Lockley Pylon to Blue Gum Forest Walk
To escape the heat in Sydney, we did a walk in the Blue Mountains with a very pleasant top temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. However it was forecast to be very windy in the afternoon.
We turned off at Leura and drove along the dirt road for about half an hour to the start of the walk. The dirt road was bumpy at parts with pot holes, but it was manageable with a 2WD car. We parked at the car park near The Pinacles.
The morning was sunny, but very windy already. I wasn't looking forward to the wind getting any stronger.
The walk started with a gradual uphill. Haven't been doing much walks with big climbs and I had been sick with heavy chesty cough all week, I was already puffed out after few minutes of walking. I was thinking to myself, how was I suppose to climb back from Blue Gum Forest.
The breathtaking view of the Grose Valley opened up the more we walked toward Du Faur Head. I just couldn't get enough of this spectacular view.
We reached the turn off for Shortridge pass, about 1km from the turn off for Lockley Pylon, where it was a steep, zig zag down the cliff edge. The turn off can be easily missed as the track looked like it just dropped down vertically. The wind even picked up by then and I just wished it wouldn't push me off the cliff.
From the top of the cliff, we could see how far down we had to walk, and I remembered my worries about climbing back up later again.
The walk down was steep, and some sections were very slippery due to loose rocks. I got jelly legs before we even reached half way down. It wasn't pleasant walking with shaky legs.
Once we got to the bottom of the Grose Valley, we cross Govetts creek to Blue Gum Forest track where you can turn right to head to Blue Gum Forest, or turn left to Acacia Flat camping ground. We turned right and entered a forest with magnificent tall blue gum trees.
We had lunch next to this nice and calm creek before what I dreaded.... ascending up to where we started.
The climb up was brutal. My heart was racing and my legs told me they had enough and didn't want to move anymore. The heat of the sun started to warm me up real fast. I needed numerous of rests, and many times I just wanted to lie on the ground and take a nap. I pushed myself, one step at a time, and I looked up to see the photo below.... Du Faur Head was still so far away!
The Grose Valley was very sheltered from the wind. Once I survived reaching the top of the cliff at Du Faur Head, we could really feel the contrast with the super wind.
We walked up to the top of Lockley Pylon on the way back. The panoramic view overlooking Govetts Gorge and the Grose Valley in the afternoon sun was beautiful, it was worth the battle against the wind to get there.
Looking back, it was a really nice walk with fantastic views, beautiful flowers, and great atmosphere.
I definitely recommend this walk, although I am not sure if I will be going down to the Blue Gum Forest any time soon. Even walking out to Lockley Pylon and Du Faur Head will give you plenty of spectacular views.
We turned off at Leura and drove along the dirt road for about half an hour to the start of the walk. The dirt road was bumpy at parts with pot holes, but it was manageable with a 2WD car. We parked at the car park near The Pinacles.
The morning was sunny, but very windy already. I wasn't looking forward to the wind getting any stronger.
The walk started with a gradual uphill. Haven't been doing much walks with big climbs and I had been sick with heavy chesty cough all week, I was already puffed out after few minutes of walking. I was thinking to myself, how was I suppose to climb back from Blue Gum Forest.
We decided to go up to the top of Lockley Pylon on the way back as the afternoon lighting might be better. We walked past the turn off and continued along the track, where we came to this gap between two cliffs which gave me a quick glance down to the bottom of the Grose Valley.
The breathtaking view of the Grose Valley opened up the more we walked toward Du Faur Head. I just couldn't get enough of this spectacular view.
We reached the turn off for Shortridge pass, about 1km from the turn off for Lockley Pylon, where it was a steep, zig zag down the cliff edge. The turn off can be easily missed as the track looked like it just dropped down vertically. The wind even picked up by then and I just wished it wouldn't push me off the cliff.
From the top of the cliff, we could see how far down we had to walk, and I remembered my worries about climbing back up later again.
The walk down was steep, and some sections were very slippery due to loose rocks. I got jelly legs before we even reached half way down. It wasn't pleasant walking with shaky legs.
Once we got to the bottom of the Grose Valley, we cross Govetts creek to Blue Gum Forest track where you can turn right to head to Blue Gum Forest, or turn left to Acacia Flat camping ground. We turned right and entered a forest with magnificent tall blue gum trees.
We had lunch next to this nice and calm creek before what I dreaded.... ascending up to where we started.
The climb up was brutal. My heart was racing and my legs told me they had enough and didn't want to move anymore. The heat of the sun started to warm me up real fast. I needed numerous of rests, and many times I just wanted to lie on the ground and take a nap. I pushed myself, one step at a time, and I looked up to see the photo below.... Du Faur Head was still so far away!
The Grose Valley was very sheltered from the wind. Once I survived reaching the top of the cliff at Du Faur Head, we could really feel the contrast with the super wind.
We walked up to the top of Lockley Pylon on the way back. The panoramic view overlooking Govetts Gorge and the Grose Valley in the afternoon sun was beautiful, it was worth the battle against the wind to get there.
Looking back, it was a really nice walk with fantastic views, beautiful flowers, and great atmosphere.
I definitely recommend this walk, although I am not sure if I will be going down to the Blue Gum Forest any time soon. Even walking out to Lockley Pylon and Du Faur Head will give you plenty of spectacular views.
Total distance: 11.8km
Climb: 943m
Climb: 943m
Difficulty: Hard
Go to the link below for information and map for this walk.
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