900 Steps Of Horror

Judging by the title of this blog, you're likely to think this is some sort of Halloween-related post.  It is not.

Halloween isn't really a big deal in Australia.  I've seen only a few costumes for sales in the shops; there are no "Spirit" stores solely dedicated to Halloween costumes and decorations.  On the downside, I'm sad that I won't really get to dress up my future children in ridiculous Halloween costumes (truthfully, I'll probably still do that) and take them trick-or-treating, but on the upside, at least I don' t have to see a bunch of girls in slutty Halloween costumes.

Anyway, as I said, this post isn't about Halloween.  It's actually about my first Australian bushwalk!

For you non-Aussies, a "bushwalk" is basically just a term for hiking, but you know, Australians have to have different names for everything (I'm actually thinking of doing a post just about that), so you hear the term bushwalk here instead.

The Blue Mountains are a mountain region about an hour outside of Sydney.  Before I moved here, Phil told me a few times about how he'd go up to the Blue Mountains for bushwalks, and expressed wanting to take me with him.  Taking a trip up to the mountains is something we've talked about and planned for a while, so it was exciting for the weekend to finally come around.

We got up super early on Saturday morning, and took the train down to Katoomba, a small town which borders the Blue Mountains.  After we got to town, we left our overnight bag at the hotel we had reserved, and then hopped on a bus which took us to the mountains.  The bus let us off at Echo Point, an area at the edge of the mountains with an amazing view.

The first view of the Blue Mountains from Echo Point!

When I was reading up on the Blue Mountains before, I'd seen it described as Australia's version of the Grand Canyon.  Having now been to both locations, I'd have to say that the Blue Mountains are definitely just as impressive as the Grand Canyon.  Once we got off the bus and I saw the mountains laid out before us, all I could say was, "Wow."

From Echo Point you get a complete panoramic view of the mountains, the valley below, all the trees and bushes...it's absolutely stunning.  The area is so vast and there's so much to look at it- I was really in awe of how amazing it all looked.   But Phil and I weren't there just for a look...we had a planned a hiking trip, and we got started right away.

There are several paths you can take into the valley from Echo Point, but Phil and I took off down a path that begins with The Giant Stairway.  I had read a bit about the Giant Stairway before we came, and it sounded cool; in the early 1900's a forest ranger started constructing metal stairs and steps right into the side of the cliff that led down towards the forest.  Apparently, the Giant Stairway offered some of the best views of the Blue Mountains.  Sounded exciting!

If you can't read the text, yes, it says 900 STEPS!

Well, it was exciting.  It was also one of the scariest things I've ever experienced in my life.

I have a fear of heights.  Actually, I thought I had somewhat conquered my fear of heights.  My fear used to be so bad that I wouldn't go on roller coasters  but I got over that when I was 12 or 13.  I still don't really like Ferris Wheels, but I did go across the Golden Gate Bridge with no real worries.

All of my thoughts about having gotten over my fear went right out the window as soon as we turned down the first flight of steps.   I'm not sure if I actually said, "holy shit!" out loud, or I was just thinking it, but either way, that was the only thing on my mind when I looked out in front and below me.

The stairs that seemed so safe prior to this moment now felt like flimsy pieces of aluminum and all I could focus on was that yes, they were literally on the edge of a cliff.  My thoughts were something like, 'HOLY SHIT! I'm on the edge of a cliff and I'm 1000 feet off the ground and the only thing below me is a bunch of trees and rocks and rivers and I'm going to fall because these steps are flimsy and narrow, and if no one else has died from falling off the stairway, I'll be the first and everyone will tell the story of the American girl who died from falling off the stairs...'

The Giant Stairway.  On the side of a cliff.

Yeah.  To say I was scared is an understatement.  My legs were literally shaking with fear.  There were guardrails and the stairs actually were perfectly safe, but who can focus on that when you're so high up and all you can see below you is your impending doom?!

Not to mention there were 900 steps!  That's a lot of steps.  After a few flights, my thighs were starting to feel sore and my legs were still shaking, too.  Thankfully, there were a few benches along the way that we could stop at.   Phil was just happy to be going down the stairs this time, as the last time he'd gone to the mountains, he'd accidentally gone up instead.  I didn't care which way I was going at the time, I just wanted to get off.

"Freaking Australians!  Only in AUSTRALIA would they think it's a good idea to build a giant-ass stairway off the side of a freaking cliff!  Stairs!  Why don't they just build an escalator so we don't have to walk all the way down?!"

Phil started laughing.  "An escalator?  On the side of a mountain?"

"Well, if they could build stairs they might as well build an escalator!  Or hell, an elevator!  Just get it over with!"

We eventually made it down, but not without me crab-walking the majority of the way and somehow avoiding having a panic attack.  I am honestly surprised that I made it down - I mean, as soon as I realized how high up we were I was scared out of my mind, but something kicked in inside of me and I sort of just put my fear aside and powered through it.  It's amazing how the mind works sometimes.

Kissing in front of waterfalls- so romantic ;)

After we got down to Leura Forest, we had some lunch and spent some time hanging out by some waterfalls we found.  We got to take a ton of pictures and just had some fun chatting and playing in the water.  It definitely made the walk down the stairway worthwhile.

