Is there water at the cathedral range...?

[yegdod1]

Im gonna do another overnighter at the cathedral range... I will be using bivvy near the farmyard.... Can someone tell me if the spring has water....? Any water up there at all.... I go very light weight, but will carry extra water if i must..

[Earwig]

probably not - hasn't been much rain up here for a while now.

[ryantmalone]

Im gonna do another overnighter at the cathedral range... I will be using bivvy near the farmyard.... Can someone tell me if the spring has water....? Any water up there at all.... I go very light weight, but will carry extra water if i must..

The spring has always been fairly reliable for me, however I'd definitely play it safe and carry in a fair bit of water.

[JamesMc]

There was a trickle last weekend where the farmyard track crosses the creek

JamesMc

[Snowzone]

it was dry last time I was up there. I would definately be carrying enough water with me.

[lokulin]

Hijacking this thread for my own question, what are the temperatures like up there at the moment? Thinking of doing the loop and camping at the farmyard next weekend (16th).

[ryantmalone]

Hijacking this thread for my own question, what are the temperatures like up there at the moment? Thinking of doing the loop and camping at the farmyard next weekend (16th).

Temps next weekend are looking to be around the low 30's, which I would guess would be a few degrees lower on the tops. Rain is forecast at the end of next weekend, however, with how far ahead that forecast is, it's anyones guess.

[lokulin]

Bleurgh, being from Tassie, low 30s and the prospect of carrying water in is sounding less than tempting. Might have to head elsewhere and wait for things to cool down a bit.

[ryantmalone]

Bleurgh, being from Tassie, low 30s and the prospect of carrying water in is sounding less than tempting. Might have to head elsewhere and wait for things to cool down a bit.

Its not that bad. Higher up, the lower air temps make a nice mix with the sun.

I'm summer-phobic, and I'd even go up there in those temps. Walked across the Razorback at Feathertop when it was 40 degrees in Bright just before Christmas, and that was absolutely perfect!

[ryantmalone]

I actually just booked a site at the Farmyard for Saturday. Unless the OP is going this weekend, will be able to report more after the weekend.

Been a while, going to walk from Sugarloaf to Neds Gully. Should be fun!

[lokulin]

Looks like we will see you there then perhaps. Will either go from Neds Gully up to Cathedral and to farmyard on Saturday and then do a bit of walking south on Sunday, or we'll just go from cooks mill to farmyard on Saturday and the the curcuit on Sundau. It all depends on what time we crawl out of bed on Saturday morning.

[ryantmalone]

Sweet! I'll be at the farmyard on Saturday, but coming from Sugarloaf.

[Hallu]

I just got back from there. I planned to do the Neds Gully / Cathedral / Farmyard loop but it was really hot, overgrown with those damn spiky bushes, and I ran out of water after 3 hours (I brought "only" 3 L). So I only went to the Cathedral (did the Little Cathedral and Neds Peak too) and took the track South from there going back to Neds Saddle. So if you go there : you're gonna get dirty, scratched by multiple bush stings, and you need to bring 5L or more if it's such temperatures. I thought the worst part would the big elevation gain (850 m total for the walk) but it was the least of it lol. I also forgot the flies : bring repellent. Near the Cathedral, it's a swarm, while on the way up to Neds Saddle it's fine.

[ryantmalone]

Was a shocker of a day, wasn't it? I made it to the Farmyard barely, the Messmate Track killed me, then the Razorback sealed it. Was stop, start, stop, start. Carrying 6 litres of water didn't help. Left at 10am, and got to the Farmyard just after 7pm.

The Razorback is one hell of a serious walk, many opportunities to fall and hurt yourself real bad along there. Beautiful ridge, but I'm not in a hurry to do it again very soon.

Was going to head over Cathedral tomorrow, but am too exhausted, will head down to Cooks and Neds, so I can get some fishing done on the Rubicon. Just happy to have finally done the Razorback.

[Hallu]

Well Cathedral is worse (at least according to Chapman) : elevation gain is worse, it's rocky and overgrown, and seriously those spiky bushes were killing me (if you know their name...). The views aren't that great. You only see farms a couple of knobs, and from the Cathedral itself (not little cathedral or North cathedral) there's no views because of the trees. Nevertheless you hear plenty of lyrebirds, and I saw one pretty close. It was interesting because of the physical challenge and the birds, but I wouldn't recommend this walk, it's too rocky and overgrown.

[lokulin]

Woo, just got back and am glad we did it despite the heat. I think it must have been you we saw at farmyard ryantmalone. We were in the orange tent 2 man + green single. :p We started at Cooks Mill and after a very hot ascent we got to farmyard very easily. I think it took us 1 1/4 hours despite the track saying 2hours or something ridiculous. I guess if you are older/less fit then the climb would slow you down, but am sure there are plenty that could do it faster than us. We did a little side trek up North and South Jawbone. Both have the best views of the circuit imho. I agree that the view from Cathedral, while nice, is not as good as the other end as you are looking out over farms and recently felled plantations. Looking east from Jawbone was reminiscent of walks in parts of Tassie tho so I was happy! You aren't wrong about the scratchy bushes but I've had worse so despite being thoroughly ex-foliated I wouldn't tell people to not go up the ridge to Cathedral. Took us about 1 1/4 hours to scoot down the other side after giving little Cathedral a miss too damn hot and out 3l of water per person wasn't going to make the extra distance besides being pretty strict with rationing it out.

Taking a quick dip in the river near Cooks/Neds was a *&%$#! fantastic way to finish the walk.

