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The campsites looked really good with shelters and pit toilets. As I was hiking with a large group of friends, we opted for off track accomodation and arranged our own transport for the end of each day (I call that luxury multi day hiking!)

Thanks Wayne! It was definitely a tough walk and made harder with the hot weather. I find that once you embark on these hikes and your only real option is to keep going (as there are no quick get out side trails), your body will adapt and somehow get you through it. I enjoyed meeting other hikers on the second day and we sort of pushed each other through the last two days!

I heard that it also used to be pretty hard to navigate up. I guess now the trail is more defined it's attracting a lot more day trippers!

Hey Paul, We did actually dump most of the weight of our packs at Bivouac Hut! We had originally planned to keep on going Cleve Cole hut and camp there but the weather forecast for the next day included a high amount of rain and reduced visibility so we took the safer option of summiting and camping back at Bivouac hut instead. Wise choice, we made it back to the cars about an hour before the rain set in. You are right, the video doesn't show how challenging staircase spur was, especially with the pack weight!

Hey! Glad you enjoyed the video. I also did the hike at the same time you planned, October long weekend. However last year we head a heatwave over that weekend and I ended up having the second day in the mid 30's so it was much harder. The last day was short and we got out before the heat of the day kicked in. Day 1 and overnight is the hardest as that's when you have to carry the most water, there's nothing at all up on the plateau of Mt.Solitary (despite maps indicating a small flow at Chinamans gully). I think I carried about 5-6 litres in all as I got through 3 just climbing up on day 1 because of the heat.

Ah yes! I also camped at Chinamans gully. Stopped at the first campsite for a break and then moved on. No water anywhere on the top it seems (despite some old maps indicating otherwise)

Thanks Mike! We were definitely lucky with the weather only really having one rainy day and one scorching hot day. That's amazing you have done it four times, I imagine each time you see and experience it differently, especially during different months.

Not at all, I think the track has been well thought out with hikers in mind. The huts are quite spectacular, the way they are orientated for weather and the layout and comfort. I would just say this is a 'different' experience to other great walks such as the Milford track or Overland track, and perhaps saying polished is correct, but in a good way. I loved it, just because it offered something different to everything else I have done. It wasn't busy when we went as it was cold, so we had huts to ourselves, but I reckon it would be a different experience with full huts. The numbers on the track are limited per day so I doubt the track itself would get too overcrowded.

Thanks for your feedback! I can't wait to go back and have a go again it was such a wonderful experience. Hope you have a great hike out there, it's just one of those special trails that will stay with you.

Thank you! Have a wonderful trip, you will love it.

Definitely! I've walked pretty much every section of the GNW on the south side of the Hawksbury (and all before I owned the GoPro!). So I'll definitely be walking those sections again and adding some more videos. Most of the sections have train stations at either end (apart from the Galston Gorge sections which require car shuffles)

We went in June, so it was definitely chilly! Plenty of black ice which we had to be careful of. The good thing was the lack of people in general on the trail, our group was able to split into twos and have a sleeping cabin to ourselves which was nice. Kayaking around there must be spectacular! I'll have to think about doing that another time.

Thank you for your kind feedback! Also, happy to find your channel as well, I have subscribed and will enjoy watching some of your solo hikes 🙂

Thanks for bringing this story to my attention Christopher. I spent some time reading the news pieces about this and it's a very sad story for that young lad David and his friends. They, unfortunately, didn't have enough water between them and they ran out, it was an extremely hot day as well and David got separated from his friends and became delirious. It also was tragic to read about the emergency services poor response to Davids mobile calls to them, he could have been saved if they had responded well. I'd like to feel that we've advanced somewhat since 2006 in emergency response, and also the availability of PLB's for bushwalkers. I also feel national parks do a much better job of trail grading and setting expectations for the walk and level of skill needed. Now if you go to NP's website they suggest you camp at Ruined Castle on day 1 as it has tanks, as you have pointed out. This is great for less experienced bush walkers. I walked this on a very hot weekend, I took 6 litres with me for day 1 and over night and this was just about sufficient. You do drink A LOT on the Mount Solitary ascent, its hard and worse in the heat. The trail is well signposted (and apparently that's quite new). Unfortunately there are still websites that claim there is water at Chinamans Gully.. there isn't. Water is at Ruined Castle or the Kedumba River which is large and flows well. After that there are several creek crossings which should provide water for day 3.

Actually, it wasn't extremely hot, it was 32 degrees but there wasn't any wind, shade was limited and the humidity in the Blue Mountains averages 75% - so it seemed like it was extremely hot. Yes, the 000 call procedures were changed after that incident, but they do get a lot of crank calls so it was standard practice to ask where the nearest cross street was - and not to take it too seriously if a serious reply wasn't forthcoming. Those creek crossings you mention are fed by urban runnoff and possible sewage (or old sewage pipes and sewage treatement plants) so treat the water carefully! Six litres, that's a lot of weight, you must have been glad to have got rid of it!

Hi Carlos , how was it . Doing next week and wondering if the track was ok . I have been told there were quite a lot of landslide at the beginning

@@pierreyvessouesme1272 hmm not sure exactly which area they were referring to. There's an area called Landslide area a few minutes after scenic rails, obvs be careful, but that area during this summer with low rain and good sun should be very solid enough, as it was when I did it. That is the only area I could think of unless something new happened (doubt it) recently. The trail is very nice, the second day is quite monotonous, it is all through the fire trail, no change in scenery, but overall awesome thing to do. I'll prob do it again soon. The best part is def Day one (doing it anti clockwise), second day is a physical and mental test for sure

thank you @@carlosluque4753 , really appreciate the feedback

@@pierreyvessouesme1272 Actually, double check the alerts because there might have been a landslide after all. It says: "Federal Pass between Scenic World and Golden Stairs is closed due to a landslide." You can still start from Golden stairs rather starting from Federal Pass

Good point , I’ll probably skip the bottom section up to golden stairs . Apparently a large landslide as occurred during this Christmas break . Have do your hike before ?

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the films