SATURDAY BLUE MOUNTAINS WALK - Knapsack Reserve, Glenbrook - 9km / 11km moderate

This fantastic diverse bushwalk has it ALL!!!! Just a 1 hour journey to Glenbrook station in the Blue Mountains gives us easy access to explore stunning easy bush trails through a very beautiful eucalypt forest and lush rainforest gorges, mysterious abandoned railway rock cuttings to pass through, beautiful colonial era sandstone bridges, and more jaw-dropping lookouts than you can shake a stick at with truly epic vistas over the WHOLE of the Sydney plain, plunging views of dramatic gorges, and sweeping sunset vistas of the Blue Mountains wilderness. You won't easily forget this one!

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THE PLAN

Optional pre-party: Feel free to join the group from 9.00am to relax with coffee / brunch at the excellent Kickaboom Cafe at 6 Ross Street, just a 2 minute walk from Glenbrook train station.

Formal start: Meet the group at 10.40am in the commuter carpark of Glenbrook train station on the corner of Burfitt Parade and Ross Street. Do NOT confuse this carpark with the other carpark further along Burfitt Parade adjacent to Raymond Street.

We'll make a toilet stop as we pass Glenbrook Park, just 300 metres after the start point.

Then we join the bush trail into the beautiful forests of Knapsack Reserve. We'll take a morning break at the evocative sandstone Knapsack Bridge, and then a substantial lunch break at a lookout with jawdropping views over the entire Sydney plain - yep, 6 million people captured in one look across the whole city.

The route then skirts down a built path through stunning rainforest along the side of Knapsack Gorge, across an impressive viaduct bridge with more huge views of the city, and then we follow the abandoned rail line which was cut right through the rocky slopes.

At this point we re-emerge on the edge of Glenbrook village and if you are tired you can take an easy short cut here along a beautiful residential street bringing you in 10 minutes to the shops and station to finish with a total distance of 9 km walked for the day.

If you still have a little energy, there is lots more to see - we'll continue for an additional 2km through beautiful eucalypt forest of Darks Common to several lookouts with plunging views over the dramatic sandstone walls of Glenbrook Gorge as the sun sits low in the western sky. The we quickly emerge at our origin at Glenbrook station for a total distance of 11km for the day.

We'll aim to finish at the station between 4pm-5pm and well before dark. From there it's a quick train trip or easy drive home.

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IS THIS ACTIVITY OK FOR ME?

The bush tracks are well formed dirt trails, built paths, and stone stairways.

The distance is very achievable - do either the 9km loop with the early exit point, or the full 11km loop, both ending at Glenbrook station where we started.

The gradients are gentle undulations for 80% of the route.

There is one significant descent with many stone steps into Knapsack Gorge, and then an equal ascent on steps to come up the other side of the gorge - it’s not too bad. We will take this at a very relaxed pace, stopping for as many breaks as you like and to enjoy the epic scenery, so you’ll be able to handle just fine.

With this short steep passage through the gorge and the 9km (or 11 km) distance, we are calling this walk MODERATE grade. If you have done a couple of walks of at least 7km, you will handle this one comfortably.

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TRANSPORT

By train: Take the Blue Mountains (Lithgow via Parramatta) service departing at 9.24am from Central Station platform 7, then passing Strathfield at 9.38am, Parramatta at 9.54am, Blacktown at 10.05am, Penrith at 10.23am, and arriving at Glenbrook station at 10.36am. See the trip planner at www.transportnsw.info for all connections and times.

By car: Glenbrook village is on the Great Western Highway/M4 at the start of the Blue Mountains, and just 1 hour drive from central Sydney. You can take either

• the M4 motorway from the inner west and west (about 60km), or
• the M2/M7/M4 motorways from the north side (about 80km), or
• the M5/M4 motorways from southwest Sydney.

At Glenbrook, turn left from the Great Western Highway into Ross Street and proceed straight to the meeting point at Glenbrook station. There is plenty of free parking in the commuter carpark at the station.

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GRATUITY
Please contribute $10 cash on the day to help us cover the group’s operating costs.

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BRING:

• Opal card for public transport
• Your lunch and snacks for the day on the trail (there is a bakery/cafe, deli and supermarket in Glenbrook village, but no shops on the trail until we return to the village at the end of the day)
• Drink bottle (at least 2 litres, there are no water sources to refill from once we leave the Glenbrook shops)
• Warm jacket, pants, hat (winter days in the mountains tend to be sunny, but the air temperature can be quite low so make sure you dress in layers to add or strip off as needed, and carry a good warm outer jacket and long pants for the end of the day)
• Sturdy walking shoes
• Towel or pad to sit on at lunch time
• Insect repellent is highly recommended (the insects are not bad here but better to be protected, the water-based Off or Aeroguard sprays from the supermarket work very well)
• Walking stick if you have one (not mandatory, but helps to take the pressure off your knees on descents)

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LIABILITY DISCLAIMER
By your RSVP to this event you agree to the conditions of membership and participation which you can read in the "WHAT WE'RE ABOUT" section HERE.