Difference between revisions of "2022-08-25 -36 145"

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<!-- If you did not specify these parameters in the template, please substitute appropriate values for IMAGE, LAT, LON, and DATE (YYYY-MM-DD format)  
+
{{meetup graticule
 +
| lat=-36
 +
| lon=145
 +
| date=2022-08-25
 +
}}<!-- edit as necessary -->
 +
== Location ==
 +
In Reef Hills State Park, near Benalla.
 +
== Participants ==
 +
 
 +
* [[User:Stevage|Stevage]]
 +
* [[User:Kt|KT]]
 +
 
 +
== Expedition ==
 +
=== The approach ===
 +
 
 +
[[File:PXL_20220825_234431830.jpg|thumb|300px|Steve's lane!]]
 +
 
 +
KT and I were setting off for a snowshoeing adventure across the Razorback. As we drove up the Hume, I idly checked the geohash app.
 +
 
 +
First glance: the pin was directly on the Hume Freeway! Zoom in. Still on the Hume! Zoom in. Still on the Hume! Eventually, I could see that it was just a few hundred metres south, within a state park. Perfect! Game on.
 +
 
 +
We turned down Warrenbayne Road, one of those roads that cross the Hume Freeway, that we have all seen so many times, but perhaps never visited. Like Alexandersons Road - does everyone else wonder how that one got its name? In this case, I remember having had a powernap on Warrenbayne Road once, coming back from some other trip. I was much too alert for that this time though!
 +
 
 +
Left onto...Steves Lane! Seriously. Wow. You get your kicks where you find them.
 +
 
 +
=== Fleeting glory ===
 +
[[File:PXL_20220825_100219117.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Fleeting glory!]]
 +
 
 +
Soon the mighty Yaris was parked 50m from the hash, so we got out, and strolled immediately to the point. Success!
 +
 
 +
We tried to imagine why anyone would camp here, as we noticed a campfire a short distance away. The sound from the nearby freeway was horrendous. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGzrde6x4Lg HOW'S THE SERENITY?] I wondered.
 +
 
 +
We could now go back the way we came, or, more interestingly (and, as it turned out, dangerously), continue through the park.
 +
 
 +
We drove on, along the dirt track, dodging a few potholes and some alarmingly large puddles. Each time there would be a huge puddle, but nearby, a new track that enterprising drivers had carved out through the bush. One of the puddles we drove straight through without thinking too much of it.
 +
 
 +
[[File:PXL_20220825_102459802.jpg|thumb|300px|The puddle that thwarted our initial escape.]]
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Until eventually we encountered a puddle so big and wide there was no getting around it. I got out to examine it more closely, and reported "That looks like a one way trip to Bogsville". (No, I really did. I'm not normally as witty in person as I am in my write-ups, but I did actually say that.)
 +
 
 +
We turned around, retracing our tyre prints.
 +
 
 +
Soon we encountered a huge puddle. I was pretty sure we hadn't come through anything this big. KT thought we had. We quibbled. We discussed different ways around it. We started reversing. There was communication. There was miscommunication. There were different plans. Forwards, backwards, into the puddle, not into the puddle, over into that dry bit over there. Oh crap.
 +
 
 +
=== Disaster strikes! ===
 +
[[File:PXL_20220825_122625048.jpg|thumb|300px|Digging...]]
 +
Suddenly we were stuck in a ditch. We got out to have a look. It looked...kind of bad. We got back in. Spun the wheels. Now it looked definitely bad.
 +
 
 +
We tried to put chains on the wheels to add traction. Now we had a tangle of chains on one of the wheels as well!
 +
 
 +
We let down the tyres to add more traction. Now we had flat tyres as well!
  
−
[[Image:{{{image|IMAGE}}}|thumb|left]]
+
We pondered our options, and decided to seek help at the camp fire we had noticed before. It was only a 5 minute walk.
  
−
Remove this section if you don't want an image at the top (left) of your report.   You should remove the "Image:" or "File:"
+
We strode in. "Hello! We need help!"
−
tag from your image file name, and replace the all upper-case word IMAGE in the above line.
 
