Before you join any bush walk, you should consider your own fitness and experience and the grade of the track. While track grading is an imperfect science, it does give a very good guide to the relative difficulty of a track. Bushwalking NSW gives some advice on their website. 

Our walks use the grading system set out below. This grading system is based on aur walk leaders local knowledge, as well as information from NSW National Parks and other bushwalking groups. 

Easy: This walk will be on a well-sign posted, made track less than 10 km long. Mostly flat or with moderate ups and downs. You'll need to bring a light pack with adequate food and water. This is a great starting point for your first walk with the group as we get to know you and assess your skills. 

Medium on-track: A sign posted walk on a made track. 10 - 15 km. There may be ups and downs and shallow water crossings over stepping stones. 

Medium off-track: A 10 - 15 km walk that is either partially or completely off-track. Some simple navigation will be required. There could be rock scrambles and shallow water crossings (with or without stepping stones). This type of walk requires a good fitness level and some bushwalking experience. 

Hard on-track: 15-25 km on a made track with some signposting. There may be steep ascents and descents. There may be rock scrambles and ladders. You may encounter a shallow water crossing without stepping stones. Due to the distance, you will need to carry a larger volume of water and bring plenty of food, so your pack will be heavier.  This walk requires a very good fitness level and moderate bushwalking experience. You should be a confident rock hopper, especially here in the New England district, where granite tors are everywhere! This should not be your first walk with the club. 

Hard off-track: This walk is tough! Your walk leader will need to use some navigation skills for some or all of the 15- 25 km walk.  You should prepare to do bush bashing, rock hopping, and water crossing. There will likely be some steep ascents and declines. Due to the distance, you will need to carry a larger volume of water and bring plenty of food, so your pack will be heavier.  You should only join this walk if you have some navigating skills, a good level of fitness and moderate bushwalking experience. This should not be your first walk with the club. 

Very hard on and off-track walks: These long, often multi-day walks of 25 km or more should only be attempted for people with very good fitness levels and excellent bushwalking skills. You will meet with your walk leader to discuss the features of the walk before departure as there will be some pre-planning required. 

Exploratory: As the name suggests, these walks are a chance for our group to explore new areas. Our walk leader will be unfamiliar with the walk/track and, therefore, can not give a club grading.

For any walk, safety comes first, but please also be considerate and realistic. You need to be aware of your own fitness and skill level and not put yourself or the group in danger if you're not up to the task.