Cathedral Range April 2012

Cathedral Range  - Round 3

With the forecast of 20 degree weather, probably the last for a while, the Cathedral Range was calling so back we went. This time with Mic and Robyn for their first time hiking the Range with newly acquired gear. Finally busting through the Friday afternoon traffic, fresh air and beautiful mountains imposed themselves on what was a busy week of work.

Arriving at The Jawbones car park, both the North and South Jawbones wait like sentinels, prepared to scrutinise your every step up the Jawbones Track. Both Andrea and I felt really comfortable with the step climb....the training at Baw Baw and even a day walk at Wilhelmina Falls was paying off! The encroaching darkness soon took over and torches were required to walk the last few hundred metres to The Farmyard.

We shared the campsite with another couple who disappeared into their tent very early, while we sat around eating fillet steak and drinking Chandon in celebration of Robbie's birthday.The stillness of The Farmyard was interrupted only by the awesome light show of the Milky Way and the occasional shooting star....oh, and the Friday night flights from Sydney.

Mic and Mark and the view back to The Sugarloaf

Saturday was forecast to be around 22c and fine and we weren't disappointed with the day. Blue skies were the order and as we walked along the Ridge Track the view into the cloud covered valleys below was brilliant. The track was still a little over grown and the walk maintains a high level of challenge as you have to rock hop for the length of the path. It is a great workout for the calves! We did a side trip to the Cathedral, at 840m it isn't the highest mountain we have been to but it has spectacular views down into the valleys and across to the surrounding mountains. 

Andrea navigating the Ridge Track

From the Cathedral it is down hill....all the way! (a great workout for the thighs). We stopped at Ned's Saddle for lunch before continuing on to our campsite at Ned's Gully. We took a swim, actually it was more like a splash, in the freezing Little River to freshen up before relaxing and cooking dinner. Once again, night approached quickly and with the darkness a drop in temperature left us heading for our tents fairly early.

Overnight two claps of thunder signalled a change in weather and the steady patter of rain on the Marmot provided us with our first test in the rain. Fortunately, the rain eased just after waking so we were able to pack up without interuption. The return walk was via the Little River Track and St Bernards Track. (currently closed due to logging of the Pine Forest).

Another fantastic weekend, the walking provided us with the challenges we require to build our fitness and experience walking. It also promotes the removal of cobwebs built up from the daily routine of work.

Thanks Mic and Robyn for a great weekend and Elise for being an awesome editor!

Mic and Robyn negotiating the rocky terrain

Baw Baw National Park

30/3/12 - 1/4/12

A 4pm departure saw us arrive at the Mt Erica car park in time to complete the 35 minute walk to Mushroom Rocks, with ample time to set up camp and cook dinner before settling in for a cosy night in the Marmot! After a very leisurely start we walked steadily up hill to Mt Erica at 1509m. and while there are teasing views from various points along the way the bush is the real delight. 

 We continued along the Baw Baw Plateau to Camp Saddle before heading to Mt St. Gwinear. Overlooking the Thomson Dam and surrounding Mountains the views are beautiful. We returned along the track to Mustering Flat - (or so we were told) and spent a very private night on our own little stretch of paradise (see pic below). We woke the next day, again after a leisurely lay in and wandered back to our car. The walk back down is obviously fast especially with 'Fast Forward' leading the way. 





Fast Forward leading the way!

Nestled between Mts St Phillack and St Gwinear
looking over Cascade North Creek valley

Mitchell River and Bryces Gorge

 March long weekend

Doomed to failure with a flooded river, swollen creeks and flat tyres the weekend finished with a spectacular walk around the Bryces Gorge walk.

We started out with plans to walk the Mitchell River Gorge but heavy rains over the previous weeks made getting along the gorge impossible. WE began the walk at the Den of Nargan CP only to be stopped at the first river crossing. It was a raging torrent so we high tailed it back up the hill. We drove to Billy Goat Bend and setup camp for the night. The following morning we set off on our journey along the Mitchell and as you can see by the pictures the water was certainly up! Unfortunately a walk along the river was not to be. We decided to bush bash our way back to the road and continue from there…this was harder than expected but after a couple of hours of hard slog we made it to the road. Once again we were stopped in our tracks by a creek crossing too deep to wade through. It was at this point we abandoned our walk and returned to BGB camp ground.

The decision was made to head towards Licola and do Bryces Gorge the following day (Richard and Liz, with flat tyre and crappy spare headed towards Bairnsdale and then on to Canberra, Andrea and I with not so crappy spare tyre headed to Licola.)

Pieman Falls

Conglomerate Falls

Bryces Gorge was spectacular. The weather was superb and the walking absolutely beautiful. Pieman and Conglomerate Falls were in full flow. We continued around the circuit and camped at Guy’s Hut for the night. With a camp fire and a bottle of wine from Licola General Store a brilliant end to what was an interrupted weekend walk.

Guys Hut

The things you see!

Cathedral Ranges

17/2/12 – One night

A quick return visit to the Cathedral Range once again commencing with the walk up the Jawbones track…am I getting accustomed to this climb? We spent the night at the Farmyard before walking back along the Ridge to the Sugarloaf. The walk along is challenging with lots of rock hopping and short climbs made even more difficult with our packs. I love this sort of stuff while Andrea has a different perspective. We finished the walk by returning to the Jawbone CP along Cathedral Lane. This time we had added some new gear....yep, there was no going back now.

We picked up a Marmot Earlylight 3P from Sierra Trading Post...special deal that arrived in Australia for around $180. While the tent is considered a three person it would be a fun night  of 1, 2, 3, roll over! Still, there is plenty of space for the two of us with great vestibules for gear and possible cooking in inclement weather.

Packs was another well considered purchase in the end we went for Osprey packs from Paddy Pallin. So far so good. Andrea's is a 65 litre and mine 70 litre and there is plenty of room for our gear.

Most of our gear is now coming from www.hiking.com.au we are very pleased with the service and deliver as well as the price. I will do a separate post about our gear.

Well, once again we enjoyed our little sojourn and no doubt will be back for another training run. The views along the way are spectacular and well worth the effort. While only a fleeting visit the Range never disappoints.

Like the hat!

Cathedral Ranges 14/1/12 – 3 nights.

The first trial….would we like it? I knew that I would, it was all up to Andrea and the result speaks for itself. The Jawbones Track is not an easy starter as it is a steep climb from start to the end. Only takes around 45mins but it certainly gets the heart rate up.

Overnight at the Farmyard was very pleasant. We continued the walk to The Cathedral and boy was it a struggle. The bush had taken over and the going was very tough and slow. It was also a fairly warm day so we were consuming fluids by the litre. We did a sojourn to The Cathedral before resting for lunch at Ned’s Saddle. The final hour down to Ned’s Gully was easy, open walking. We had a quick (chilly) swim in Little River and relaxed at the campsite. The following morning we returned to the car via Cathedral Lane.

While there were the occassional tough section the walk overall is extremely enjoyable. The open ridge line provides wonderful views into the valleys below. As mentioned the weather was particularly warm so plenty of fluids were the order of the day. Water on the range is difficult to come by. I have walked the ridge on numerous occasions and have always been able to source water from a small water source about 100m down the Jawbones track from The Farmyard. Often having to fill the bottles from the water running off a leaf, it is still fine for drinking (with the obvious boiling or preparation).