Windy Tops

Category: trip report

  • Trip: Howletts Hut via Longview and Taumatataua

    Last weekend we visited the Kashmir road-end on the eastern side of the Ruahine Range, which I hadn’t visited since I went up to Longview Hut on a WTMC club trip near the end of 2006. Our group planned to go some distance further than Longview this time, and on to Howletts Hut which is quite a lot further into the range.

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    Frosted alpine grasses just
    below Otumore.

    Dates: 29th – 31st August, 2008
    Location: Ruahine Forest Park, Kashmir Road-end.
    People: John, Alistair, Sarah, Paul, Pete and me.
    Huts visited: Longview Hut (1 night), Howletts Hut (1 night).
    Intended Route: Camping at Kashmir on Friday night, up to Longview then down to a short river walk up to Daphne Hut (brrrr, cold), then up to Howletts for Saturday night. Return the same way.
    Actual Route: We actually walked to Longview for Friday night, then went direct to Howletts over the tops via Taumatataua and along Daphne Ridge for Saturday night. Returned the same way over the tops.
    [Photos and movies]
    [More photos (from Pete)]

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

    The Kashmir road-end is more or less a dead-end and although DOC has been nice enough to provide a dunny at the end of the road, it isn’t surrounded by much in the way of good camping sites. There might be some possible camping just inside the start of the track, and it also looked possible to set up a tent fly or two under the pine trees a few hundred metres back along the road. Having driven up from Wellington on a Friday night, however, our plan had been to set up a camp at one of the private farms down the road, after gaining permission to do so. (Being in a club’s great when you have those kinds of contacts.) Turning up at 11pm, though, we were having second thoughts about camping at the road-end at all.
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  • Daywalk: Walking the Skyline Walkway

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    The Rimutaka Range seen
    behind Wellington Harbour from
    the Skyline Walkway.

    I haven’t written about the Skyline Walkway before, which runs along the ridges between Karori and Mount Kaukau. This is a shame because on a good day it’s a very nice walk, and very accessible. On a bad day it can be very exposed to strong westerly winds, especially in a couple of saddles towards the northern end. I’ve walked it a few times now, most often starting from the Karori end and once from the Kaukau end. The most recent time was last Sunday when I decided on a whim that I felt like doing something.

    Date: 17th August, 2008
    Location: Skyline Track, Karori to Mt Kaukau.
    People: Me.
    [Photos]

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

    The Wellington City Council advises that it’s a “5 hour strenuous walk”, which is certainly true if you’re planning a family trip or an occasional outing. If you’re the sort of person who does a lot of walking and is reasonably fit, however, you could reasonably expect to get from the Karori end to the Kaukau end inside a couple of hours at a reasonably fit pace and if you had nothing better to do (not necessarily including getting down from Kaukau). It’d be feasible to do it quite a bit faster if you’re a crazy mountain runner, which some people are.

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  • Trip: Penn Creek Hut on a rainy day

    Last weekend we went to Penn Creek Hut in the western Tararuas.

    Dates: 1st – 3rd August, 2008
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Otaki Forks region.
    People: Craig, Fraser, Peter and me.
    Huts visited: Field Hut (1 night), Penn Creek Hut (1 night), Parawai Lodge (0 nights).
    Intended Route: Otaki Forks to Field for Friday night, then up to Vosseler and navigate down spur to Penn Creek Hut for Saturday night. Out to Otaki Forks via Table Top on Sunday.
    Actual Route: Straight to Penn Creek Hut via Table Top on Saturday (due to heavy rain), then back up to Table Top on Sunday via spur starting at S26 025307, due to a flooded side-creek blocking the usual track.
    Related bits: Craig also wrote about this weekend.
    [Photos]

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

    Saturday night, prior to which we didn’t do much at all: There’s a little mould on the Penn Creek Hut mattress that I’m sitting on as I write these notes. We’ve been here for 5 hours now, since a bit after mid-day. Water drips from the skylight into a bucket. There’s also water dripping into the fireplace, thwarting efforts to get a fire going. We even tried to burn some of Peter’s marshmallows, but that didn’t work either. Did I mention that the trees are dripping? And so is the sky. The bucket was nearly full when we arrived and we’ll need to empty it before we leave.

    There were supposed to be six people in our group, but two bailed on Thursday, citing correlations between the reputation of the Tararua Range and the weekend’s forecast. This meant that before we arrived, we only had Craig’s small billy in which to cook. Fortunately there’s some quite good cooking and cleaning gear at the hut. Craig organised the trip. He looked impressive earlier today, sporting his Oringi Jacket — “the jacket that keeps you and your shorts dry” — just like that guy inside the back cover of every FMC bulletin. Peter’s on his first ever club trip, having arrived a few weeks ago from Scotland. Fraser’s also on his first club trip although he’s been tramping in New Zealand before, particularly in the Orongorongo Valley, and has some interesting stories. Last night I asked Fraser about his pack, which looks about as old as he is and far more worn down. He told me he found it in a dumpster and had to argue with his friend about who’d get to keep it.

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  • Learning to slide down a mountain

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    Looking over Whakapapa Skifield,
    Mt Ruapehu.

    For two of the last three weekends I’ve been taking a snowcraft course with tongue and meats up at Mt Ruapehu. The course is basically a toned down alpine course, which includes things like ice-axe and crampon use, but doesn’t go as far as covering ropes. (I’ll leave that for later.) It’s been a lot of fun, even though the weather hasn’t been too co-operative.
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  • Daywalk: Wellington to Plimmerton (via suburbia)

    I haven’t been out tramping for a while and this morning I ended up with a free day on my hands, so I decided to just walk North towards the Kapiti Coast for a while and see how far I’d get. This is actually the third time I’ve done this, and the second time in the Kapiti direction, but it’s the first time I’ve written anything about it.

