Little Cathedral

It seemed a pleasant morning – not too hot, not too cold – so I left my jumper in the car and headed off. The walk included three peaks and a climb of over 500 metres in the first three kilometres, so I knew I would warm up pretty quickly. From the campground, where a yellow robin greeted me, I headed off along the Neds Gully Track. The robin followed for a while but decided to leave me as the track climbed out of the thicker vegetation of the gully to open stringybark country on the side of Tern Fathom Ridge. I have walked this track many times and I always seem to forget how sustained the climb to Neds Saddle is – not too steep, but I’m not too fit, so it soon started to tell on me. The occasional rests became more frequent. I disturb a group of White-winged Coughs along the way, but they wouldn’t rest for a photo.

My friend, the Eastern Yellow Robin

From Neds Saddle there are a number of options. I could take a short walk to Neds Peak for an early lunch and then go home happy about bagging a peak. I could continue up to the main range and Mount Cathedral and bag a slightly higher, slightly more challenging peak. Or, I could bag Mount Cathedral and then continue over North Cathedral to Little Cathedral – my original plan. My legs were saying turn around now, forget about any peaks. Onwards and upwards, I decided.

The climb from the saddle to the top of the range is steeper than what I have already walked but thankfully short and so, after a short rest, I headed on. Before too long I was standing on the ridge looking out over the Acheron Valley to the west with Mount Cathedral only a few minutes more climbing to the north. So again I push on.

Mount Cathedral, or Nanadhong to the local aborigines, is the second highest point on the range and makes a good destination for a day’s walk. But it wasn’t quite lunchtime yet and if I turned back now I would have lunch in the carpark. And bushwalking is about having lunch on mountain tops, not in carparks. So, with tummy starting to rumble, I continued on.

From Mount Cathedral the track drops below the ridge and at times threatens to disappear into the bush. The going slows a little with questions of “Where did the track go?” being answered with “Through the prickle bushes.” North Cathedral peak requires a minor side trip before the track reaches a nice resting spot on a rock slab offering views back to North Cathedral. From here it drops further into Little Cathedral Saddle and the junction with Little Cathedral Track. Now it is a nice short easy walk to Little Cathedral itself – and lunch.

The western face of North Cathedral

Managing during hard times on the summit

Little Cathedral Track, my return path to Neds Saddle, traverses the side of the range a couple of hundred metres below the ridge. It’s pleasant walking with great views across to Ten Fathom Ridge. From Neds Saddle, I backtrack down Neds Gully, annoying the coughs again, who, annoyingly, still won’t pose for a photo.  

Ten Fathom Ridge

My final stop for the day is the Taggerty General Store for an ice-cream. As I drive home, munching my ice-cream, an ad comes on the radio; a public service announcement from the SES.

“Never go bushwalking alone.”

Ooops.

“Tell someone before you go … ”.

Aaah, sorry!

“… and let them know when you return”

Hey everyone, I’m back now.