Wednesday 20th Jan - Horray!! Woke up and there was no rain and the river was certainly crossable. Erin got off first and we waved our goodbyes. Felt good to be on the last stretch to St Arnaud. Having the sun out made for a great walking day. Got to Red Hills Hut and there was a group of 8 young people who had stayed there last night. Ranging in ages from about 12 to 16 they looked like they had a great night. When I said to them what a cool thing to do in the holidays they said 'Yes - and we are all cousins'. Two thoughts came to mind at that moment. 1). So pleased I had to camp by the river last night as there would be no beds or sleep possible in this hut anyway 2). What a vision of joy seeing young people in the outdoors having fun. No cell phone range, no wifi, just playing cards and consuming volumes of chocolate and biscuits. The fact that they were extended members of a family just capped it for me and made me miss mine. xx
From Red Hills hut it was an easy downhill walk plus roadwalk to St Arnaud. Great accomodation at The Alpine Lodge plus my food parcels had arrived ready for the next section. Next tasks - shower, dry out gear, laundry, huge dinner and WINE! Bliss. Topped off with a real bed with sheets. Nice.
2 Comments
Tuesday 19th Jan - Said my goodbyes to the group and headed off while the weather had cleared for a bit. The walking went through bolder rock hopping similar to previous days and overall general up and down sections. Rain came and went so was a soggy start. Then it eased off so made for a final pleasant stretch to Porters Creek hut. This hut you can also see from along way away as is orange too. Gives a good boost when you spot the hut. Stopped for a short break as wanted to continue through to Red Hills hut.
Got to the river and it was not immediately crossable as too high and fast. Walked up and down to see any entry point and then just waited an hour or so for it to drop. At this time one of the other walkers Erin joined me as she decided to keep moving on too. We waited till the river was lower then we used the two person river crossing method of linking arms behind the back and holding onto the others backpack strap. Worked a treat and we crossed the next few crossings like this too. All was going well for the next few hours up until Maitland Creek which is not like any creek I have seen before - it was a high raging river that we were not going to get across so the only option was to camp down beside the creek/river for the night (sad face). Erin had got there ahead of me so had already set up camp. I got my tent to do the same and it immediately started to rain so I tackled putting up of the tent in the heaviest rain downpour. As soon as I had got the tent up - the rain stopped. Mmmmmm. Next job was to bail out the tent so it was dry enough to get the sleeping bag out. Three pot loads of water and a dripping towel later, all good for a reasonable nights sleep. Got some soup and instant mashed potato sorted for dinner and then hoped the river would be safer to cross in the morning. Rain had at least stopped so was mildly hopeful. Monday 18th Jan - That forecasted rain eventually arrived during the night and it was heavy. The walkway out of the hut now was a mini stream. Given there was still a couple of river crossings ahead to get to Hunters Hut the general consensus was to wait for a few hours for the waterflow to go down. I got the puzzle book out then fell back to sleep for another hour. General movement in the hut by mid day and everyone left in dribs and drabs. Once on the track the climbing up was going well and at one point the cloud became lower making the guiding poles difficult to see. One of the walkers waited for me as she wanted to make sure everyone in our hut group from the previous night got over this misty ridge ok. Was a good move as we all then could look out for the right path and it was fun banter along the way. The rain then started up again and we were very wet trampers when getting to Hunters Hut. Soup never tasted so good once I was inside and dry!! Monday 18th Jan - That rain arrived during the night and it was heavy. The walkway out of the hut now a mini stream. Given there was still a couple of river crossings ahead to get to Hunters Hut the general consensus was to wait for a few hours for the waterfliw to go down. I got tge puzzle book out then fell back to sleep for another hour. General movement in the hut by mud day and everyone left in dribs and drabs. Climbing up was going well and at one point the cloud became lower making the guiding poles difficult to see. One of the walkers waited for me as she wanted to make sure everyone in our hut group from the previous night got over this misty ridge ok. Was a good move as we all then could look out for the right path and was fun banter along the way. The rain then opened up again and we were very wet trampers when getting to Hunters Hut. Soup never tasted so good once I was inside and dry!!
Sunday 17th Jan - This was a very tough day and am so pleased that the rain forecasted did not eventuate. The river crossings all went to plan and no real challenge due to being so low, however the sidling on the hillsides/cliff faces were at times difficult and scary. This has been the second time I have faced fear on this stretch of the trail. At one point I was clinging to a rock face by my fingertips/nails and boot tips wondering if I could move a fraction sideways to get the next footing, pack on back and rocks and flowing river below. Somehow I did get that next finger grip and could breath again. It is unbelievable what you can do if you really have to or want to. The reward for the difficult sections was the absolute beauty of the area. The clear river and streams, waterfalls and blue pools were picture perfect and after getting through a tough part I just took the time to absorb the natural beauty around me. It did make the efforts worthwhile!
