It January 2002
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THE CANBERRA BUSHWALKING CLUB INC. NEWSLETTER it GPO Box 160, Canberra ACT 2601 VOLUME 38 January 2002 NUMBER 1 JANUARY “MEETING” 6pm Wednesday 16th BYO Barbecue Black Mountain Peninsula If barbecues are disabled because of the fire situation, bring a picnic tea and still enjoy the company of friends. Follow the CBC signs on Garryowen Drive your continuing service to the club 2002 has been declared by the David. PRESIDENT’S United Nations the International PRATTLE As a follow-up to our photographic Year of the Mountains. I have exhibition and Heritage grant, we been approached by a couple of Welcome to 2002, which already are required to have some kind of club members with a proposal for presents the club with some inter- presence at the 2002 Heritage the club to mark IYOTM by: Festival in April. As the photos esting challenges and projects. • including walks to all of the have had a very good public expo- Firstly, congratulations to long- ACT’s higher peaks on the sure through being on show at time club member David Campbell club program over the course Namadgi Visitors Centre through for his work in preparing a success- of the year ful grant submission to the the summer, I have arranged with Department of Sport and Recrea- the Festival director to do a bush- • using the walks to promote tion. The club has received $1000 walk for the program, visiting one awareness of the purpose of which will enable 12 members to of the places pictured in the exhi- IYOTM bition. Chris De Bruin’s photo of attend a remote area First Aid • using the walks as a vehicle for course with 50% subsidy of their Nursery Swamp has provided the focus, and so I will put on a walk raising funds for an environ- costs. David has also been chosen mental/social project in a to represent the club on a working to the area: It will be part of the club’s normal program but also a mountain community in a less group preparing a Walking and developed country Camping Strategy for the Morton public event on the Festival’s Budawang National Park, an area calendar. I hope some of you will I am in favour of the project, and in which he has been closely in- join me on what should be a very will be asking the committee to nd volved for some years. Thanks for pleasant day in April, and a good consider it at our meeting on 22 chance to promote the club. January. Canberra Bushwalking Club IT January 2002 page 1 I would therefore appreciate any Our club has already been involved club members who have views on in activities which support some of Mountain Maps the proposal (either for or against) these aims. Our broom-clearing on or ideas on other ways to mark the Cotter, water-quality testing in The NSW mapping authority has IYOTM, to get in touch with me the upland swamps of Namadgi, recently released a series of before this date, so we can consider track improvement and erosion 1:25000 maps of those parts of the your ideas at the meeting. Any control in the Budawangs and Snowy Mountains previously decisions reached by the committee general interest in protection of the covered by the 1:50000 sheets will of course be presented to the Snowy Mountains area against Khancoban, Mount Kosciusko and club membership for consideration rampant development are all exam- Thredbo. Details of the new maps and vote. ples of this. 2002 will be a good are as follows: year to focus our walking on the Best wishes to all club members for mountains we love, in ways that Khancoban 1:50000 a happy, safe and active New Year. benefit both the environment and Jenny Horsfield the people who depend on them, Greg Greg Toolong President both here and abroad. Range 8525-4N 8525-1N WALKS WAFFLE Quotes from website: www.uno.org Search: FAO Swampy Jagungal mountains. Press Release SAG/76 Plain International Year of Mountains. For most of us, our favourite Bushfires. Summer is upon us and 8525-4S 8525-1S bushwalking areas are in moun- already fires have been burning in tains (or plateaus, in Australia) - some of our national parks. Re- Mount Kosciusko 1:50000 Namadgi, the Snowies, the Blue cently on a Friday afternoon, all Mountains, the Budawangs. Many packed up and ready to leave for a Scammells Geehi Dam of us have travelled further afield weekend on the upper Kowmung Lookout to experience real mountains, to and Box Creek, a little concerned 8525-3N 8525-2N New Zealand, perhaps, or to the that Saturday’s weather forecast ultimate mountain destination, was for showers, I received a Youngal Perisher Nepal. In Australia, most of our phone