Once we had enough time relaxing, it was time to start heading back to Echo Point...which required an uphill trek of even MORE stairs.  This time, the stairs were sort of randomly placed in the forest and just led us up to this path called The Prince Henry Cliffwalk.  This was the part of the trip that nearly killed me.  If I thought the Giant Stairway was hard, I hadn't experienced anything yet.

I'm not of the best physical fitness, I'll admit it.  I was a lot more active before I moved, at least, but being here in Australia and not working has made me pretty lazy and I don't go out for walks or jogs like I used to in Reno.  I'm hoping to get back into it, but that didn't really help me last weekend.

I don't even know how many stairs we had to climb going back up, but I'm sure there were actually more than 900.  And all of it was uphill, so I was absolutely exhausted.  It got to the point where I had to stop every couple of steps because I was so sore and was struggling to keep my breath.  I definitely felt more out of shape than I have ever felt in my life and I was really ashamed of myself for not being able to do the bushwalk without having to stop so much.

Phil was so patient, though.  He was doing fine in front of me- he didn't need to stop as often as I did, but he stopped whenever I needed to, or suggested that I stop when it looked like I needed a break.  I honestly wouldn't have made it back up the hill if it wasn't for him.  He was so supportive and sweet during the whole thing.  If I stopped, he'd come back and kiss me on the forehead and tell me I was doing great and that he loved me, and then help me walk some more.   He constantly encouraged me to keep going, but I never felt like he was pushing me...he just believed in me.  It was a really amazing feeling, and most importantly, just cemented the fact that I couldn't have picked a better person to want to spend my life with.

I told Phil towards the end of the trip that I think all couples should have to do the bushwalk that we did together.  But it would only work if they were at different levels of physical fitness.  Because it really took an incredible deal of patience and team work for us to make it to the end together.  There were so many times when other people might've gotten irritated by having to wait for me, or as Phil said, if I was someone else, I might've just given up all together.  But we worked together and finished what we started.

Anyway, after about seven total hours, we got back to Echo Point and had completed our bushwalk!  Every muscle in my body was sore (and stayed sore for several days- even as I'm writing this, my thighs are still sore!), but I was proud of myself for not giving up and making it through.  We didn't take an easy bushwalk path, and I think a lot of people would've struggled- we even saw people that were having a harder time at it than I was.  But I made it!  It was a very good feeling.

The last steps!  Thank God!

Afterward, we headed back to our hotel, which was surprisingly really nice.  We hadn't spent a ton of money on it, but it turned out to be really cute and charming- almost like a bed and breakfast.  We ordered pizza and watched T.V. and then went to bed early, because we were so tired from our day out.  The next morning, we went downstairs for a delicious breakfast, which was included in our hotel package and then headed home.  The first thing I did when I got home was take a hot bath and soak my sore muscles.  I hate looking at stairs now.

All in all, it was a really great weekend.  It was great to get away from the city and all the distractions, and it was nice to just spend quality time with Phil without a TV on.  We'll definitely go back and do it again, but I think I want to get in better shape before we go next time.

Besides the trip to the Blue Mountains, the past few weeks since my last update have been pretty fun.  I went into the city on my own one night to see a concert by a local band I've gotten into, called The Rubens (for more on that, you can read my review here).  It was a lot of fun, especially just going out on my own, since Phil had to work late that night.

Another night, Phil and I went out to Darling Harbour for dinner. Darling Harbour is on the other side of Circular Quay (where the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are), and is equally beautiful.  Some of Phil's workmates were getting together for a goodbye dinner for one of their managers, so Phil invited me along.  It was a really nice night...we had a great dinner at a steakhouse, and I got to chat with some of Phil's co-workers   Afterwards, because we got a little room in the city, Phil and I had ice cream and walked around the Harbour at night.  It was a great evening.

Darling Harbour at night!

I'm still waiting to start working, though hopefully things will all get sorted this week.   Apparently, there's been some sort of hold up with immigration and my Visa, which is frustrating, but I'm just hoping I can start working soon.

The night we were at the mountains, I was laying in bed and thinking about life and I had an epiphany   Since I've been here, I've just been waiting for all the pieces of my life to fall into place.  Being with Phil has been amazing and that part of my life feels perfect, but I'm still waiting for my job to start and to make friends, and basically, I've been waiting to replicate everything I had in Reno.

I realized, though, maybe that's not the point of this experience.  Maybe I'm not going to have all the same things I had in Reno.  Maybe I'm no longer at the point of my life where I need to work all the time.  And maybe I'm no longer at the point of my life where I'm going to be constantly surrounded by a big group of friends.  I realized that when I took my expectations away, of my life here being the same as it was in Reno, I felt okay with that.

Everyone goes through different seasons of their life, and I certainly have gone through plenty in my own life.    I don't know what my life in Australia will be like, but I do feel free now that I've acknowledged the fact that it might not ever be exactly like the life that I left behind.  What would be the fun in that, anyway?  Maybe my new life will be way better.  I know I can't replace the people and things I had in Reno.  But maybe that's not the point.  Maybe the point is just to move on...to something different.