Anyway, to answer the original question. No, there is two fifths of any water at the creek at farmyards. If you had a water filter with you, a lot of patience and enough fuel to boil it you could probably eek out a few litres but in the temperatures I wouldn't bother.

As a first foray in to overnight hiking in Vic I think it makes a nice hike, especially if you're used to the kind of stuff you get in Tassie. Farmyards does seem a lot more remote than it really is. Was awesome to see so many lyre birds near the track, and there were so many lizards (including some really fat little ones). Only bummer was the amount of garbage and used tissue paper on the side of the track. I can't believe so many people are so thoughtless. I guess it is a pretty popular spot tho. If it wasn't so hot I would have spent some time doing a clean up.

Looking forward to going back there during the colder months.

[ryantmalone]

Well Cathedral is worse (at least according to Chapman) : elevation gain is worse, it's rocky and overgrown, and seriously those spiky bushes were killing me (if you know their name...).

I've walked Cathederal a few times now, and its always been rocky and challenging, however, the Razorback is an entirely different ball game. For 3 kilometers, its constant up and down over large boulders and slabs with large drops on either side, overgrown, and downright dangerous in places. Not to discount Chapman at all, but I'd be quite surprised if the Jawbones track was any worse than the Jawbones. I always found the Jawbones enjoyable, then again, the fires may have changed that.

Woo, just got back and am glad we did it despite the heat. I think it must have been you we saw at farmyard ryantmalone. We were in the orange tent 2 man + green single. :p We started at Cooks Mill and after a very hot ascent we got to farmyard very easily. I think it took us 1 1/4 hours despite the track saying 2hours or something ridiculous. I guess if you are older/less fit then the climb would slow you down, but am sure there are plenty that could do it faster than us. We did a little side trek up North and South Jawbone. Both have the best views of the circuit imho. I agree that the view from Cathedral, while nice, is not as good as the other end as you are looking out over farms and recently felled plantations. Looking east from Jawbone was reminiscent of walks in parts of Tassie tho so I was happy! You aren't wrong about the scratchy bushes but I've had worse so despite being thoroughly ex-foliated I wouldn't tell people to not go up the ridge to Cathedral. Took us about 1 1/4 hours to scoot down the other side after giving little Cathedral a miss too damn hot and out 3l of water per person wasn't going to make the extra distance besides being pretty strict with rationing it out.

Taking a quick dip in the river near Cooks/Neds was a *&%$#! fantastic way to finish the walk.

Anyway, to answer the original question. No, there is two fifths of any water at the creek at farmyards. If you had a water filter with you, a lot of patience and enough fuel to boil it you could probably eek out a few litres but in the temperatures I wouldn't bother.

As a first foray in to overnight hiking in Vic I think it makes a nice hike, especially if you're used to the kind of stuff you get in Tassie. Farmyards does seem a lot more remote than it really is. Was awesome to see so many lyre birds near the track, and there were so many lizards (including some really fat little ones). Only bummer was the amount of garbage and used tissue paper on the side of the track. I can't believe so many people are so thoughtless. I guess it is a pretty popular spot tho. If it wasn't so hot I would have spent some time doing a clean up.

Looking forward to going back there during the colder months.

haha Yeah, that was me. Glad that you all had fun, the hike over the Jawbones is a nice one, even if the views from Cathederal are a bit of a let down.

As for water, I couldnt believe it... about half way down (10 minutes after the North Jawbones track and water), there was a way to access the creek, nice flowing like a tap, and was able to fill my 1 litre bottle really quick. Kinda bummed, because it was the lack of water that made me choose to head straight down rather than do the Jawbones, and like I was going to climb up another hundred meters again!! haha

[lokulin]

Bummer indeed. Surprised we didn't see the water as that is the way we came up, unless your definition of like a tap is more generous than mine. Was it obvious from the track or did you have to walk in to the bush a bit? I did see one section that was trickling slowly but I still wouldn't have used it without filtration and boiling. I guess I am pretty cautions with water these days after meeting so many people with horror tales of the exploding from both ends variety. So far no such bad luck here (perhaps due to my diligence, although I was pretty gung-ho in my teen years).

[Hallu]

FYI the roughest part, spiky bush-wise, was the side trip to the little cathedral. But that's the nicest of the 3 cathedrals too. Just did Cape Woolamai circuit today, definitely easier to tolerate the heat when you're at the sea =)

[ryantmalone]

Bummer indeed. Surprised we didn't see the water as that is the way we came up, unless your definition of like a tap is more generous than mine. Was it obvious from the track or did you have to walk in to the bush a bit? I did see one section that was trickling slowly but I still wouldn't have used it without filtration and boiling. I guess I am pretty cautions with water these days after meeting so many people with horror tales of the exploding from both ends variety. So far no such bad luck here (perhaps due to my diligence, although I was pretty gung-ho in my teen years).

I heard a trickle through the trees on the side of the track, and saw a way to get to the water.



Filled up a 1 litre bottle in around 10 seconds, was flowing quite well.

I suppose I'm a little more open to taking risks with water. I've never been sick drinking water in the bush, although I know that there are places where filtration just needs to be done, eg, Mac Springs, Tali Karng, Main Range, and so on.

I'd probably recommend filtration to anyone else at the Farmyard though, as just about anywhere in the camp would flow down into the creek anywhere. With the idiots that that place attracts (eg, the loud group that were still going at 11pm last night), I'd think that filtration would be mandatory there sooner than later.