Graeme - The Bread Knife in Summer: a lesson in staying hydrated!

Summer 2003. It's hot, it's dry, and I'm on holidays. To stave off the boredom, I've travelled from Sydney to Dubbo, and on up to the Warrumbungles. Travelling in air conditioned comfort, this time it's a Magna, (two years earlier, the Landcruiser gave up the ghost, in Gulgong - the childhood home of Henry Lawson (poet), and I couldn't afford the repairs or the towing cost back to Sydney.) I found a nice motel, with large, well kept, air conditioned rooms, a pool, and a nearby shop with cold drinks.

I probably should've stayed there, but the ever-itchy-feet meant I had to find adventure. Packing a few tasty snacks, two large bottles of water, a map of the local area and a compass, I set off to find the trail-head to The Bread Knife. The Warrumbungle Range is a result of an ancient volcano. It's a rugged area with steep pinnacled mountains and deep dark valleys. The Bread Knife is one of the park's natural landmarks, and a must see if you're ever in the area. It's a single rock pillar that rises approximately 90m from the valley below. The last time I had been here was as a child with my family, in winter. We'd started the walk up to the great monolith, but finding the way too steep and tiring we stopped halfway, only my father continuing on until he could get a good photo. This time was different. I had a plan to reach the Bread Knife, and then continue on to Bluff Mountain, an impressive looking mountain from a distance.

It was a hot and strenuous climb, and in the couple of hours it took to reach the Bread Knife and move on toward Bluff Mt., I'd gone through half my water. The trail to the base of Bluff Mt. was reasonably easy going but upon almost reaching the top of the mountain I found that I had less than half a litre of water left. It /was/ hot. I decided to continue to the top, with only a few hundred meters to go I had to reach my goal. There was no shade up there and the sun beat down on me mercilessly. Staying only a few minutes to take in the view, I hurried back down the mountain into the relative shade of the tall trees below. I remember very little of the walk back, I'd run out of water, but years earlier, I'd heard of a small hut with a water tank, just below the Bread Knife via an alternative side route, so I placed that image in the front of my mind and pushed on.

It seemed to take forever, walking along that track, rarely used in the summer months, through spiderwebs that I didn't see until I was walking through them, and pushing past shrubs or downed tree branches that obscured the track. I didn't really care. I needed water more than worrying about what creepy-crawlies I might pick up along the way. Then there it was, a small unimpressive structure, with a water tank on the side, but to me it meant life. I must have lain there for an hour, under the tap, the lukewarm water trickling over my face and into my mouth. I eventually found the strength and motivation to fill my water bottles and head back to civilisation.

I arrived at the shop just as they were closing for the day, though they were kind enough to let me make a last purchase, two icy cold bottles of sugary fizz. I took these back to my motel room and lay in the coolness of the air conditioning, slowly sipping the sweet refreshing flavours, and then I slept.

Pictures of the first time.

Tourist Info: http://www.warrumbungleregion.com.au/thingsToSeeDo.cfm?newsId=29