Kedumba Campground trip

Freshers' Trip is a SUBW tradition enshrined in the constitution, and forms part of the official duties of the committee. It is also one of 3 annual trips that are planned out in advance. Unlike other clubs, our committee generally does not run trips; instead, we have a decentralised system of volunteer trip leaders leading their adventures, and it is easy for members to go a long way in the club without meeting any committee members. The idea of this trip is to give new members of the club an introduction to overnight bushwalking so that they can venture into many of the more difficult and more remote multiday walks regularly posted through the club. 

This year's Freshers is held in Kedumba Campground, a secluded clearing at the base of Mt Solitary, isolated from the suburban sprawl of the nearby suburbs. It is a harder trip compared to last year's Ingar Campground fire trail walk, but that also means a more solid intro for keen bushwalkers, ready to take their bushwalking beyond the crowded touristy walks. This is also in line with our focus on lifting the baseline of our club, as many would have seen a massive growth in the number of cool adventures and trip leaders in the recent months. We've shifted away from the constant Bondi to Coogee walks in the past few years, and more towards building a community of capable bushwalkers. 

We have seen massive interest in this year's Freshers, with the trip fully booked out 3-4 hours after the opening of sign-ups. Probably shouldn't promote that on Instagram next time (haha). Carrying a heavy pack of 10-15 kg for an entire day takes considerable physical strength, and therefore, a lot of people had to be removed from the list as they hadn't had sufficient experience with intermediate day walks. We had a final group of 15 people, with about 6 people going on their first (or first few) camping trip, current and former committee members, and everyone in between. 

Trains were being replaced by buses between Granville and Penrith that morning, and it was a bit of a mess for everyone navigating the crowded replacement buses. I got a lift from Chad who lives 10 minutes away, and with the drive from Homebush to Wentworth Falls being just 1h10m, that gives us extra time to pick up people who have missed those replacement buses. Driving down Parramatta Rd, we picked up Ngiak Kang at a petrol station at Granville, who missed the bus as it was full. Heading onto M4, we've also gotten texts from Sofia that she missed the bus and was about to be half an hour late with Viet Truong. It eventually worked out where they would get off at Blaxland Station, cross over the footbridge, and we would pick them up on the Great Western Hwy. 

Soon, we parked at Wentworth Falls and joined the rest of the group led by Vyom. We've walked down Charles Darwin Walk, which had been long closed due to the 2022 floods. Along the same walking track was another group of campers, likely part of a commercial tour, as they were all wearing green caps. In Cantonese culture, wearing a green hat means they have been cheated on. I've led my group to quickly overtake them, wishing them all the best in their romantic relationships, and getting out of the tourist tracks as quickly as we can. 

We finally got a chance to regroup at Rocket Point Lookout, making our way away from the tourist tracks. From there, I've taken the unofficial track along the cliff line towards Lincoln's Rock, while Vyom and Emily took the "correct" track. Lincoln's Rock is closed following a decision made by the council due to overcrowding and dangerous photos taken on cliff edges, but it's still possible to walk around and head out to Tablelands Road following the road. 

Heading down Tablelands Rd, it's all road bash along the side of the road. Trail runners worked perfectly on this terrain- in fact, in most of the Blue Mountains, they would outperform traditional hiking boots, being far more comfortable, allowing for faster walking speeds. The only downsides are that without ankle support, it's a lot easier to roll your ankles. 

2/3 down Tablelands Road we caught up with Vyom. That's when we realised that we've lost a group of 3 girls. I thought they would've been with Vyom but turns out they weren't. A phone call later, and everything was sorted out. A while later we saw Adam speeding down the road with his canyon bus, waiting at the gates while we went for lunch at Sunset Point Lookout. 

At the lookout, there was this man who claimed he had booked the spot, and wasn't happy for us to be there. Never knew you could book public land- guess with bushwalking, you learn something new all the time. 

Vyom and Adam led most people down first, while I led the slower group at the back. The fire trail down to Kedumba felt never-ending with endless switchbacks and steep descents. It went on and on until the valley floor, where eucalyptus forests reemerge. It felt quite peaceful walking along, with an orange shade of sunlight shining through the woods. 

We first passed the abandoned building at Singajiangawell Camping area. Quite a nice place to camp for next time. Down the track, a few resident wallabies were spotted near our campsite. 

Ilana and I waited at the intersection for about 20 minutes, anticipating those at the back to catch up. Not seeing anyone, we've explored around the campsite, only to discover that they've already reached the rest of the group, camping at a clearing away from the other campers. 

