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Speigals Overhang [North Jawbones, Cathedral Range 21-Mar-2011 At 5:40:31 PM danchilds

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Hi Chockstoners...first time caller, long time listener of the forums.

i had a beautiful sunny 25deg day up at north jawbone almost a month ago (a very busy day with 5 parties!) that was spoilt only by the bloody prickle bushes! Unfortunate news is yes, they have taken over, going crazy in their pursuit of regeneration and asserting their dominance post fire... thankfully they should die down once the upper canopy is reestablished.... the access track to the bottom (from main track) is pretty non-prickly for most of it, the access (descent) gully on the northern side is by far the worst

A working bee would be a brilliant idea, these areas would be good to get some attention:

a) cutting away of 'prickle bush' from the access gully (on northern side), and to a lesser extent on the other side also.
b) stabilisation and maybe some fluro flagging tape (to encourage the continued formation of only 1 track) of the climber's track from the main track (@ 'the large boulders' now, just past the 1m long steel handrail that parks put in)

a lot of parties up there that day were moaning about the prickles (me and my partner included). many ended up carrying all their kit up on their last climb so they could walk off down the track at the end of the day instead of prickle bashing, not a bad idea if you have packed lightly and eaten all your scroggin at lunch.

we need to think very carefully before anything was to happen with rap stations (not a cue to get into an ethics debate), i mean yes sounds like a great idea on the surface (convenience factor, get to play with toys) but really, without the prickles, and with a few hours labour the walk down will be pretty quick and straightforward once again, probably faster than multiple raps, i would say definitely faster for sure.

my advice for your next cathedrals mish is to wear pants and maybe bring a machete or a grubber with you to begin the job.

oh and big up's to Parks for all the work they have been doing up there recently. i loved the rock steps on the track and the whole sugarloaf area is amazing, they deserve some credit.