On the coldest morning this year, the Aussie Atlaseer and childhood buddy, Buschy, found themselves in the coldest place on the outskirts of Sydney. The Blue Mountains. Leaving the Northern Beaches and heading inland to sub temperate conditions, there could be no better word to describe their situation than ‘unprepared’.

After watching a kid ‘toss his cookies’ in a café at Leura, the Atlaseer and Buschy headed through the flanno town of Katoomba before reaching the Three Sisters. Now there’s a rocky relationship if ever I’ve seen one!

Hiking along Dardanelles Pass and toward Leura Forest, the Atlaseer and Buschy found themselves on a 15.5km trail. This time costly error erupted into a snack session, nippling on some trail mix, or ‘fail mix’ as was deemed more appropriate – skroggan if you will. Marching across Federal Pass, the presence of a lifetime of mountainous conditions lay directly above.

The Giant Stairway. Easy enough to get down however the return was something else altogether. Point your fingers toward the ceiling and make sure your elbow is pointing toward the ground. That was the gradient of this stairway. If the Stairway to Heaven is this steep, I’m not going. Those who are in Heaven must have the most incredible glutes.

Absolutely knackered on the way home from a day that didn’t see the mercury rise above 10 degrees. The witnessing of a girl opening the door on the Greater Western Highway, sticking her head out and laying some curbside quiche was a bit of a spectacle to say the least.

A different kind of day but one that would definitely be relived (except maybe the stairway) and probably not any more thought out.