Heat Stroke Death down Lockley Track in full summer western sun

So what fools plan to hike in Blue Mountains mid-summer in forecast high temperatures in the mid-30’s Celsius (in the shade that is) along a shadeless high altitude (1000km AMSL) plateau track then down a rocky unshaded poorly maintained goat track into the direction of the harsh hot western sun 40+ Celsius, with no carried water left?

Amateur hour ignorant fools, that’s who!

Yet, it is no less another sad tragedy that could have and should have been avoided, again!   Tragically, one of the two teenagers died of likely heat stroke as a consequence; anyone is susceptible.

Dehydration was a factor mentioned in the media.  Such can quickly escalate to deadly heat stroke which probably became the cause of death of the 16 year old, but we still don’t know.  No public reporting of such, so again no-one learns.

But then the NSW Parks Service continues to bureaucratically encourage amateurs to do their own thing, whilst it steadfastly makes it harder and unaffordable for commercial tour professionals to operate, yet we only seek to follow best practise safety at Nature Trail – trained up, experienced, knowledgeable and so wisened to the risks, particularly that of such hiking route options and associated weather risks.

So, the media reported on Friday 30th January 2026 that two teenage lads apparently from the nearby Sydney’s outer suburb of Emu Plains (adjacent at the eastern base of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area) were involved and had planned a three day backpack camping hike into the Grose Valley.  The days were Tue 27, Wed 28, Thu 29 January 2026.  They travelled by train from Emu Plains to the Blue Mountains Leura Railway Station.

The media report that they planned to hike from Leura Railway Station to Mount Hay (Day 1), and from all accounts thence down the escarpment descending into the Grose Valley and camping at established and well known Acacia Flat remote camp site (end of Day 2), before (on Day 3) to complete their hike climb out of the Grose Valley to presumably up to Blackheath township outskirts and walk to Blackheath Railway Station before intending to train back home to Emu Plains Railway Station.

This is our uninformed presumption.

The Hikers’ Chosen Route?

Their route is still not yet reported publicly.  A key question is why not?  Can others not therefore learn wisdom from another such outdoors tragedy so as to prevent a  recurrence, yet again?  Hello!

The hiking route has not been reported at this time of writing and so is not known to us.

So without such insight, we can only surmise that the main hiking route options were taken; but from what source of ‘guidance’.  From where did the two obtain their route source information?  Likely online, but likely such online guidance was not officially certified as safe, rather as being some “adventure”, so appealing to teenage boys.

The parents ought know this.

It’s no less a challenging route overall irrespective of which options were taken and intended to complete the three day trek.  To hike between the two railway stations (Leura and Blackheath) via Acacia Flat and presumably backtracking up via the Horse Track is roughly an estimated 30km, noting that that the quicker Rodriguez Pass track option continues to remain closed due to multiple landslips (after many years mind you).

Alternatively, they could have planned to slightly backtrack from Acacia Flat north through Blue Gum Forest then divert up Perrys Lookdown climb out track and through into  Blackheath. But road walking for some distance is seriously boring and not recommended unless one perhaps has headphones.

Else alternatively, they could have returned the way they came (but such is not a normal choice for hikers – as perceived as a similarly boring repeat of sameness, especially in this case knowing the climb down is pretty marginal, let alone a return back up it!)

And all this would be made worse in extreme heat conditions.

The Weather Conditions?

 

We herein post an extract copy of the nearby Mount Boyce (Bureau of Meteorology – ‘BOM’) weather records for the hiking days concerned, and note those of specially their trip dates being 27th, 28th, 29th January 2026:

Check the dates of 27th – 29th January above.  In hindsight it was relatively very hot at the time and with variable high humidity.  So, 33^o Celsius in the shade can escalate to the mid-40s Celsius under such full mid-afternoon sun in severe unshaded heat.

For those unfamiliar, the geographical distance juxtaposed between Lockley Pylon and  (being a key hiking route location of the two boys hiking route) and the nearest weather station at BOM Mount Boyce is thus:

So, Extreme Heat Exposure?

 

Yes, full sun exposure was likely around 40 Celsius from trekking from Day 2 in full sun down Du Faur Buttress.

High humidity naturally also induces increased sweating, so a loss of hydration.  Sweat is our body’s natural way of cooling itself to cope with maintaining a healthy body temperature in hot environmental conditions.

