by Clare Rayner

Cathedrals Ranges Middle School Outdoor Ed Hike Experience (15th & 16th Nov)

This was to be our final Middle School Outdoor Ed experience for the semester; a two day hike from one end of the Cathedral Range National Park to the other.

I extremely proud of what ever single member of the group achieved throughout this hike experience climbing up to Sugarloaf Peak at 1000m and then across Razorback Ridge with some serious rock scrambling moments over the 11km. On the second day they climbed up through Ned’s Gully to Cathedral Peak.

They completed absolutely everything that was asked of them; they pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to hike up to the peaks at each end of the mountain. Every member of the group totally embraced everyone’s feelings, providing constant support, motivation and encouragement to all. Upon reaching the main summit of the Range at 1000m, the students appreciated the views and value of their achievements, they were extremely excited to complete the route and race out to the bus and the cool, refreshing river.

This proved to be a physically and mentally challenging camp, each student demonstrated pride, resilience and passion and I feel certainly made the most out of the experience, developing their camping skills and most importantly their respect and use of minimal impact strategies to enable their enjoyment and connection of the outdoors.