  
−
And DON'T FORGET to add your expedition and the best photo you took to the gallery on the Main Page! We'd love to read your report, but that means we first have to discover it! :)
+
=== An uneasy acquaintance ===
−
-->{{meetup graticule
+
A gruff voice came back, "Wait, let me put the dog away before she attacks you." And so we met Cane. (Or Cain? Or Kane? Or, as I usually called him, for no good reason, Cole).
−
| lat={{#explode:{{SUBPAGENAME}}| |1}}
+
 
−
| lon={{#explode:{{SUBPAGENAME}}| |2}}
+
Cane was...a character. Bald. With tattoos on his head. And a fierce gaze. We tried to break the ice. "What's your dog's name?" "I can't tell you that."
−
| date={{#explode:{{SUBPAGENAME}}| |0}}
+
 
−
}}<!-- edit as necessary -->
+
We told him about the boggage. He offered, in his way, to come and look at our situation.
−
== Location ==
+
 
−
<!-- where you've surveyed the hash to be -->
+
After assessing the situation from the front, he offered his opinion. "That's fucked!"
 +
 
 +
After assessing the situation from the rear, he offered his qualified opinion. "That's really fucked!"
 +
 
 +
He looked under the body, where the car was beached in the mud. "That's totally fucked!"
 +
 
 +
He looked on the front again, where the steering arm for the wheel was beneath the thick clay. "Nah, that's fucked!" He paused. "I should have brought me shovel."
 +
 
 +
So we went back to get his shovel. To pass the time, we talked about various country towns, and got his take on each of them.
 +
 
 +
Shepparton? "Full of shit." Cobram? "Full of shit." Benalla? "Full of shit." The people? "Cunts."
 +
 
 +
But we got the spade. A tiny little spade. But better than what we had, which was a stick.
 +
 
 +
=== The work begins ===
 +
[[File:PXL_20220825_130509217.jpg|thumb|300px|Chocking...]]
 +
 
 +
He told us where to dig. So we dug. Knee deep in muddy water, we dug. Kneeling in the clay in our clean new pants, we dug. Elbows and faces covered in mud, we kept digging and scraping.
 +
 
 +
He told us to fetch rocks and wedge those under the wheels, so we did that too. And sticks. And branches. When it was finally time to try driving the car again, he watched while we drove and pushed, then patiently offered his assessment: "That's fucked!"
 +
 
 +
We had called RACV, who said their service of helping get cars out of bogs didn't extend to unsealed roads.
 +
 
 +
We had called a bog extraction company who offered to come immediately and extract us for $330.
 +
 
 +
But Cane reckoned he had a mate who could do it cheaper. But first he wanted to try cutting down a tree and using that to lever the car up out of the ditch. He went off to get his chainsaw, while we noticed that it was well after midnight, we were tired and cranky, hadn't had any real dinner, and maybe would think about it some more in the morning.
 +
 
 +
We eventually went to return his shovel and go and camp somewhere, when we found him on his way back, chainsaw in hand, with a gift pack of firelighters, eggs, and...wet wipes. He went into slightly too much detail about the value of wet wipes to the camper, then led us to a very specific spot where we should camp. We thanked him, then immediately chose another spot.
 +
 
 +
=== A visit from an angel ===
 +
[[File:PXL_20220825_232139853.jpg|thumb|300px|Free!]]
 +
 
 +
It didn't matter. In the morning, he came and found us, and told us his mate was on the way, and it would cost us $50. By the time we were up and back at the car, a miracle had happened. The car was back on the road, with a long ditch gouged out of the track.
 +
 
 +
And no sign of the guardian angel, but his messenger informed us which servo we needed to go to pay our $50. Once we had limped to the nearest servo in order to reinflate our tyres from really flat.
  
−
== Participants ==
+
[[File:PXL_20220825_235154207.jpg|thumb|300px|KT makes a friend.]]
−
<!-- who attended: If you link to your wiki user name in this section, your expedition will be picked up by the various statistics generated for geohashing. You may use three tildes ~ as a shortcut to automatically insert the user signature of the account you are editing with.
 
−
-->
 
  
−
== Plans ==
+
We made friends with horses and cows, then had brunch in Benalla, glad to have seen the last of Cane. But oh no. As we wandered about, exploring the sights, we bumped into old mate once more. He seemed to have really taken a liking to us by then. Enough to feel comfortable. Too comfortable. Oh Cane, why couldn't you have just kept it in a bit longer?
−
<!-- what were the original plans -->
 
  
−
== Expedition ==
+
His last words to us: "It's a good thing you weren't <racial minority>, I would have left youse there!"
−
<!-- how it all turned out. your narrative goes here. -->
 
  
 
== Tracklog ==
 
== Tracklog ==
Line 29: Line 109:
  