    The general idea is to just walk through suburbia, keeping reasonably close to bus routes and/or railway lines so it’s easy to bail out and go home whenever it’s convenient. I quite like doing this on occasion because it involves minimal organisation and it’s not necessary to arrange any special gear. Just some contingency money for a bit of food and public transport home is all. It’s also just quite a nice change from walking through the back-country, I think. Suburbia changes quite a lot as you walk through it (at least it does on this route), and I find it interesting wandering along the streets and watching things going on as the day progresses.

    Date: 6th July, 2008
    Location: Wellington suburbs (Northland, Johnsonville, Tawa, Porirua, Plimmerton).
    People: Me.
    Intended route: Start at Northland and walk north along suburban streets in the general direction of Kapiti, keeping near public transport.

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

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  • Trip: Hackett, Rocks, Dun Mountain

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    Sunrise over Hackett Hut.

    Mount Richmond Forest Park is just south-east of Nelson, to the extent that it’s feasible to walk out almost directly into Nelson if you arrange your trip that way. This is where we headed for the long Queens’ Birthday weekend.

    Dates: 30th May – 2nd June, 2008 (Queens’ Birthday Weekend)
    Location: Mount Richmond Forest Park, Hackett Road End to Brook Street Exit.
    People: Éamonn, Paul, Sharon, Fiona, Steven and me.
    Huts visited: Hackett Hut (1 night), Browning Hut (0 nights), Roebuck Hut (1 night), Middy Hut (0 nights), Rocks Hut (1 night), Dun Hut (0 nights), Third House Shelter (0 nights).
    Route: Hackett Road End to Hackett Hut for Friday night (actually for Saturday morning to be more accurate), then on to Roebuck Hut for Saturday night via Browning Hut and Totara Saddle. Carry on along the Pelorus River to Rocks Hut for Sunday night, with a short side-trip down to Middy Hut on the way. Then out to Brook Street, including a side-trip up Dun Mountain from Dun Saddle.
    [Photos and Videos]

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

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  • Trip: Rangiwahia, Sawtooth and Pourangaki

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    Distant silhouettes after Sawtooth.

    Dates: 11th – 13th April, 2008
    Location: Ruahine Forest Park, Rangiwahia road-end.
    People: Alistair, Sarah, Illona, Jane, Amanda, Dirk, Paul, Harry, Craig and meeeee.
    Huts visited: Rangiwahia Hut (1 night), Pourangaki Hut (1 night).
    Route: Past Rangiwahia Hut to Maungamahue, over to Te Hekenga and around to Taumataomekura and Tiraha. Over Sawtooth Ridge to Ohuinga, then along to point 1632 and down the official track to Pourangaki Hut for Saturday night. Straight up to point 1614 on Sunday, then back along to Maungamahue, and out via Rangiwahia Hut.
    [Photos]

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

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  • Daywalk: Korokoro to Dry Creek, Belmont Regional Park

    This is going to be a quick trip report because it was a fairly quick trip. The fact that the park was getting completely thrashed by a southerly helped to ensure this, I think. We didn’t really want to stop.

    Date: 19th April, 2008
    Location: Belmont Regional Park, Cornish Street to Dry Creek (Haywards Turnoff).
    People: Sarah, Mari, Edwin, Nicole and me.
    Intended route: Start at Cornish Street, walk up to Belmont Trig via Baked Beans Bend, continue around Cannons Head and Boulder Hill via the Puke Ariki Track, then exit via Dry Creek at the Haywards turnoff from State Highway 2.
    [Photos]

    This post is a trip report. You can find other trip reports about other places linked from the Trip Reports Page, or by browsing the Trip Reports Category.

    I’d originally had 9 people interested in doing this walk, but as the weekend approached we eventually filtered down to 5, through a combination of flu, weekend work issues, and one person simply not showing up. It was a good trip, albeit a little windy.

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  • Outdoor First Aid was fun

    Last weekend I hopped onto a first aid course being run by the Mountain Safety Council, which I thoroughly recommend. Thanks to Bridget and Richard who ran the thing, as well as everyone else who would have been involved behind the scenes. Among other things, I reinforced my belief that I’m not a very good actor. My worst effort was when I was supposed to be playing a person with a broken leg. When asked about my age, I somehow accidentally pulled age 14 out of nowhere, momentarily forgetting that another aspect of my character was that he was supposed to be suffering from angina. Overall it was a good weekend, though. There was a lot to it and I’ll really only learn things properly with experience, but I’m hoping I’ve picked up some good ways to structure my thoughts rather than panic if and when bad things happen. (Acronyms like DRABCS, SAMPLE and WRAPT are good ones to remember.)

    In other news, I finally busted my relatively cheap altimeter a couple of weeks ago (during the Renata trip), which isn’t entirely unexpected given I haven’t been going to great lengths to look after it. That particular one was a bit unreliable on occasions in any case, including when compared with other altimeters on the same trips, and more of an interesting toy and something to practice with rather than something I’d want to rely on for an accurate reading. Now I finally have a good excuse to go shopping for something worthwhile.

    Anyway, we’re off to the Ruahine Range this weekend, to make another attempt at getting from Rangiwahia over to Sawtooth, and back around via Pourangaki. We first attempted this about 6 weeks ago in March, but it just rained and rained and a couple of things unfortunately went wrong.