Camping in a Place I've Always Avoided

Alright, so I've been doing this channel for about five years now, and there is one place that I always avoid And it's probably the most iconic place in all of Australia to go hiking and that is the Blue Mountains for whatever reason I just always decide to avoid it mainly because it's just too damn busy There's usually too many people about but I decided to actually come out here and finally show you guys all the fusses about it So we're gonna hike over to the cliff line find nice spots to set up camp for tonight And yeah show you guys the views so let's go It's actually kind of crazy that it's taken me this long to finally come film a video on the Blue Mountains I can only live about two hours from it It's really easily accessible and I drive past it like all the time to go to different sections of the Blue Mountains, but Yeah, for whatever reason I just always avoid it the crowds are just usually yeah They're pretty big out here like you guys can see but it's about 15 cars in that car park And I was actually meant to do another trail today, but that car park was chockers So I decided to come here and when I first arrived there's only two cars and now it's about 15 So now you can see why I usually avoid it The good thing about the Blue Mountains though is it's such a big area So there's plenty of other sections where you can go and find some solitude But you want to come to sort of this main sort of gorge of the valley, which is called the Grouse Valley Unfortunately, you're gonna sort of have to put up with people usually but it's such a big area You can't sort of get away from the crowds once you get away from the main sort of lookouts and trails You can usually find your own little piece And here we go That is the Grouse Valley What a bloody epic spot Now you can see why it's so popular That is one hell of a view And that view is actually insane So I think this is like right on Sydney's doorstep Pretty damn lucky All right. Well, I've just ditched my bag on top of that rock up there. I'm just gonna go have a look at This little point down here and check out this little canyon Alright, so I've got a pretty fun idea for an adventure One day I want to hike into the valley floor and blow up the packraft And paddle the Grouse River all the way to the Nepean River I think it's probably around about 40km. I'm not quite sure but I think that'd be an absolute epic trip I know a lot of people paddle the packraft, the bottom section I've actually done like the last little section of it But I'm not quite sure if people can, like if you can do the whole lot So if any of you guys have, let me know. I'm sure someone has before Just gotta wait for the right river level At the moment it's actually, yeah, really good. We've had heaps of rain over the last week And I think this river's actually at a good level I know a lot of the rivers around here are all flooding, but I think this one's actually meant to be pretty good Oh man, what a beautiful day out in the mountains I guess we've had so much rain over the last week It's actually really nice to be out in the sun for once It's gorgeous Well, we need to go find some water and being up on top of a cliff There's a lack of creeks Obviously we do have this canyon down there which we currently get access to But I think there's a creek sort of on the other side of this hill So we're going to walk around and see if we can find it and collect some water So we've got this little slump over here So there should be a creek running through it And I'm pretty sure I can hear a waterfall down there So let's go have a gaze We've got some beautiful wattle or acacia just starting to flower And it's all throughout the bush here That's one of the nice things about hiking in winter You get to see all the wattle bloom Alright, well we've found some water But it's not much It's like so shallow it's going to be pretty difficult to try and fill up these bladders But we'll give it our best shot So what I'm going to do is I've got this 2 litre knock bladder Which I'll try and fill up As well as this 1 litre life straw bladder And I've also got a 1 litre bottle in my bag as well So hopefully we'll be able to collect about 4 litres The good thing with this life straw bladder Is it's actually got a filter inside So it's really handy for just filling up in the creek And just being able to drink on the go Alright, so I'm going to try and use my cup here Just to try and fill up these bladders Because it's not deep enough to put this in the water Since this water is coming out of this swamp here I don't even really reckon I need to filter it I reckon it'll be pretty clean, considering it's been raining the last few days But we'll just err on the side of caution and just filter it anyway So there's 1 litre So what's really good about these 2 litre knock bags I think you can also get a 3 litre one It just means you can transport water I'll pair this with, I've got another life straw filter Which I'll screw onto the end of that later to filter it But they're just really handy to be able to collect water And carry it away to camp Because you're not always lucky enough to be able to camp next to a creek One thing that I've really come to appreciate Since getting into the outdoors and camping and stuff Is just how easy we have it at home Just turning a tap on Like honestly, I do not take water for granted at all Even when I'm at home I think it's such a bloody privilege to be able to just go to a tap And just turn it on and have fresh drinking water Sweet, so we've got 3 litres here Plus a litre in my bag So one thing that's really special about the Blue Mountains Is a lot of these side creeks here have slot canyons that run through them And they're absolutely spectacular If you've never seen a slot canyon Just google Blue Mountains slot canyons And you'll see what I mean So the creek has basically just cut its way through the sandstone And quite often you've got to abseil through waterfalls And swim through big pools And they're just full of tree ferns And ferns and stuff like that And they're really quite special They're like little lost worlds Hidden up in the mountains And quite a lot of the Blue Mountains Especially the northern section Has heaps of slot canyons It's definitely something I want to try and get into A bit more in the future I've only ever done the ones you can walk into Because quite a lot of the ones you need to be able to abseil I don't really know how to abseil I haven't done it since I was a kid And no one around me does canyoning So it's a bit of a barrier venture for people like myself You kind of need to link up with someone who