b'Center spreadF or those of us who arrivedtrack. Picking our line and ridinggenerate man made snow this year at the TLCCV club propertythe ruts with a bit of articulationto keep their patrons happy. The the night before, thewhile attempting to avoid the deeplack of finding snow though did not morning started aroundcrevices in the slippery mud wasphase us, we just went onto plan B.a nice warm fire in the Hiltonquite an enjoyable way to start theWe headed off the main track, before heading up to the Yarckday and get the hearts pumping.winding down into the valley to Hotel Saturday morning to meetEveryone succeeded in reachingan old hut beside the Taponga all the other trip participantsthe top without any difficulty andRiver. This was the perfect spot for who had already visited the localeven better, without having to dolunch and it gave me a good chance establishments for hot beveragesany recoveries.to do a bit a recce for a working and morning tea. The drive through the Rubiconbee I have at this same hut the With a comfortable 10amForest is an enjoyable one at anyfollowing weekend with my other start we all headed off in convoytime of the year with its tall treesclub (Melbourne Jeep Owners toward Alexandra and then downand lush rainforest ferns. Most ofClub) who are the caretakers of toward the Cathedral Ranges.the tracks north of Lake Mountain15 Mile Hut. We found the hut Where we aired down and startedare between 1000m and 1300mvery neglected and needing quite slowly climbing Chitty Ridge andabove sea level and with a gooda bit of work. The floods in the the top half of Cathedral Lanecold winter at this time of year, youpast year have eroded some of the which has suffered a good lot ofwill find them covered in snow. Butembankments along the tracks and erosion with a steady flow of rainalas, it has not been cold enough.unfortunately, a lot of this mud water zigzagging its way down theEven the ski resorts were having tohas washed down the track and TRACKWATCH|December 2023 17'