I met one of my Aussie canyoning mates Julie out at Katoomba to do a couple short, but classic canyons. First up was Empress Canyon which has the easiest approach and exit of any Blue Mountain canyon I have been to. We followed the trail into the creek and suited up.
A couple downclimbs led to a nice 4m jump over a waterfall. A few minutes of creek walking led to the main narrows. Here we jumped and swam our way through the sculpted canyon. All to soon I could see light pouring into the canyon up head. We turned the last corner to see the horizon line of the last drop, the 30m-high Empress Falls. Just above the falls were two perfectly round pothole pools- a very pretty spot in the canyon. The abseil was lots of fun, the wettest abseil I have done in the Blue Mountains so far.
We missed the usual fanfare of tourists watching us descend the falls
but got plenty of looks on the way back up the track. The canyon was
short but very sweet. It had been years since Julie had done the canyon
and she seemed to enjoy it as well. I know how easy it is to get caught
up in finding the longest and most adventurous trips and then to
re-visit an easy classic and be surprised at how enjoyable it is. Thanks
to Julie!
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