by John New
It was a rainy week and Saturday was overcast, but Sunday at Parramatta Lake for our walk was lovely. Clear sky and pleasantly warm. About 22 people and 18 eager beagles came to this walk, the first after the Cootamundra Scent weekend. It was nice to see a mixture of experienced walkers and beagles, plus some new walkers. To our new walkers, I hope you and your beagles enjoyed the day and can come to lots more walks around Sydney.
We met at the main carpark, near the cafe, in the crowded carpark. After a photograph or two of our group, we set off around the lake.
Most of the walks we do are classed as easy, but this walk was classed as medium-level difficulty. This is because it mainly wandered around bush tracks with a few steep sections. The recent rain make it a little tricker than expected because some of the tracks were wet and muddy, and the water was a bit higher than usual where we crossed over a small creek. As it turned out, we had a few adventurous moments, with a few slips and slides now and again.
The walk around the lake was very nice. It's not a long walk, 4.2km, but we took it gently to give the beagles plenty of time to sniff (and humans to rest). The beagles definitely seemed to enjoy the different smells, walking through the mud, and splashing through the water. We started off down a twisty narrow bush track and joined up with a wide and flat fire trail. This branched off again to another track, which we then followed right around the lake, watching out for the track markers, which sometimes weren't all that obvious.
We made it back safely, for another photograph, and then some welcome afteroon tea, water, and dog biscuits. A nice way to end the day, with tired and happy beagles.