First comes thunder, then comes a flood!!!

The Blue Mountains National Park = Big, Blue, Beautiful.

Last weekend (8th and 9th of October) I made my way by train to the Blue Mountains National Park with my friends. The train ride was approximately 2 hours long so I plugged in my ipod, stared out the window, and watched as the city turned into suburbs which turned into the the bush. Once we arrived at the Katoomba train station we left to find Katoomba Mountain Backpackers Lodge. The town was very small and had a lot of charming little cafes and bakeries where I helped myself to one...okay three pastries! Yumm

The weather forecast for Saturday was rain rain rain but so far it was overcast and comfortable with no rain so we began our bush-walking trip.

Although this picture looks cold, we were hiking down to the rainforest below and so it was rather humid.

The hike was long and involved the Golden Staircase (1000 steps), climbing rocks, walking through mud, and cool jungle like paths.

Dennis, Michele, and I thought that it would be cool to hike the extra 2hrs off our planned route to go see the castle ruins which were close by. When we got to the trail head the sign said experienced hikers only. We looked down at our tennis shoes and said "why not" and it was an uphill climb in mud to the top. Out of breath and so close to the castle ruins ...(okay I was the only one out of breath) we suddenly heard loud thunder that was really close. It probably sounded louder since we were hiking along a peak. We didn't think too much of the thunder and continued on to the rocks indicating we were almost there! Then all of a sudden the rain came. A lot of rain. Luckily I had bought a cheap rain coat that was guaranteed to keep you dry!...For 10 seconds that is. So now we were hiking in a rocky area in a rainstorm before the trail was covered with water as a mini flash flood swept water over our feet traveling downhill. Good thing our water proof running shoes kept our feet dry!

So we couldn't make it to see all of the Castle Ruins because the heavy rain made it too slippery and dangerous to keep going so we turned around and headed back down the newly made mud slip-n-slide! Fun! It was an experience to say the least but luckily the rest of the weekend and other parts of the hike were more enjoyable.

Above the three sisters rock formation

Kim, Michele, and I

I love the rainforest!

It was a bid step down. Good thing i was tall enough!

This was a big step up!

Line hiking.

After the weekend in the Blue Mountains our legs were worked out and we had a lot of good memories! No snakes this time but a lot of birds instead. The next hike I would like to attempt would be in the desert! Till then...