beautiful blues

@ summit of mt. Solitary 

The blue mountains challenged us & captivated us once again, they never fail to delight & demonstrate to us their expansive beauty with steep mountainous terrain. Yesterday was a journey... 
I set off from Sydney at 5.30am with a friend for our trail run/trek & was out at the golden stairs just before 9am on a perfect spring sunny morning with undulating forest tracks tempting us into the bush. 
& at 10am we were warmed through by jogging & jumping over rocky trails & skipping in the sun concentrating on every footstep & nimbly navigating with complete attention creating awesome meditative awareness. 
By 11am we had ascended up to the summit of mount Solitary with a few scrapes & scrambles. The viewpoints on this track were overlooking the stunning national park area with scattered clouded skies overhead, the sounds of lyrebirds, bees buzzing & watching the hawks having a graceful dance. (whilst simultaneously on the AFL grand final football pitch the hawks were also leading a merry dance - GO HAWKS - my namesakes & aussie footy faves) For this was what we had come for - those moments of astounding beauty & natural life energy.
Come midday we had scaled rock faces, got lost (ok, detours), were sitting eating lunch of my homemade energy bars, bananas, pretzels, sesame honey bars & mixed nuts washed down with hydrating h2O. & discussing higher spiritual powers (me) vs the scientific assertions around faith, religion & fact (Stu) I still believe. Stu does not.
Around 2pm we reached the Col where there is a log book to sign in to join the other venturers who had come before us, nice to be a part of trekkers history. So we had traversed the ridge to get to this point & then my personal biggest challenge begun; running down a steep technical downhill. I was scared. & after twisting my both my ankles (ouch, & twice) I was fearful of flying face first down the cliff edge. & I was frustrated that I just couldn't 'let myself go' this is what as I wannabe trail runner I have to overcome.
When we reached the river at the very bottom a little battered & bruised at around 3pm we were happy to lie down in the afternoon sun for a while, absorbing the environment, listening to the water gently rippling by us & discussing the dangers & drinking the water without any purification. So far so good & no parasites causing havoc in our digestive systems as yet.
Now we had reached the bottom we knew what was to come next, the last push right up to the top of the ever so high cliff faces looming above us. Now I LUV this bit, the heat bearing down, powering up the mountain, on a never ending incline we marched, huffed & puffed, threw everything we had back at the Blue mountains and then finally reached the peak at 4pm. 
Finished & frazzled we were fizzing from the endorphins as we drove back into Katoomba town for replenishment & reviewing the days events as the sun set over this majestic mountainous land. I finally got home at 9pm, tired after a terrific testing & amazing awe inspiring day. Hoping I can carry through these good vibes into the week ahead. Sending them out there with gratitude.