“What it is…is a place where I can return to myself. It’s enough of a scramble to get to…that the energy expended is significant, and it translates into a change in my body chemistry and my psychological chemistry and my heart chemistry…”
If you are a Hiker you would most certainly understand these words as they speak to the soul that longs to the mountains and cold water streams. Just so it speaks to me as i can hear the mountains calling, the voice of the wind that echoes through the lost canyon as the mist sends chills up the spine…
I recently went to hike the Moorfield Farm just outside of Newcastle along with my Girlfriend and so upon my return i made contact with the owner to offer myself to help with the marking of some new trail and mapping the existing trails so that the future visitors will be able to enjoy the scenic valley along with its waterfalls and mountains.
Stay tuned for upcoming posts about how to plan and pack your backpack for a overnight hike and also what you essentially need on such a hike, from food to selecting the gear you just cannot leave at home.
Moorfield has a pretty decent campsite situated on the plateau of a mountain at about 1700 meter above sea level, overlooking a big valley. From there (HQ) you have the option to walk down to a small waterfall along with a swimming pool and from there further make your way down to the top of a decent waterfall with a drop of about plus minus 50-60 meters high. there is also a poorly marked trail that leads down to the bottom of this big waterfall and then once on the bottom you will have the option to carry on down the stream all the way to where it joins up with the Ncandu River (I have not ventured down all the way…yet…)
so…The plan so far for this weekend is to make an overnight hike down the valley to map a good route for future hikers in the area with the possibility of sleeping over on the trail as its very secluded. I’m thinking of hiking down to the Ncandu river, the land owner said there is what seems to be an “Olympic size rock pool” not too far from the intersection of the two rivers, I recon i am going to make that a camping spot for a two day hike then the only thing left to do is make a route back towards the HQ from there. I’m thinking of making a climb back on the opposite side of the big waterfall to a lookout point that oversees the whole valley.
only thing left to do now is wait to see how the weather turns out for this coming weekend, although im well kitted to cope with any weather conditions i would prefer not to do so on this weekend.
The key to a good hike is to just let go…release yourself from the ordinary life and start seeing whats around you, find a good pace where you can admire nature to the full extent as well as reach your destination or goal. Set yourself goals by landmarks, ie. once you reach a point you identified you can take a 5-10 min break or stop for a quick photo.
That’s it from my thoughts about this coming weekend hike, stay tuned for more info and guidelines.