 
== Photos ==  
 
== Photos ==  
−
<!-- Insert pictures between the gallery tags using the following format:  
+
<gallery mode="packed" heights="300px">
−
Image:2020-##-## ## ## Alpha.jpg | Witty Comment
+
File:PXL_20220825_234431830.jpg|Steve's lane!
−
-->
+
File:PXL_20220825_100219117.jpg|Fleeting glory!
−
<gallery perrow="5">
+
File:PXL_20220825_102459802.jpg|The puddle that thwarted our initial escape.
 +
File:PXL_20220825_122625048.jpg|Digging...
 +
File:PXL_20220825_130509217.jpg|Chocking...
 +
File:PXL_20220825_232139853.jpg|Free!
 +
File:PXL_20220825_233156812.jpg|Removing chains is muddy work.
 +
File:PXL_20220825_232413941.jpg|Carnage after rescue.
 +
File:PXL_20220825_234501854.jpg|The best kind of cows: cows behind a fence.
 +
File:PXL_20220825_235154207.jpg|KT makes a friend.
 +
File:PXL_20220825_235133192.jpg| Steve makes a friend.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
Line 40: Line 128:
  
 
__NOTOC__
 
__NOTOC__
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<!-- =============== USEFUL CATEGORIES FOLLOW ================
 
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Delete the next line ONLY if you have chosen the appropriate categories below. If you are unsure, don't worry. People will read your report and help you with the classification. -->
 
−
[[Category:New report]]
 
−
 
−
<!-- ==REQUEST FOR TWITTER BOT== Please leave either the New report or the Expedition planning category in as long as you work on it. This helps the twitter bot a lot with announcing the right outcome at the right moment. -->
 
−
 
−
<!-- Potential categories. Please include all the ones appropriate to your expedition -->
 
−
<!-- If this is a planning page:
 
−
[[Category:Expedition planning]]
 
−
-->
 
−
 
−
<!-- If all those plans are never acted upon, change [[Category:Expedition planning]] to [[Category:Not reached - Did not attempt]]. -->
 
−
 
−
<!-- An actual expedition:
 
 
[[Category:Expeditions]]
 
[[Category:Expeditions]]
−
-- and one or more of --
 
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[[Category:Expeditions with photos]]
 
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[[Category:Expeditions with videos]]
 
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[[Category:Expedition without GPS]]
 
−
-->
 
−
 
−
<!-- if you reached your coords:
 
 
[[Category:Coordinates reached]]
 
[[Category:Coordinates reached]]
−
 
+
{{location|AU|VIC|BE}}
−
 
 
−
--><!-- or if you failed :(
 
−
[[Category:Coordinates not reached]]
 
−
-- and a reason --
 
−
When there is a natural obstacle between you and the target:
 
−
[[Category:Not reached - Mother Nature]]
 
−
 
 
−
When there is a man-made obstacle between you and the target:
 
−
[[Category:Not reached - No public access]]
 
−
 
 
−
When you failed get your GPS, car, bike or such to work:
 
−
[[Category:Not reached - Technology]]
 
−
   
 
−
When you went to an alternate location instead of the actual geohash:
 
−
[[Category:Not reached - Attended alternate location]]
 
−
 
 
−
(Don't forget to delete this final close comment marker) -->
 

Latest revision as of 20:51, 24 May 2024

Thu 25 Aug 2022 in -36,145:
-36.5785520, 145.9276759
geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

In Reef Hills State Park, near Benalla.

Participants

Expedition

The approach

Steve's lane!

KT and I were setting off for a snowshoeing adventure across the Razorback. As we drove up the Hume, I idly checked the geohash app.

First glance: the pin was directly on the Hume Freeway! Zoom in. Still on the Hume! Zoom in. Still on the Hume! Eventually, I could see that it was just a few hundred metres south, within a state park. Perfect! Game on.

We turned down Warrenbayne Road, one of those roads that cross the Hume Freeway, that we have all seen so many times, but perhaps never visited. Like Alexandersons Road - does everyone else wonder how that one got its name? In this case, I remember having had a powernap on Warrenbayne Road once, coming back from some other trip. I was much too alert for that this time though!

Left onto...Steves Lane! Seriously. Wow. You get your kicks where you find them.

Fleeting glory

Fleeting glory!

Soon the mighty Yaris was parked 50m from the hash, so we got out, and strolled immediately to the point. Success!

We tried to imagine why anyone would camp here, as we noticed a campfire a short distance away. The sound from the nearby freeway was horrendous. HOW'S THE SERENITY? I wondered.

We could now go back the way we came, or, more interestingly (and, as it turned out, dangerously), continue through the park.

We drove on, along the dirt track, dodging a few potholes and some alarmingly large puddles. Each time there would be a huge puddle, but nearby, a new track that enterprising drivers had carved out through the bush. One of the puddles we drove straight through without thinking too much of it.