knows what they're doing Because they can be quite dangerous Quite a few people do die from canyoning So you've definitely got to be pretty safe about it But it's definitely something I'm pretty keen to get into In the future Because they're just absolutely amazing Definitely a nice way to spend your summers out in the mountains Is just swimming through these little slot canyons Which is pretty cool Alright This is going to be camp It's pretty hard to beat that view Now in case you missed my last video This is my new backpack that I'm running And this is by a brand called Whipper Now Whipper is actually based in the Blue Mountains And they hand make all these backpacks in Katoomba Which is pretty bloody awesome To see some local manufacturing left in Australia This is my second trip using it This is the Overland 60 And so far I'm absolutely loving it I really like this big front pocket on it Where I can keep my first aid kit and stuff So I'm not a big fan of most ultralight packs Where they have that stretchy material I find that if it rains Everything gets wet and things can fall out Whereas this keeps things nice and dry And nice and secure It's been a nice comfy pack I haven't had any issues over the last two trips So I'm pretty stoked with it Alright so because it's pretty rocky around here And pretty hard to peg your tent in I've decided to bring my Yosemite freestanding tent Which is a Sea to Summit Alto 1 And then for my sleep gear I've got a Sea to Summit Ember Quilt Which is rated to minus 1 So it's going to get pretty chilly tonight And then we've got a Sea to Summit Yosemite Ethylite XT insulator mat And lastly just a little Eros pillow Alright well the camp's set up So I think it's beer o'clock Got a nice little stain of wood Cheers Now let's enjoy that view This is one of the most insane sunsets I've ever seen The sky is just on fire We had the sunlight lighting up There's three waterfalls coming off this cliff over there And they were just turning into a golden waterfall That was absolutely insane Man what a bloody night Well the Blue Mountains Not bad Not bad at all It's just starting to get pretty chilly But man what a sunset I think I'm pretty stoked to decide to come to the Blue Mountains this weekend Even though I've seen a fair few people Checking out the lookout It's actually been a really nice day I've managed to find a few nice Quiet moments And a sunset like that Really beautiful I think it's about time we get some dinner going I was going to have a fire but I can't really be bothered I haven't got any firewood collected So I think I might just cook up on the gas stove tonight And probably have a bit of an early night But for dinner We've got the off-grid provision meals again I really enjoyed these up in the Kimberley So we've got the venison stroganoff And then the potatoes and saltbush So we'll get that going Alright so to boil up the water I'm just going to use the Sea to Summit collapsible pot again So we just take off the handle Inside here We've just got some collapsible plates And bowls Alright so we've got the venison stroganoff And the potatoes and saltbush Man that smells good Looks like a nice hearty meal For a cold night Yum It is blowing a gale And absolutely freezing Well I tried to get out to watch the sunrise But it is freezing outside Really windy, it's been windy all night I was actually getting a bit worried For the tent throughout the night But we managed to stay standing which is good And the benefits of camping on the edge of a cliff Is it means I can actually just lay in bed And still watch the sunrise How's that for a view to wake up to Pretty fresh but pretty specky Alright for brekkie We're going to have some pancakes So I've got some pancake mix in a ziplock bag I'm just going to add some water to it And then we'll chuck on the twig stove Well it seems a little bit runny We'll see how we go I think we're going to need some taller paper To help this get going There's not a whole lot of tinder around here There we go Chuck some banana in it The spatula is not very thin So it's kind of hard to get underneath the pancake 3, 2, 1 Well that ain't too bad For my efforts Oh you cannot beat Pancakes with brekkie That is so good Well another beautiful day out in the mountains Yeah it was pretty windy last night I was like waking up a few times thinking Hopefully this tent holds up Put a bunch of rocks around the pegs and stuff to secure it And it did pretty well Although it was pretty chilly But it was pretty cold there for a bit Would have got I reckon pretty close to zero Definitely heading into winter now So what do you guys reckon Of my new kicks So these are the Hoka Anacapa Breeze And it's the first time using them And yeah I think I'm going to get used to them hey A little bit of a different vibe compared to my Scarpa leather boots They're really comfy but I found When I was walking yesterday Because it's got this thick rubber sole here When I'm sort of walking on an uneven trail Where it's really rocky or a bit sloped I found sometimes The rubber sole would kind of catch And almost roll my ankle So I feel like I nearly rolled my ankle about three times yesterday So yeah not quite sure Got to sort of wear them in a bit And see how I like them after a few trips But the reason I got these is Because with the Scarpas even though I love those boots When they get wet So if you're doing a lot of water crossings If they get wet they just stay wet for days Whereas these should be able to drain pretty quickly And dry out So we'll give it a crack and see how we go Man that is so nice in the sun Well yeah I think it's safe to say This trip was a success There was a fair few people at the lookout And I'm pretty sure I've heard a drone flying before And we still can find these nice little tucked away Secluded spots away from the crowds With a view like that it's pretty hard to beat Like that sunset last night Was an absolute cracker Definitely going to have to try and do some more Blue Mound trips in the future It would be a shame to avoid this place altogether Just because it's a popular place So you'll have to try and get out here a bit more often But anyway I think I'm going to start packing camp down now And get making moves So I want to say a big thanks to all you guys for watching We appreciate all your support And if you guys are new to the channel and you like this video It would be unreal if you guys would consider subscribing I really want to try and crack that 200,000 mark by the end of the year And it's only going to be with your guys help that I'll be able to do it So anyway Hope you guys have a good one And I'll catch you guys next time Hooroo