There's a Grand Canyon in Australia?

We knew that we wanted to do a shorter hike on Sunday - both due to our pretending to be mountain goats on Saturday and because we didn't want to arrive back in Melbourne too late in the day.

We headed back to the information center and the nice guide (same one from the day before) recommended that "since we seemed to have faired okay on Mount Stapylton" that we should head through the Grand Canyon and up to the Pinnacle.

With those encouraging words, we headed up the mountain, found a car park and started our trek.

Right from the beginning, it was a really interesting hike, with the trail arrow changing colors within less than a kilometer, and we were rock scampering once again...

Not sure how people get lost, with directions this
good.  I guess we should just be happy that they
are both orange arrows, instead of two different colors.

It was a really beautiful area, with lots of cool rock faces, decent climbs, and cool areas in the shade.  I started out all bundled up and as we climbed the mountain, I disrobed and rolled up my pants :)

View of the Grand Canyon at the beginning
of the hike.

The start of the hike - notice I'm still bundled up...this will change.
We're properly in a canyon.  The Grand Canyon.

"Treads" that have been cut into the rocks so you don't fall down.

Me and Toots in the Australian Grand Canyon.

A nice COOL waterfall - not a lot of water, but
enough to cool down.

It appears as though this arrow wants us to climb up that rock.  Also note that it is
Yellow...not the original Red or secondary Orange that we also followed.

About mid-way up.  Application of sunscreen was necessary.  Safety first.

Weird and odd landscape.

So cool all of the layers of rocks.

 View of from the Pinnacle.

Little town of Hall's Gap (population 298) from the Pinnacle.

Other side of the mountain that we didn't climb.

Silent Street - it is as narrow as it looks.  Jeffie had
to turn sideways to get through part of it.
VERY COOL.

Silent Street - tight quarters.

Silent Street.

HOORAY!  (Don't really remember what I was cheering for.)

Great weekend in the Grampians.

Grampians - Mount Stapylton

A lucky stop at the Information Centre derailed our original planned route.  Multiple closings due to storms and floods would have led to a disastrous trek.  As a result, the cordial information lady took one look at us and recommended the Mt. Stapylton Loop to the north, "a memorable walk for the fit and adventurous. Grade: Hard."  According to the brochure, it "may involve water crossings, slippery track surfaces, rock hopping, and rockscrambling".  We rockscrambled.

LT and me at the start of this 15km or so walk.  We layered
and unlayered probably 10 times due weather changes. 

Setting a torrid pace.

Bark!

Downpour in the distance.

No more than 3 minutes later.  Weather moves through this joint like a freight train.

Beginning of the long walk up Mount Stapylton.  LT repeatedly
bemoaned "this is so easy" until this point ... maybe it was me.

Riding a rock camel.

One of the more treacherous "water crossings", but the slippery
rock face was no joke with not much room for error.

Not sure what it is, but it covered the bark of many trees.

Peak of Mount Stapylton

I believe this is when she declared "I'm not a mountain goat".

Not sure if this qualifies as rockscrambling, but this is
the trail ... as "clearly indicated" by that tiny red arrow.

"A Tree Fell" in Halls Gap

Last weekend, we decided to head out to the Grampians, a sandstone mountain range about 3 hours outside of Melbourne, for some bushwalking.  We had rented the Stone Cottage just outside Halls Gap and high-tailed it out of Melbourne just after work.  Not arriving until after 9:00pm, it was dark.  Ten seconds after checking in at the main cabin, all the lights went out inside.  We felt pretty bad thinking we had kept the landlord up waiting for us.  After making the short drive to our cabin in pitch black finding the front of the cabin by the glow of the vehicle dome light, we entered to flick on the lights and ... nothing.  Luckily we packed a torch (flashlight).  Found the circuit breaker annnnnd ... nothing.  A clearly thinking individual might have woven together the tapestry of clues: sudden extinguishing of all lights in a house, complete darkness all around, "malfunctioning" light switches in the cottage ... arriving at the logical conclusion the power was out.  Reluctantly, thinking she was asleep, we called the landlord.  She indicated "A tree fell.  The power's out.  We're in the country.  Sorry."  We lit a candle and the fire for heat.

That's LT.  In long underwear, wool socks, two long
sleeve shirts, and a hoodie.  She slept in all of it.

Imagine our surprise to open the front door in the morning to this.

Roos are very suspicious of the emu.

Hehe.  She's got a joey.

That's the Halls Gap zoo which happened to be just to the right of our cottage.  

The Stone Cottage.  Risking life and limb amongst the kangaroos to capture this gem.

Conversation with a few pleasant folk in the General Store and the Information Centre in Halls Gap did in fact confirm that "a tree fell".  Said tree knocked out power to everybody.  It was a small town.