Nature Trail is well familiar with the Lockley Pylon hiking track from Mount Hay Road into the Grose Valley via the hiking features of Flat Top, The Pinnacles, Lockley Pylon, Du Faur Head, Du Faur Buttress down to Blue Gum Forest.

There is no shade to speak of, so when the ambient temperature is 33 Celsius, that is in the shade.   Yet, actually this temperature is misleading to those hiking in full sun.  This particular western aspect descent of Lockley Track over Du Faur Buttress is over exposed rocky ground which reflects and accentuates the sun heat, meaning that the likely hiking temperature would have been 40 Celsius or more for these two hikers.

Add Extreme UV Radiation

Yes, also at the altitude of 1000 metres, extreme UV radiation most likely was at 11+.  This is potentially skin cancerous if without appropriate sunscreen protection.

The reported high humidity at 77% would have caused sweating and loss of hydration; so more consumption of carried in drinking water.  Salt tablets to replenish the body salts to avoid muscular cramp?

Such is a serious hiking condition.

Drinking Water?

 

How many litres of water did the two hikers carry in?  It has not been reported.  What may be 1 litre each as the typical hiking water bottle provides?   Did they know the lack of water once hiking from Leura Railway Station along Mount Hay Road northward up and expose on the high plateau?

But water alone is not sufficient in extreme heat conditions.  Body salts are also important to maintain a balanced hydration and avoid muscle cramping.  But did the two hikers know that?  Did they carry such body salt supplements?

“Sweating during exercise is a natural mechanism to regulate body temperature, but it causes the loss of water and essential electrolytes, primarily sodium and chloride, along with smaller amounts of potassium, magnesium, and calcium. While the body primarily loses water, significant salt loss can occur, particularly during high-intensity or prolonged exercise (lasting over an hour) in hot conditions.”  [Source: Google AI]

 

We know from experience that there is no reliable drinking water source between Mount Hay Road and Acacia Flat (save initially resident tap water on Mount Hay Road), but once inside the National Park none anywhere until down at Govetts Creek besides Acacia Flat.

So the two hikers had no water source (besides that they carried in) along the Day 1 and Day 2 route atop Mount Hay Range, Fortress Ridge, Lycon Plateau or at Mount Hay.

En route there might be water at Henson Glen on the headwaters of Govetts Creek, but its off track and a bushbash and one would need the right topographical map or reliable GPS or detailed local knowledge of that location.  Basically one would need to be a local hiking expert with intricate knowledge.   Other nearby tiny watercourse headwaters en route are unreliable especially in summer, and Katoomba Creek flows down from toxic Katoomba Tip so avoid that like the plague!

It is still not known if the two hikers went to Mount Hay itself or where they camped Day 1.  Mount Hay is well off the route to Acacia Flat.  From the track head of Lockley Track at The Pinnacles off Mount Hay Road, to hike to Mount Hay itself is about 6km NE in another direction.  So it is unclear whether the two hikers actually extended their route to Mount Hay.  It is also not known where they camped Day 1 or Day 2.

Did they actually divert to Mount Hay as the media reported?

Is this trek a tragic repeat of 2007 David Iredale’s dehydration tragedy near Mount Solitary?  [Reference: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-04-17/bushwalker-death-000-staff-went-unpunished/1653024]

So in this case, what happened?

Well, we can only garner from what the media from various sources reported online, as follows:

Police say he and his 17-year-old friend travelled to Leura train station on Tuesday before walking to Mount Hay to begin a three-day hike.  On Wednesday afternoon (Day 2), the two walkers became separated.

Apparently, the younger one fell down a small rock ledge going down Du Faur Buttress.  The older one then said stay here and he would seek help.  But the young one was dehydrated and exhausted and took off to get to the creek to find water.  He dropped his pack in the process.

The older boy came back and couldn’t find his friend so spent four hours looking for him along the track without success.  By 5.45pm the older boy activated his personal locator.

Police launched a land and air search for the pair and the 17-year-old was winched to safety from the Acacia Flat campground in the Blue Gum Forest.  The younger walker could not be found at the time.   Police continued to search for the 16-year-old, assisted by the Blue Mountains rescue squad, PolAir, NSW Ambulance and the TOLL rescue helicopter.

