me the luckiest guy in the world.
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