call informing me that Valley mountainous areas are in or near Kanangra-Boyd N.P. was closed 8525-3S 8525-2S wilderness; in many overseas due to bushfires. We checked it on countries, high mountain valleys the NPWS website - yes, overnight Thredbo 1:50000 are home to millions of people. camping and bushwalking were out for the weekend. Tom Chimneys So it’s not surprising that the Groggin Ridge announcement that 2002 is to be I decided to check with the ranger the International Year of Moun- at Oberon. She sounded a little 8524-4N 8524-1N tains has already aroused miffed. She hadn’t closed the park. There were fires burning in the Davies Charcoal considerable interest in the club. Plain Range The IYM is a United Nations Food lower Kowmung and the Bindook and Agriculture Organisation area of the southern Blue Moun- 8524-4S 8524-1S initiative to “promote the conser- tains, but none anywhere near where we intended to walk. She Apart from providing greater detail vation and sustainable development and more up-to-date coverage than of mountain regions, thereby strongly advised us to go. We went. We had a very pleasant the existing 1:50000 series, each ensuring the well-being of both map has an aerial photo of the area mountain inhabitants and lowland weekend with cool weather and a little drizzle on Saturday. covered by the map on its reverse communities”. It recognises that side. “mountains are fragile ecosystems So if you hear that a park has been which are globally important as closed due to fire but the weather [Ed: I have not seen or used one of these new maps, but comment on some water towers of the earth, reposito- looks cool and damp, it’s worth ries of rich biodiversity, popular internet forums has not been favour- checking with the ranger before able. Apparently, the new maps simply destinations for recreation and you cancel your trip. copy the info from the old series - e.g. tourism and areas of important a 20 metre contour interval which can cultural heritage”. Among other Meg McKone Walks Secretary easily lead to confusion. I welcome things, it wishes to “raise more feedback from club users for publica- awareness of the social and eco- [A report on Meg's Christmas trip, tion next month. Am] nomic benefits of investing in including the effect of the fires, will Terence Uren mountain areas”. be in the next it] Canberra Bushwalking Club IT January 2002 page 2 The Pimple which is 1.5 k from the of the walk, conditions on the TRIP REPORT track head provides excellent views day, the availability of water of the majestic cliffs of the a knoll along the way and your own BURROWA – PINE to the north. metabolism - ask your leader for advice MOUNTAIN NATIONAL The highlight of this walk was the PARK forest through which the track • drink often - in hot weather, it meanders. As the track ascends it can be difficult to avoid dehy- DECEMBER 2000 passes through a variety of differ- dration if you only drink at In 1979 whilst paddling down the ent eco systems culminating in regular rest stops - take extra Murray River, a large mountain stands of magnificent of eucalypt drink stops as needed or rig up between the Tintaldra and Jingellic on the upper slopes. There are also something that allows you to pubs, caught my imagination. It extensive fields of wild flowers and drink while you are walking a purple orchid between the rocky appeared to be a feature worthy of • don't use 'feeling thirsty' as a exploration. In 1999 at a confer- areas. Many of these plants I have never seen before. guide to when to drink - if you ence in Albury I read a pamphlet are feeling thirsty it is probably on Pine Mountain, citing it as the Thanks to John Kelly who accom- too late biggest monolith in the world, far panied me on the weekend and to • larger than Uluru. Whilst I did not Peter Wellman who provided regularly monitor the colour of believe their claim, a dubious advice and maps on the tracks and your urine - it should be a pale interpretation of statistical data, I camping areas. Further information straw colour - if it is clear, you was intrigued and decided to or- is also available on the web at are drinking more than you ganise a walk in the area. http://www.walkabout.com.au/fairf need (not a problem unless ax/locations/VICTintaldra.shtml water is scarce) - if it is yellow Burrowa-Pine Mountain National or darker (except first thing in Park is a steep, rocky, remote and This park has many other possi- the morning), you are not highly scenic area which consists bilities for walks both on and off drinking enough of two distinct geological zones.