Hiking - 2019 07 - Conondale (Summer Falls)

Thomas and Callan were keen for a little hike so I joined on and we chose to head back to Summer falls. It's the first camp (anticlockwise) for the Conondale Great Walk, 12k in and out. I have camped there a few times, once as part of the full loop, and it's a good spot.

I had also thought I managed to convince a friend, who had been talking about joining me for a while now, to come along for their first ever overnight hike. Even to the point where the pack was full of gear (some borrowed) and ready to go. With a big week and not ready for a big hike they ultimately bowed out. Mixed feelings for me, would have been great to have them along, but also means I got my tent back :) We'll have to aim for a shorter one next time so they can join. 

We stopped off at Malaney on the drive up for a smoko pie and reached the Booloumba Creek carpark by 930. Laced up the shoes and set off up the hill. The Mt Allan Fire Tower was unfortunately closed off due to some concerns about one of its supports. Bit of a shame as it's a great view from the top of the tower, but it saved us the decision on a 1.4km side trail.  

At the top of the hill we had a brief stop for lunch with pack weights etc being discussed. Callan gets away with a 36lt pack, which would be awesome, but that means Thomas has the tent, cookware, water filter and his fancy new chair (which is almost 900g itself!) 

We got to camp just before 1300 and Thomas was able to set up his chair... I hate to admit but the thing is pretty comfy! I still don't think I would carry it though. It was weird when I sat in it, you get a much different perspective. I'm use to sitting on logs/rocks where you naturally lean forward and look down, but in the chair you can lean back and look up at the trees much easier.  

After a few snacks we went down to the waterfall and Thomas got out his RPA to fly around and get some awesome shots of the falls. You can see it on his Instagram here. Explored the creek for  while too, much more water flowing through at the moment than any other time I've been here. Definitely improves the look of the falls.  

Another pair of hikers arrived but kept completely to themselves after saying hello. I'm definitely like that sometimes too, though usually rarely... while camping. I like hiking alone, on the move, but definitely prefer company and a chat when sitting around at camp or lunch spots.  

Thomas braved the chilly water... by going about ankle deep. Still more than just running a hand under it like I did.  

Two more solo hikers strolled in followed by a father and 2 young (10-11 ish) boys and then a little while later a mother and her (~14yo) daughter just after 1530. Camps are fairly spread out here though so it's not too bad. I wonder what the max capacity here is though, that's 13 now. It was a fairly quiet night but got quite cold, colder than I thought it was going to get. Still managed a good sleep in. We had a leisurely pack in the morning. And were just barely second last out of camp. 

We made really good time up the hill and decided that despite not being able to climb the tower itself it was worth heading up the hill to the Fire Tower. Callan's boots were causing her some pain (mainly on the heels) heading up the hill. We taped them yesterday but unfortunately that didn't seem to completely stop the issue. There were a bunch of Bees enjoying the wild flowers near the tower and it still looked pretty good, but you could definitely tell that one of the posts was rotting. 

On the road up there was a pretty cool mushroom poking almost 200mm out of the ground cover. Still enjoying the wet weather from the past few weeks. The trip down was much faster, smashing almost 5.5km per hour. Being downhill the entire way certainly helped. Once down we didn't spend too much time before hopping in the car to head home. Realising that it was the end of school holidays and not looking forward to the traffic.... There was a little on Steve Irwin Way and again stop/go for a bit when we got onto the Bruce but overall it wasn't that bad and we were home soon to Luna and Charlie (Callans dogs) giving us a big welcome home.