Nar Writes

This is a brief trip report from last weekend's trip to Canberra. I cannot believe this crag isn't on more people's radars and so let this be an ode to Booroomba Rocks. Be forewarned there was no epic nor even any real drama. Maybe the lesson is that sometimes climbing is mostly delightful...

I tend to go on good trips when Sam is involved. The first time we went away is still one of my favourite from the canon. It was the 2023 Easter long weekend and we had been talking about going on an overnighter together for ages. I was pretty keen on taking a revenge tour through the Budawangs after a miserable, rain-sodden weekend earlier in the year. In my opinion, the 50km round trip from Wog Wog Campground to the Castle is one of the great Australian walks. It includes the hugely brilliant Corang Arch, Corang Peak with endless views to coast and the ocean, navigating the aptly named Monolith Valley and a final, triumphant scramble up the Castle proper. With a brochure like that, it was difficult for Sam and I to lend too much weight to the forecasts. We planned on heading up on the Friday and crushing as much as we could from the late morning and into the night if need be. See below for an image of the expected conditions that night...

I am getting married on Tuesday. In the weeks before highly stressful moments like finals, international trips and marriage, I find myself leaning into risky and arguably self-destructive behaviours. It doesn't manifest as long lonely nights on the piss or reckless driving but instead an overwhelming urge to head towards the mountains with scraps of information, an inane goal and buckets full of will...

My hiking trips come at only inopportune times. We were looking at doing some canyoning on Saturday but the threat of lots of rain and thunder had me thinking about a bit of exploratory walking instead. The only real parameters I had for the trip were that it should involve a bit of rough walking somewhere new and that it should incur a bit of suffering. In the end, this offering was only taken up by one of my dear friends after every other interested person pulled out. So on Friday night I drove out to Mt. Banks and slept in the car. By 8:30AM Will and I were smashing it up Mt. Banks with an eye towards a traverse of the Western Explorer's Range...