The first night at camp passed
without quite enough sleep – the pillow I had brought wasn’t really up to the
job, the camping platform was dry but very hard, and I had been a bit too cold
but also a bit too lazy to move and get an extra layer on.
I still didn’t feel too bad
though, and was excited to explore further into the park with a day of hiking
ahead of us. Getting up and dressed and boiling water for brews and
freeze-dried fruity porridge, I also took the chance to chat to our neighbours
again for information about the walks available to us in our time frame. Going
over the map together we identified a few possibilities that were good for day
hikes.
Taking map and compass, brew kit,
lunch, snacks, warm gear and wet weather gear with us, we set off for the day. We
continued on the trail we had followed to the camp site as it wound its way
deeper into the park. A short uphill section to leave the camping area behind,
and we were passing Herod's Gate and once again on more level ground in the central basin. The track here was a combination
on board walk and natural path, and in the clear fine weather navigation was no
trouble at all.
Passing more beautiful scenery of
towering rock walls and picturesque tarns, our first little stop was to take a
short detour off the main path to see the Pool of Bethesda. This would have
been a glorious spot for lunch or even just a brew, but as we had not been
walking long at all by this point we decided instead to push on before taking a
proper break.
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| The Pool of Bethesda |
Not much further along the
boardwalk and we were at Damascus Gate, the saddle between Solomon’s Throne and
The Temple. I had expected it to take much longer to reach this point, so we
thought we might tackle one of these side tracks on the return.
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| Walking up to the saddle |
Continuing through the saddle,
the path passed through some more stunning scenery and beautiful tarns, before
winding its way amongst gnarled trees and then depositing us in the vivid green
beauty of Dixon’s Kingdom, another camping area on the trail.
Dixon’s Kingdom has its own
historic hut too, although camping is not allowed in the hut itself. The landscape,
the flora, and the hyper-real greenness of this place give it the feel of Tolkien’s
Shire, and you almost expect to see Hobbits running for cover as you approach.
A fallen tree in the shade here
gives us another perfect spot to sit and put the brews on, so we use the
facilities here and have our first break. I try to read a bit on my Kindle as I
sip my tea, but my gaze is constantly drawn back up to drink in our magical
surroundings.
Rest time over, we continue along
the path towards Mount Jerusalem. The track up to the summit is signed off the
main track, and then marked with triangular markers on metal posts every so
often. The track climbs through the rocky ground, until it starts to traverse
another plateau area peppered with the most beautiful little tarns. Every angle
produces another photo-worthy view, and these little lakes scattered around at
different levels are simply beautiful.
Pausing frequently to absorb the new
vistas that each turn of the track reveals, we eventually make it to the next
uphill section. We follow the rocky path all the way to the top of Mount Jerusalem,
and are greeted by views of the wilderness as far as the eye can see. Simply spectacular.
We take a lot of time at the top just to marvel at this expanse of nature, and
to dream of having the time and gear to be able to go off exploring for a few
days.
We can also see the track
continuing into the park beyond where we left it to summit Mount Jerusalem, and
I can’t help wishing that we were going to carry on further after descending.
Easily finding a suitable spot
for lunch, we fire up the Jetboil for more brews and tuck in to our supermarket
lunches. I have opted for a readymade pot of pasta and veggies in a tomato
sauce. Securely packaged and not requiring refrigeration, I had thought this
would be a good option. You are meant to microwave it before eating, but the
sun has warmed it a bit. That’s the same thing, surely?? I have a handful of my
dried fruit mix and cashews as ‘desert’, and the hot sweet tea with this
incredible view is just perfect.
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| A brew with a view ;) |
Reluctantly, we of course have to
leave this little spot and return to camp. The walk back down is trickier for
me than the ascent as I get painful knees and my injured ankle is not yet fully
mobile. Taking my time it’s nothing I can’t handle, and we get back to the main
track and turn back towards Dixon’s Kingdom again. From there, we are at
Damascus Gate again in no time. Knowing we are an easy walk back to camp, we
decide to drop our kit and head up The Throne before continuing back.
The path up here is made mostly
from large loose rocks that have been shifted to offer flat, level sides to
your boots. It really is remarkable to think of the work that has gone in to
making these defined, stable paths out of the loose rock piles up the side.
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| The view from The Throne |
By the time we get to the top on
this occasion, I am starting to feel a bit tired, so after admiring the views
we head back down again and collect our gear, then hit the boardwalk back to
camp.
On the walk back we encounter our
first mammalian wildlife inside the Walls – apart from the possums that were
scratching around our tent last night – in the extremely fluffy shape of these
Bennet’s Wallabies. They look so cuddly to me with their soft shaggy fur.
Gorgeous :)
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| Boots off, dinner on. Perfect :) |
That night I improved the pillow
situation by folding it in half and wrapping my microfiber towel around it to
keep it doubled up, I wear an extra jumper along with my hat, gloves, socks and
PJs, and suck it up that the ground is hard. I sleep great and wake up raring
to go – if a little achy. I also had my next significant wildlife encounter on
the way back from the loo, this handsome snake on the path. Fortunately I saw
him in time to stop without getting too close, and the snake glided off the
path to bask in the short grass nearby.
This is our final day in the
Park, so we try to make the most of it by heading back to Damascus Gate to walk
up Solomon’s Throne. The hike up is steep and rocky, but the views from the top
are very much worth it. Spectacular.
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| The view to King David's Peak |
I long to walk further along the
ridge to the top of King David’s Peak, but it’s not sensible to do this with
the walk out still ahead of us, so reluctantly we descend again and return to
camp. Here, we make lunch and then pack up our camp and leave. Making use of
the toilet one last time, we have yet another brilliant wildlife encounter in
the prickly form of this cute little echidna snuffling around the path.
The walk out is as picturesque as
it was on the way in, and I feel a little sad to be leaving so soon.
I definitely plan to return!
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