13 August - Yes, Friday the 13th
I made it out of Sydney and up to the Blue Mountains, despite a late start because of a lot of wine while talking with a few Irish the night before. Worst case, it was going to be a nice train ride and a peaceful day off of my feet and out of the city. It turned out to be a great day. I walked along the cliff trail with many amazing viewpoints of the forested canyon valley with its blue hue. I saw Katoomba waterfall and the Three Sisters rock formation. Then I acted stupid and without a map, though I could make a loop hiking to the next town down and picking up the train there. I had a little over an hour until the sunset and I really did not even know how far it was. Whatever, lets go for it. Well it ended up being farther than I though, and after walking around a hour in the dark, no knowing where the hell I was. I was frightened. There were later trains and I had my headlamp, but I feared the worst. Walking on the road with no street lights trying to find Gordon St, no cars, no businesses, houses or any form of civilization. And I was only supposed to be 2-3km out of town from the train station. The few cars that did pass scared me more, I prayed they would not stop. What a change in attitude from my hitchhiking days, and why. I knew I was fine, but I could not rationalize my fear to subside. Eventually I made Gordon St. then The Mall and finally the tiny little town and the train station. With 8min to spare for the train. Safe and sound, no problem.
