Splendour Rock, Anzac Day 2012

An awesome, painful spiritual experience.
I left home at 8pm and arrived at Narrowneck at 10.30pm. Fell asleep on the airbed in the back of the car till 3.45am. It was bitterly cold and the wind was blowing gale force from the west buffeting the car as I dragged myself out of the sleeping bag.
My aim was to make it to the Dawn Service at the Bushwalker's War Memorial at Splendour Rock about 25km away. I made steady progress to Tarro's Ladder in the pitch dark and arrived at Medlow Gap about 5.45am. At this rate I should have made it about 6.45am just after dawn.

The View from Splendour Rock

Once I turned onto the foot track I hit the mud, ankle deep mud and water all the way to Mobbs swamp. Very appropriate for Anzac Day, I was in the trenches! There was no way that I could run through it, especially in the dark. I ended up getting to Splendour Rock at 7.30am just as the Dawn Service ended.
It was a beautiful, cold, clear, windy morning with almost unlimited visibility. The entire national park could be seen from Mt Solitary to Kanangra. I spent half an hour at the small campfire chatting to the campers and took off my tights, beanie and gloves. I still felt pretty good and I was looking forward to the trip back. Set off at 8am.

Campfire at Splendour Rock

Partly by accident, I found the alternate exit path that leads along the ridge line over the Wild Dog peaks. No mud! And dramatic views over the cliff edge down into Burragorang Valley and the full lake. I passed through a variety of beautiful eco systems from dramatic rocky outcrops, to hanging swamps, quiet rainforests, and one gum tree which had been freshly blown apart by a lightning strike. I was all alone, bathed in a silvery morning light, and ever present roar of the westerly gale. Magic.
I didn't know where the faint path that I was following led, but since I had  cliffs on either side of me, there wasn't too much chance of getting lost. When the ridge ended I almost attempted to climb down the exposed cliffs, but fortunately I found a cairn marking a hole in the cliffs, and then made my way down the steep slope to Mobbs swamp.

The magic pass through the cliffs

I had a rough plan of getting back by midday, and so far so good. But the mud on the way back took it out of me, and when I got back to Medlow Gap at 10am I felt stuffed.
I decided to take the long way up Mt Debert and followed the Sydney Water road around to the east. It was very peaceful and scenic. I filled my water bottle several times from the crystal clear streams coming down the slope. On the road up to the transmission tower I passed some magnificent stands of  Turpentine. One of them must have been 2.5 metres thick.
I passed three lady hikers at the transmission tower and then suddenly I started feeling faint and wobbly. I recognised the signs of low sugar and ate my last gel. I think I underestimated the energy required for 7 hours of hard hiking and running in freezing conditions. I was a bit wobbly going up Tarro's but slowly came good after a little rest on top.
Slow jogged and walked along Narrowneck and arrived back at the car exhausted but happy at 12.50pm. All up 8.5 hours of hiking.
Looking back I loved it, solitude, wilderness, adventure, wild weather and extreme exertion. Next time I need to leave at 3am to get to the Dawn Service on time.