Reconnaissance

I'm not a big one for reconnaissance trips. Frankly, they mostly feel like a waste of time to me. In the modern world, most issues can be resolved with mapping, satellite imagery, weather forecasts, light-weight gear, etc. But, as I get older and find myself recreating in areas with significant - and by significant I mean virtually overwhelming - bush regrowth, my failures are becoming more common but no less annoying.

So, to avoid another journey to nowhere, I went on a "reccy." There were three bits of issues I was hoping to resolve. One was access and parking, both of which checked out. Two was crossing a river, no problem at mid calf to mid thigh, and three was bush. The bush is the game changer or I should say game stopper. Since the big fires of 2019/2020, bush regrowth is insanely thick verging on impenetrable. Most folks I talk to have not had the real regrowth experience - acacia, wattle and eucalpytus growing at a density of one to two plants per square centimetre. Woven through the regrowth are tenacious vines that are literally impossible to push through. Spectra is weaker than these vines.

Without repeat experience, most people just don't seem to be able to imagine how thick the regrowth is. One trip/experience is not enough and can be written off as variation. It seems to take multiple trips to really grasp the lesson. This is as true for me as it is for anyone else, hence the reconnaissance. Anyway, the bush seemed manageable, at least what I could discern without doing the whole trip which definitely does not fit into the reconnoitre template and for which, with only one hard-boiled egg and 750 ml of water, I was not equipped to do.