The body of the missing boy was found by other hikers about 1pm on Thursday in a creek in the Blue Gum Forest.  It would have been likely Govetts Creek (from our experience and local knowledge of the area).

A post-mortem examination will be conducted on the 16-year-old to determine how he died.  And wait for it…the media conclude “a report will also be prepared for the coroner.”  It’s standard media drivel.

Then as part of the search, Blue Mountains Police Rescue had seconded local bushwalking clubbers of the notorious the Upper Blue Mountains Bushwalking Club – the same ones who go canyoning and lost two women to drowning at Wollangambe in 2021.

Culpably Reckless Canyoning in the Rain

 

The president of the Upper Blue Mountains Bushwalking Club, Sonya Muhlsimmer, said it was possible to become lost near the popular campsite. “It can be a wild sort of an area,” she said.  “There’s a couple of footpads [narrow tracks] down there, if you just wander off, you might not be able to find that little track again. It’s quite easy to get disorientated and lost.”

Ms Muhlsimmer said she was relieved one of the teenagers was rescued thanks to their PLB.  “It can literally save your life, I wouldn’t go out without a PLB,” she said.

“It’s a pretty rugged environment and it’s hard to get to, you’re a few hours away… especially if you get bitten by a snake or something like that, the activation of a PLB, you can get rescued pretty quickly.”

She urged walkers to tell others their hiking plans and be prepared to navigate without technology.  “Have a map you can use offline, have your PLB, and don’t separate from anyone.”

Stephanie Beehag from Epiphany Tours was out walking with clients as emergency crews responded said “I am an experienced hiker, and I would not tackle that hike in summer.”

One camper said the 17-year-old had trekked about 42 kilometres.  “They were just going for a hike, and they’d run out of water, they dropped something, and he just ran into the bushes,” he told 7News.

Our Critique

 

So above, that’s what the various media has reported thus far.

 

(1)  The only information we have about this tragic death is what we have read in the online media reports.  References to those are provide at the end of this blog article.   We point out that Nature Trail does not contribute in voluntary Search and Rescue activity per se, except if we’re in the field and asked in an emergency situation to assist then of course we would/will support by way of limited temporary coms (we carry a Telstra satphone – Iridium Extreme Model 9575), plus nav and any first aid support; but to then quickly return to our prime responsibility for our tour guests to best manage the trip risks.  S&R is a government role for paid professionals.

(2)   We at Nature Trail have hiked this Lockley Track at different times and in both directions between Flat Top (off Mount Hay Road) and the Blue Gum Forest.  We have also backpacked camped at Acacia Flat camping ground which is situated about 1km south of the Blue Gum Forest.

(3)  At Acacia Flat camping ground there are no facilities. It’s just a well established small flat semi-cleared remote reserve and close to and west of Govetts Creek.  It is to prevent hikers camping in the nearby and highly valued Blue Gum Forest.  We wouldn’t recommend drinking the water out of Govetts Creek since it is downstream of stormwater from the townships of Katoomba (including the tip) and of Blackheath.

(4)  If Nature Trail had been asked to lead this hiking trip, well we would not have recommended the route chosen by these two lads.   The hiking along Mount Hay Road is  not only boring.  It is expose to hot direct sun (no shade) and also is inherently dangerous due to pedestrians sharing this windy dirt road with vehicles that from our experience travel at speed. There are better hiking routes in and out of the Grose Valley.

(5) A preferred hiking route to Blue Gum Forest would normally be from Govetts Leap Lookout at Blackheath down via Rodriguez Pass track (except that track has long been closed by the Parks Service for a decade due to landslips and with no sign or intention to have it repaired and reopened.

The Horse Track from Evans Lookout would be the better option, however that poses a risk too.  Due to recent bushfires let burn or lit by the Parks Service (2006, 2019) the grass along the hiking track railing Govetts Creek is very overgrown, so susceptible to snakes, so therefore to the risk of snake bite.  A bite from a local Eastern Brown snake there is deadly – just minutes to live!  Yet the Parks Service cares not and neglects maintaining the safety of the track for hikers.  “Caution: track not maintained” is even a permanent description on the KATOOMBA 8930-1S topographic  map. [Grid Ref: MGA-5274]

(6)  Alternative hiking exit tracks up and out of the Grose Valley are (i) Perrys Lookdown, (ii) Back tracking the Horse Track, (iii) Lockley’s Track, (iv) Pierces Pass (no train station but – so car shuffle), (v) Rodriguez Pass (currently only if you want to illegally run the Parks Service gauntlet) – we’ve been known to. 😎 , else if really keen and with more time via Victoria Falls.  Such options require transport logistics.