The puddle that thwarted our initial escape.


Until eventually we encountered a puddle so big and wide there was no getting around it. I got out to examine it more closely, and reported "That looks like a one way trip to Bogsville". (No, I really did. I'm not normally as witty in person as I am in my write-ups, but I did actually say that.)

We turned around, retracing our tyre prints.

Soon we encountered a huge puddle. I was pretty sure we hadn't come through anything this big. KT thought we had. We quibbled. We discussed different ways around it. We started reversing. There was communication. There was miscommunication. There were different plans. Forwards, backwards, into the puddle, not into the puddle, over into that dry bit over there. Oh crap.

Disaster strikes!

Digging...

Suddenly we were stuck in a ditch. We got out to have a look. It looked...kind of bad. We got back in. Spun the wheels. Now it looked definitely bad.

We tried to put chains on the wheels to add traction. Now we had a tangle of chains on one of the wheels as well!

We let down the tyres to add more traction. Now we had flat tyres as well!

We pondered our options, and decided to seek help at the camp fire we had noticed before. It was only a 5 minute walk.

We strode in. "Hello! We need help!"

An uneasy acquaintance

A gruff voice came back, "Wait, let me put the dog away before she attacks you." And so we met Cane. (Or Cain? Or Kane? Or, as I usually called him, for no good reason, Cole).

Cane was...a character. Bald. With tattoos on his head. And a fierce gaze. We tried to break the ice. "What's your dog's name?" "I can't tell you that."

We told him about the boggage. He offered, in his way, to come and look at our situation.

After assessing the situation from the front, he offered his opinion. "That's fucked!"

After assessing the situation from the rear, he offered his qualified opinion. "That's really fucked!"

He looked under the body, where the car was beached in the mud. "That's totally fucked!"

He looked on the front again, where the steering arm for the wheel was beneath the thick clay. "Nah, that's fucked!" He paused. "I should have brought me shovel."

So we went back to get his shovel. To pass the time, we talked about various country towns, and got his take on each of them.

Shepparton? "Full of shit." Cobram? "Full of shit." Benalla? "Full of shit." The people? "Cunts."

But we got the spade. A tiny little spade. But better than what we had, which was a stick.

The work begins

Chocking...

He told us where to dig. So we dug. Knee deep in muddy water, we dug. Kneeling in the clay in our clean new pants, we dug. Elbows and faces covered in mud, we kept digging and scraping.

He told us to fetch rocks and wedge those under the wheels, so we did that too. And sticks. And branches. When it was finally time to try driving the car again, he watched while we drove and pushed, then patiently offered his assessment: "That's fucked!"

We had called RACV, who said their service of helping get cars out of bogs didn't extend to unsealed roads.

We had called a bog extraction company who offered to come immediately and extract us for $330.

But Cane reckoned he had a mate who could do it cheaper. But first he wanted to try cutting down a tree and using that to lever the car up out of the ditch. He went off to get his chainsaw, while we noticed that it was well after midnight, we were tired and cranky, hadn't had any real dinner, and maybe would think about it some more in the morning.

We eventually went to return his shovel and go and camp somewhere, when we found him on his way back, chainsaw in hand, with a gift pack of firelighters, eggs, and...wet wipes. He went into slightly too much detail about the value of wet wipes to the camper, then led us to a very specific spot where we should camp. We thanked him, then immediately chose another spot.

A visit from an angel

Free!

It didn't matter. In the morning, he came and found us, and told us his mate was on the way, and it would cost us $50. By the time we were up and back at the car, a miracle had happened. The car was back on the road, with a long ditch gouged out of the track.

And no sign of the guardian angel, but his messenger informed us which servo we needed to go to pay our $50. Once we had limped to the nearest servo in order to reinflate our tyres from really flat.

KT makes a friend.

We made friends with horses and cows, then had brunch in Benalla, glad to have seen the last of Cane. But oh no. As we wandered about, exploring the sights, we bumped into old mate once more. He seemed to have really taken a liking to us by then. Enough to feel comfortable. Too comfortable. Oh Cane, why couldn't you have just kept it in a bit longer?

His last words to us: "It's a good thing you weren't <racial minority>, I would have left youse there!"

Tracklog

Photos

  • Steve's lane!

  • Fleeting glory!

  • The puddle that thwarted our initial escape.

  • Digging...

  • Chocking...

  • Free!

  • Removing chains is muddy work.

  • Carnage after rescue.

  • The best kind of cows: cows behind a fence.

  • KT makes a friend.

  • Steve makes a friend.

Achievements

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