It was 5pm and with the tents settled, most people had already started making dinner. Everyone camped in a circle around the campfire, except our president, Vyom and our first lady, Emily. This is our first lady's first-ever camping trip, with everyone carried by her sherpa, but she seems to prefer hanging out indoors over venturing all the way outdoors. Firewood collected and it's time for a campfire.

My beginner's guide to overnight bushwalks has certainly lifted the standards for camping meals, as everyone came with, in bushwalking standards, gourmet meals. The fanciest of them all is Ngiak Kang's salmon filet topped with soba noodles. He even took a small bottle of olive oil and an entire Decathlon cooking setup. 

I've always recommended electric plasma lighters for lighting up gas stoves, as they are far easier to use and are rechargeable. One person brought a Christmas edition electric kitchen lighter by Suprus, which looks funny yet super practical. 

This is followed by a round of dessert- Vyom and I have chipped in some marshmallows. Adam, our beer officer, has kindly carried some ginger beer and hard rated beer. I've shared our purple feather story and Adam has told the tale of the Aliexpress tent in Mt Anne, which you'll hear from his trip report coming very soon. The night continued with some casual tales and mishaps from our Tasmanian and canyoning trips. 

Plans were made for the next morning. In my trip description, I've proposed a sunrise walk to Mt Solitary as a potential side trip for those who are keen. It's probably about 2 hours one way with a fast walking group going on a blitz. A bit of on and off discussion and that has narrowed down to only 4 brave souls, making an early start at 3:30 am. We also had a short discussion on what time to leave camp, but it was decided that it would be decided in the morning. Many people were quite 50/50 on whether to do the Mt Solitary sunrise, and Chad joked that the best way to decide is to wake everyone up at 3:30am and ask if they are keen. 

Ngiak Kang and Donato did some really long exposures of the Milky Way with some really impressive results. 

Overnight, it got quite chilly with a low of 5 degrees. I slept in my quilt with no extra layers and was mildly cold towards the morning- should've slept with a jacket on. We all woke up around 6 in the morning and made breakfast. Adam left first, heading up to his car for a cafe meal with his parents. 

Most people who went for morning sunrise- Donato, Ruben etc have made their way back. They have gotten to around the base of Mt Solitary and decided to settle at a clearing for some stargazing, with Ngiak Kang heading up the scramble to a better spot. The entire valley opens up at the scrambles, rewarding him with this impressive view of clouds hovering around the valley floor. 

As we were about to start packing, a group of wallabies made their way towards our spot for a morning stroll. For some people, it's their first time seeing wild wallabies.

Of the 4 wallabies, 2 have decided to start fighting. Our group was treated to live entertainment: wallaby boxing, with everyone pulling out their phones to document this important event. 

Soon, Ngiak Kang made his way back, and we are ready to go. Vyom and Emily led the way while I stayed at the back. The endless 800m uphill led to a reshuffling of group positions. Ilana led the group with her fast yet constant uphill pace, then Chad, Vyom & Emily, Clément and I, Sofia and Emma to the back, then Donato and Ngiak Kang at the very end. Donato struggled a bit with his heavy pack. Opening up his pack for some repacking, we've discovered 4 cans of energy drinks- guess that's why it's heavy. We distributed that on the spot, placed his tent to the rear of his pack instead of dangling somewhere, and continued on our way. 

Midway through the uphill, I overtook our president and our first lady. Vyom was carrying two packs and Emily appeared to be traumatised with a blank facial expression, looking like she was going through a bit of emotional crisis. After that, I overtook Chad until we had a long break at the top of the fire trail near the gate. We continued on Tablelands Rd back to Wentworth Falls, with Vyom staying with the slower group. Adam has offered to drive down to the gates to rescue the first lady, but they've successfully called an Uber at the end. Ngiak K., Donato, Vyom and Emily took the Uber and got to the station ahead of all of us. To be fair, two of them have already done the morning walk to Mt Solitary and doing the entire walk out would be an extremely long day for them. 

We got to the station at around 2pm for a late lunch at one of the many cafes at Wentworth Falls. Four of us got a lift from Chad to Strathfield while the others endured another journey down the rail replacement buses.

Overall, it was a successful Freshers Trip! All the freshers did really well and I look forward to seeing them on many of the advanced, remote and interstate trips posted on our website! It was great vibes camping in a secluded campground, and we all got a decent workout. Vyom thought the Freshers was too difficult and not suitable for beginners, but that's ok- one day he will get there.