(7)  We also would not have undertaken this trip when the weather forecast was to be over 30^o Celsius, as it was.  And that is a shade temperature maximum not fullsun temperature which is typically much higher.  For health and safety reasons this is a Nature Trail policy.  Nor do we hike in thunderstorms or snow for that matter.  Others can if they so choose.

In all practicality and safety (especially for hiking) the forecasting of Sun Temps are more vital than Shade Temps!  How many hike in full shade?  Yet how many so perish from heat stroke as a result of the BOM-substandard forecasting of maximum shade temperatures?  Compare the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race weather forecast of just average wave height, but not about maximum wave/swell height.  Think about it.

(8)   So the current president of the Upper Blue Mountains Bushwalking Club, Sonya Muhlsimmer, said it was possible to become lost near the popular campsite. “It can be a wild sort of an area,” she said.  “There’s a couple of footpads [narrow tracks] down there, if you just wander off, you might not be able to find that little track again. It’s quite easy to get disorientated and lost.”

Well, at least this so-called bushwalking club has a new president since its honorary canyoning president resigned since the Wollangambe tragic deaths. Good.

Yes, Lockley Track between Lockley Pylon (hill) and Acacia Flat (valley camping ground) is a goat track down a sun-exposed rocky spur.  Best avoided on hot days and especially in the afternoon since the western sun hits it perpendicularly.

 

(9)   So, Lockley Track from Mount Hay Road descends a steep rocky hiking goat track down a spur into the Grose Valley toward the Blue Gum Forest. This is the relevant topographic map again.

Here is the relevant extract of the subject trip where the separation likely occurred in extreme heat:

Nature Trail possess all the topographic maps of the entire Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, costing us over $500. They are scaled 1:25000 and include a aerial ‘orthophoto‘ map on the reverse side.

Ok, so media reports are vague about where these two young hikers separated en route.

But having hiked this track both ways at different times, the shown Du Faur Head cliff descent/climb is the most tricky.  So one’s presumption is that it most likely that this was the pinch point where the issue took place, and be mindful in extreme afternoon heat with no shade and drinking water left.

The lure of the creek water would have been very strong, if not desperate, sadly.

 

(10)  The choice of public transport is not ideal, but supposedly the most affordable option. These two lads may not even had a drivers license anyway.

Well, was this trip wise?  We suggest not. Yet nothing changes and visitors keep dying unnecessarily.  We just feel so sad once again.

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References and Further Reading:

[1]   ‘Teenage bushwalker found dead in the Blue Gum Forest in Blue Mountains National Park‘, Friday 30th January 2026, by Lani Oataway, ABC media, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-30/teen-bushwalker-found-dead-in-blue-mountains/106285992

[2]   ‘Teen’s body found after Blue Mountains camping trip disappearance‘, 30th January 2026, by Jorge Branco, 9 News (media), https://www.9news.com.au/national/blue-mountains-hiking-teens-body-found-after-camping-disappearance/613cd48c-40bf-418f-a6f1-9c37a5d85a22

[3]  ‘Teen hiker found dead in Blue Mountains tragedy‘, 7 News (media), https://7news.com.au/video/news/teen-hiker-found-dead-in-blue-mountains-tragedy-bc-6388531555112

[4]  ‘Teen found dead on Blue Mountains hike camp trip named‘, 3rd February 2026, by David Wu, News (media),    https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/teen-found-dead-on-blue-mountains-hike-camp-trip-named/news-story/96d8da0c5a4292ba943e5c8b200f315e

[5]   ‘Reading a Grid reference from a Map‘, National Parks Association, https://www.bushwalking101.org/grid-references

[6]  ‘Bushwalker death: 000 staff went unpunished‘, 17th April 2009, by ABC (media) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-04-17/bushwalker-death-000-staff-went-unpunished/1653024]

[7]   ‘1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race‘, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Sydney_to_Hobart_Yacht_Race