Down, Up, Down, Up: Perrys Lookdown to Lycon Plateau Return

There are a handful of tracks into the Blue Gum forest in the Grose Valley. Two that I had yet to walk were via Perrys Lookdown and the Lycon Plateau so it made sense to combine them into one trip. Down Perrys track to the Blue Gum forest then straight out the opposite side via Du Faur Buttress. The 1200 metres of elevation gain and loss would also make it a good training day.

According to the sign at Perrys Lookdown, Perrys track is the steepest route into the Grose Valley and it sure is steep. About 2.5 km of continuous steps, almost, but not quite relentlessly steep. It took me one hour to walk down to the four way track junction in the Grose Valley and my legs felt a bit wobbly after all the steps.

The trick to finding Lockley track on the opposite side of Govetts Creek is to walk straight towards the creek from the four way junction (the only unsigned alternative) and when you reach the creek, walk downstream a short distance until the perfect log for a river crossing spans the creek. Stroll across.

There is no flat ground on this walk, and once across Govetts Creek the track immediately begins climbing up Du Faur spur to the Lycon Plateau. This side of the valley is not as steep as the Perrys Lookdown side, but it is still a solid grind uphill. Once you get to Du Faur Head, the track winds cleverly up on rock steps through a break in the cliff line up to Lycon Plateau. As you head south, gradually gaining elevation on the plateau, there is one awkward step to climb up.

I, mistakenly it turns out, stopped a bit short of Lockleys Pylon on the cliff edge for a break before returning the way I had come. Not being in great steep hiking shape, I was not sure how long the walk back out via Perrys track would take and I did not want to run out of energy part way up. In the end, I managed the 600 metre climb out of the valley in under 1.5 hours so I had some time to spare to go slower if needed.

On the way back, I wandered down to Acacia Flats where camping is allowed but fires are NOT. Unfortunately, people being what they are, the camping area was covered with the remnants of old fires. As sure as the sun comes up in the morning, the beautiful Blue Gum forest will be burnt down as people refuse to give up the short term but immediate (and questionable) gratification provided by a campfire for the long term gain of preserving a now unique environment.