The Grampians: I

A climb to the Pinnacle

By Thomas Feng

September 24^th, 2017

The Start: Grand Canyon

"Everything arises from Mother Earth. Everything that you do to the Earth, you have to be prepared to do to your mother."

The words of prominent Indigenous author Bruce Pascoe echo into Nathan and I's ears as we enter the Grampians after a three-hour drive from Melbourne listening to a podcast on the relationship between humans today with "The Wild".

There is an obsession in Western cultures to "conquer" the wilderness. More than ever, people "do Everest" or "do the Thousand Steps" or "conquer Kilimanjaro", as if they dominate and control nature. Perhaps these egotistical attitudes stem from our lack of connection to nature. We do not hear stories of significance about why land is sacred, we hear about the "incredible, new, affordable" suburb 50 kilometres from the CBD. The fact that the term 'wilderness' is coined so often in itself ignores over 60,000 years of Aboriginal knowledge and culture of the land.

The podcast helps us check our own attitudes as we begin the Pinnacle trail. For the next few hours, we would be climbing up rugged rock formations which have survived thousands of years through fire, snow and thunder, and would continue to do so far beyond me.

Our route takes us via the "Grand Canyon" right at the beginning. Not to be mistaken for its American counterpart, it takes us for a dive straight into the ravine. Bounding between boulders, we exhale leaps of child-like freedom. A gushing, rushing stream guides us up, until we ascend some incredibly steep stairs to exit the gorge onto the trail.

Bridal Veil Waterfall

While our knees feel sore, I can already sense of renewal in both of us. I run ahead as the invigorating country air fills my lungs with adrenaline and excitement. My mind has lost track of the stresses and pressure I feel in the city. I have no obligations except to respect mother nature here.

The trail next reveals "Bridal Veil Waterfall", which you can walk behind via a small cavern before walking forward to stand beneath as fabrics of water cover you from head to toe. Even though I'm wearing a cotton tee and navy chinos, I want to walk underneath for fun. I think it is because I am with Nathan, and I can be as silly as I want without fear of judgement around him.

After no more than five seconds in the waterfall, I am drenched and dash out! I need more walking in the sun to dry myself.

View of the valley

After another ten minutes, we stumble upon an incredibly scenic view of the entire valley with more rocks to climb.

"The rock is like your pillow when you lie down there."

"I'm just rolling around to dry myself."

At this point, we are in disbelief as to how wildly beautiful this trail is. It is truly breath-taking, and we're not even half-way!

Wildflowers

Throughout the entire walk, Nathan and I marvel at the abundance of yellow wildflowers. Perhaps it is the blooming wattles or our happy moods, but we decide to take some portraits in a particular spot on the trail which required a little bush-bashing. I am over-the-moon with how they turned out.

Silent Street

The penultimate stop on our walk is named Silent Street which will guide us to the top of the Pinnacle. After climbing half-way, I realise that Nathan is perching pensively on the bottom.

"You can hear the birds and a trickle of water here." He grins.

I stop and listen for a moment. Wow. This place really lives up to its name.

I have always appreciated how patient and observant Nathan is. I am very lucky to have a best friend in him.

This is our favourite part of the walk. The jagged, discombobulated rock formations are unlike anything we have ever seen.

The Pinnacle

We reach the top after two hours of climbing to be greeted by sparse views of Halls Gap and the entire Grampians Ranges and a bone-chilling gust.

Our evaluation? The top is good, but the walk itself is the treat. Soon after a few photos, the sun begins to set and it is time to head back.

Golden glow

The clouds roll in and out of the ranges, but as we walk down the setting sun treats me to a soft golden light to take a few final shots. Somehow they made the mountains even more stunning.

This was easily one of my favourite walks ever with my one of my favourite people ever. There were countless moments of pure joy in laughter and silence, more than one blog post could do justice. It was great to enjoy nature, rarely do we have the chance to run around freely, climb rocks, walk into waterfalls and bush-bash among wildflowers. Most importantly, our astonishment during the walk fortified our respect for the people who roamed the land generations before us, and for mother nature and all of the wonder she brings in her strength and beauty.