10 April 2012 More Border Markers on the N Clear Range

Booths Hill and Mt Gudgenby from the cairn to the E of T28

Map: Michelago 1:25000

Getting There

This walk was organised and led by me as an irregular CBC Tuesday walk:

Tuesday 10 April - More Border Markers on the Clear Range - L/R,X. With permission from the landowner, drive the Clear Range Fire Trail to west of Mt De Salis. Climb to the crest of the Clear Range and hunt border markers south through Mt Yarara as far as we have time to go. Around 25km and 1000m climb. Map: Michelago. Leader: John Evans - jevans@pcug.org.au, 0417 436 877. Transport: ~$10 per person.

5 of us drove via Smiths Road to a private property and a little way up the Clear Range Fire Trail, as far as I was game to go in my pretend 4WD, but not far enough to save us a 4km extra walk.

Further Information

This walk continues south from the furthest extent of 3 Aug 10 and hopefully will meet with the north extent of 14 Feb 12, from Q27 to A31.

Rang ML 1/4/12. Smiths Rd (first L past model airplane field) is open. 11.84km S to 1184 Smiths Rd 'Clearview'. Ring 9/4/12.

Photographs

You can access all photographs here.

Walk

Track maps: thumbnails are active - click for a larger picture
Track overview	Track 1	Track 2	Track 3

A successful day of border marker hunting, yielding 27 border corners (Q27 - previously visited, R27, S27, V27, X27, D28, E28, I28, O28, P28, Q28, R28, S28, T28, U28, W28, X28, Y28, Z28, C29, S29, Y29, Z29, A30, B30, C30, Yarara - previously visited); 1 possible border corner (T27); 4 border corner blazes (R27, U27, Z27, K28) and 4 Mile Markers (79M, 80M, 82M, 84M). In addition, we visited a further 19 locations (U27, W27, Y27, Z27, A28, B28, C28, F28, G28, H28, J28, K28, L28, M28, N28, 81M, V28, A29, B29), but could not find the markers.

A cool Autumn day, after 1°C in Canberra overnight. The day was cloudy with some sun, a couple of light showers. A cold wind at times.

A steep, rocky section of the Clear Range Fire Trail stopped me, so I turned the car around and we got going on foot. A pity about that section (or my timidity, although I still have the drive train on the car), as the fire trail flattened out after it and we could have driven in another 1.9km to the planned parking spot. It took us 20mins to walk in.

We turned W then N and up around 100m to the crest of the Clear Range to Q27, which was the S extent of our hunting on 3 Aug 10. We then turned in the day's generally S direction and found R27 with its blaze, and S27. T27 was a possible. No U27 marker, but we did find a blaze at the location. The area was covered in a vast patch of stinging nettles, which gave we two wearers of shorts a nip to keep us awake. We found the 79 Mile Marker and V27. No W27. Found X27. No Y27 nor Z27, but we did find an aging and fading blaze at Z27.

From here the border turned left, going down then up to the ridge running parallel to the E. In this area we did not find A28, B28 nor C28.

Gaining the next crest, S of Mount De Salis, we found D28 and E28. E28 is a bolt in a cement patch on granite. We exposed it for a snap, then carefully covered it up. We found the 80 Mile Marker, listed by Percy Sheaffe in his field notebook at A 1051 - B26 to Yarara; Portion surveys - FC18 sheet 7, 8, 9 - (PDF 14.6 MB) as "Gald iron piping" - indeed it was. No sign of F28, G28 nor H28.

It being 10.15am, we found a spot just on the E side of the crest, slightly out of the breeze, and had morning tea. Views to the Tinderrys.

Back at it, we found I28. Then no J28 nor K28. But there was a blaze at K28. The unproductive area continued, with no L28, M28, N28 nor 81 Mile.

O28 and P28 were both fine examples of "bolt in rock", the surveyors' broad arrow marked in the concrete surrounding P28.

Found Q28 and R28. Found S28, the pipe visible without disturbing the cairn.

The granite knoll containing T28 and U28 is a lovely area, containing some nice tors which deserved a scramble. Heading towards T28, we spied a cairn up on the granite spine. Not the border marker, as it was not at the required location, but from the top it provided excellent views to some of the tops in Namadgi National Park. We could identify the nearby Booths Hill and Mt Gudgenby and Mt Orroral. We descended and found T28. U28 was another interesting marker. There were a couple of scatters of rocks as I came up on the expected location, but I could see nothing on the granite slab. However, one of the other party members soon spied the "Bolt in rock" standing proud and un-cairned, just covered in lichen. It now sports a small protecting cairn :-). From this marker, great views across Michelago to the Tinderrys. Also, weathered pinnacles of granite just to the S - checkout the second video.

Coming off the granite spine area, no V28 found.

Just off the Fire Trail, we found W28. Listed as a "bolt in rock", we uncovered the bolt surrounded by concrete with a very distinct arrow scratched in the concrete. X28 was found, a galvanised iron pipe. Y28 and Z28 were found.

No A29 nor B29.

The 82 MIle Marker cairn was found and C29, "bolt in rock".

It was now after 12.30pm, so we began to think about a lunch spot. No view where we were. Leaving the fire trail to head for the next border corner, we came to a nice grassy area with a view to the NE. So we stopped for lunch. Discussion of afternoon options after one of the party reminded me he had not visited Mt Yarara and wanted to get there. As there were very obviously too many border markers to hunt making it impossible to reach A31, the N extent of our walk on 14 Feb 12, our agreed option was to belt in to Mt Yarara, pick up border markers on the N approach to Mt Yarara, and belt back to the car via the Clear Range Fire Trail.

Setting off, we'd gone about 10 minutes when Eric spied a wallably caught in a rabbit trap. Hats off to him and the other three in the party, who donned scrub gloves, secured the wallaby and released it's two mangled front paws from the trap. There was agreement that its chance of survival had been increased a few percent. No doubt the trap had been laid for wild dogs or foxes, but we thought these types of traps had been outlawed.

We headed 3.8km S in 55mins to the saddle N of Mt Yarara, picking up border markers S29, Y29, 84 Mile Marker and Z29. A quick 100 vertical metre climb up the fence line to Mt Yarara, picking up A30, B30, C30 and Mt Yarara.

We left at 2.20pm and covered the 10.5km back to the car in 2hrs 15mins. Eric announced that his climb meter imbedded in his legs had measured around 950 verical metres of climb during the day - not bad, as we did around 900m.

Not a bad day's work. Thanks for your fine border marker hunting and company Eric G, Ian W, Philip G and Robert M.

Distance: 24.3km Climb: 900m. Time: 8.05am - 4.35pm (8hrs 30mins), with 35mins of stops.
Grading: L/E-R,X; H(14)

KMZ file for Google Earth/Maps: More Border Markers on the N Clear Range

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This page last updated 29Aug22