Got to the hut eventually both physically and mentally exhausted and happy to see the familiar faces from the previous night where we debriefed on our bravery getting through that stretch. Celebrations and congratulations all around. Went down to the river for a dip and it was icy cold. Pleased to have survived another day to tell the tale of the Richmond Ranges. Saturday 16th Jan - Chaos in the hut with everyone getting up and packed this morning. Got on my way wondering what was going to be the challenge of the day today and started off very surprised with a lovely easy ascent to Purple Top on a very still, misty low cloud day. The atmospere was so still and quiet it was very pleasant walking. Walked down to Tarn hut for lunch ( along with hundreds of bumble bees) and carried on to Mid Wairoa Hut for the night. Knees very sore tonight after the final downhill section. I set up the tent at Mid Wairoa as the hut was so hot inside. Most of the crew had come through from the night before plus the couple who took the Goulter loop track. I slept very well to the sound of the river.
Friday 15th Jan - Huge and Epic Day today. The weather was clear but there were still wind gusts lingering after last night and so it was decision time about proceeding to Mt Rintoul today. I decided to go for it as the long term weather forecast had indicated that this was going to be be sunniest day of the next three days with rain expected the day after. If I found it too hard I could always loop back to Old Man hut. Two of the walkers who stayed in the hut decided to go for it too and two others decided to take the lower loop walk via Goulter and get back on the Te Araroa trail in a couple of days.
The climb to Mt Rintoul started well and then once on the exposed ridge the wind gusts made movement very slow but it was not as windy as when I walked Mt Crawford in the Tararuas so I knew I could get there to the top. Some sections were very challenging and I have to say it was the first time I felt fear while tramping through this trail. Some parts required a chocolate stop to get the courage to hoist myself up some of the rocky cliff sections and then a chocolate recovery break to steady the shaky nerves. It felt incredible reaching the summit at 1731m and I felt emotional for the first time on this walk too. Just a huge sense of satisfaction. The descent down was challenging too but most of it I felt still in the clouds after having got to the top of Mt Rintoul so I had a grin from ear to ear. One of the walkers I hadn't seen for a few days passed me on the way down too - Peter from the UK - so was great having his company at the hut for the afternoon when we got there. By the evening there were 8 people in for the night. Mt Rintoul hut has 6 bunks so it was a full house with 2 on the floor. The mood was all very high spirits with having the hardest section of the Richmond Ranges behind us. It was a section of only just under 6km today and it took me about 6.5 hours. A slow tough day. Dinner was well earned tonight!! Thursday 14th Jan - The fog lifted and made for a great walking day through to Slaty Hut for a lunch stop then on to Old Man Hut for the night. The views were fantastic along the way ranging from forest walking to big climbs up to Ridge Tops and gave a good insight to what the Richmond Ranges are going to be like further up. Quite a descent down to Old Man hut so the knees were grateful to have arrived. Four other walkers had got there already after staying at Slaty Hut the night before. Great hut and plenty of camping space around too if there had been surplus people. The sandflys were there in force too.
Wednesday 13th Jan - Timo from The Pear Orchard dropped me back to the Hackett carpark and I headed off to commence the Richmond Alpine Track. Fantastic weather all day and the stream and river crossings were very easy as water very low. Popped into Hackett Hut for morning tea. No other walkers around today so had Starveall hut to myself. Was a bonus to be within cell phone range too. Wednesday 13th Jan - Timo from The Pear Orchard dropped me back to the Hackett carpark and I headed off to commence the Richmond Alpine Track. Fantastic weather all day and the stream and river crossings were very easy as water very low. Popped into Hackett Hut for morning tea. No other walkers around today so had Starveall hut to myself. Was a bonus to be within cell phone range too.
Tuesday 12th Jan - Glorious sunshine day today and am enjoying the Pear Orchard lodge. The shared dining and cooking facilities are just fantastic. Borrowed one of the bikes to go into Richmond to get some more camping gas. Had lunch in town and caught up on the blogging and emails. Sorted out washing and repacked ready for tomorrow and the next challenging section of the trail. A comfy bed for one more night.
Monday 11th Jan - Late start as only had a three hour walk out to the Hackett Carpark for my accomodation pick up. An easy walk out and could see the section of track I will come back to on Wednesday to pick up the trail again. A few river crossings which were easy now that the water level is low again. Stayed the night at The Pear Orchard in Hope. Fantastic brand new lodge accomodation and welcoming to walkers given that they will also come and pick you up instead of walking the 13km into Hope. Fresh meat and veges available for purchase so cooked a banquet for myself. My food parcels arrived and were waiting in my room too. Going to have to get on with some serious eating as I have sent quite a bit of food through!! The beautiful comfy bed was a treat.
|