by John New
It was another one of those days where you're not sure what the rain will do. Fortunately, it was a lovely afternoon when we started our walk at Harold Reid Reserve - the rain clouds had cleared and there was blue sky and a light breeze. We had about 12 people and 8 beagles for this walk, a nice mix of regulars and newcomers. After our usual meet and greet (for beagles, the obligatory sniff and wag), we set off.
This walk is a medium level bush walk, with some flat parts and some steep uphill and downhill sections. Most of it is shady, which was good because it was humid below the tree line with the warm sun above. The first part of the walk was very pleasant, down some steps, across a few small waterways, and along a mostly easy and wide bush track. The path curves around Sugarloaf Bay, which means there were some very picturesque water views. The beagles enjoyed themselves, sniffing in all directions at who knows what.
We stopped for a rest and a drink of water before tackling a short steep uphill path to the narrow road leading to The Sugarloaf Lookout. We stopped to rest again, have another drink, admire the view, and to take a group photo. When we left, we followed the narrow road downhill for a short distance before meeting up with a short steep downhill path, leading back toward the start of the walk.
The Walks Coordinator had a minor accident during the final part of the walk - he slipped and grazed his arm. Luckily it was only a short distance to the start, so after a helping hand from some Sydney Sniffers and some kind people who happened by (many thanks to everyone), he pulled out the first aid kit to clean the grazes. Nothing serious - and it won't stop him from leading more walks!
Back at the start, everyone said farewell and set off home with their tired and happy beagles. Overall, it was an enjoyable walk, one we're sure to do again. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next walk.
by John New
We planned to do this walk in November 2008 but it was rained out. This time it was rainy the week before the walk but the weather cleared up enough for the walk to go ahead. Sure it was a little wet and muddy in places but that probably made it more interesting for the beagles and it was still OK for the humans.
We had 9 humans + 6 beagles at the start of the walk and 13 humans + 13 beagles at the end as we were joined by various latecomers. Fortunately, the walk is very well marked so you can't get lost and the latecomers could catch up by walking fast.
The first part of the walk started at Sugarloaf Crescent. This part is more or less a semi-circle along a bush track adjacent to Middle Cove. It was very pleasant walking up and down the steps and along the windy track under the cover of lovely green bushy trees. A few newish beagle owners were on the walk and we had a number of discussions. Important topics like feeding your beagle, are all beagles obsessed with food, where your beagle sleeps, is it possible to train your beagle, and so on.
The second part of the walk was a steep track upwards to the Sugarloaf Point lookout. At this point, a few people were getting a little tired because of all the up and down sections and the increasing humidity as the day warmed up. We took this part very slowly. Interestingly, the bushland heading to the lookout was very lush and green. It had been almost all burnt out and black about 10 months ago when the walk was first checked out.
The last part of the walk was a steep track downwards from the lookout back to the start. This part had a few tricky steps and a very narrow path between two large boulders at one point. All humans and beagles did very well to make it safely back for a well-earned rest.
This was a very enjoyable walk, even though challenging at times. Hope to see you at the next one.
