Sunday, September 4, 2016

Hormesis In 44 Km: Dwyers Creek to Mossy Point

Twenty two kms by bicycle and 22 kms on foot has a nice round sort of resonance to it. Even better, at 44 km, the round trip journey would be entirely self-propelled and long enough to elicit a beneficial hormetic stress. Unfortunately, Doug had to stay at home working, enduring a much less healthy type of stress. 

 
Malabar Weir

I got away pretty early on a sunny warm day and cycled out along North Head Drive to the south end of Bengello Beach. Along the way, I stopped at a couple of places looking at the bouldering potential, but was soon out at Sandy Point. There is a track behind Bengello Beach but I had decided I would walk up the beach while I was fresh and use the track on the return when I thought I might feel tired. 

 
Bengello Beach

Apart from a couple of extremely yappy rat dogs, it was a quiet walk up the beach, around Broulee Head, Broulee Island, along Broulee Beach to Candlagan Creek. I did not want to use the bridge so I waded across somehow choosing the deepest section of flow and getting a good crotch dunk.

 
View to Mossy Point

I had considered scrambling around the rocks to Mossy Point and started out that way but travel proved quite slow and as I was now four hours in, I came back at the first deep gulch and took the easy way up a track onto the headland, around the grassy headland to the lookout and then down a steep track to sit by a rock pool for lunch. 

 
Perfect winter swimming hole

The return journey seemed quicker as the tide had gone out and the sand was firm. I did not bother with the track behind the beach and strolled down Bengello Beach instead, unaccosted by dogs as the morning dog walk hour was long over. Onto the bike at Sandy Point, along the river, across the bridge and home for a late lunch. Adding a 22 km kayak would nicely round out the day but then I would have to use an infernal combustion engine.

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