Windy Tops

  • Daywalk: A Short Rimutaka Jaunt

    This write-up will be far too long compared with the few hours that I spent on actually walking it, but whatever. 😛 With a spare day, I thought I might drive around to Catchpool Valley, where I haven’t been for some time. Several years ago and shortly before I’d left for Melbourne and since returned, I’d been thinking it’d be neat to get up Mt Matthews. I never got around to it at the time, and while there was also no way that would happen this day (for several reasons), I thought I could use my time to remind myself of what the Orongorongos are like.

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    The flooded Orongorongo River.

    Weather was a factor, having already had a day or two of torrential rain. Several further heavy downpours, due to be heaviest up until about 1pm, caused me to look for excuses to delay leaving home. Nevertheless I couldn’t delay for long enough to arrive any later than about 11.30am, and it was then that I arrived at the Catchpool Valley parking area.

    Dates: 5th January, 2014.
    Location: Rimutaka Forest Park, Catchpool Valley.
    People: Just me.
    Huts visited: Turere Lodge (0 nights), plus misc other private huts.
    Route: Up Butcher Track, along Cattle Ridge, then stomping around the Orongorongo a little. Big Bend track to Turere Lodge and back, then back to Catchpool carpark.
    [Photos]
    [map:https://93a12629bf06.ngrok-free.app/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/20140105-rimutaka-cattle-ridge-orongorongo.gpx%5D

    My main goal was to head up Butcher Track and check out Cattle Ridge, which I’ve not really been to in the past. (If I have, I don’t remember it.) The only part of Cattle Ridge that I’ve previously traversed is the small section at the Orongorongo River end, where Browns Track climbs up one side, crosses the top, and drops down the other. The secondary part of my intentions was that I’d possibly stomp around the Orongorongo River for a look, expecting it to be in flood. The third part of my plan would be to return to the carpark, either via Mt McKerrow, or directly, depending on timing.

    Being 11.30am, there was still quite a lot of rain and few people around. A couple of joggers hovered around the large carpark, but I didn’t see where they went. Wherever it was, they didn’t follow me.
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  • Changing Times

    It’s silly season again, where holidays collide with pre-February weather. An annual bubble of SAR-related incidents has hit the news-wires in the past few weeks.

    One story in particular first came out on January 2nd. It concerned a search for “five young trampers” in the Tararua Range who planned to walk to Penn Creek Hut via Table Top, then follow Penn Creek and the Otaki River back to Otaki Forks. They were reported overdue, and it was resolved quickly after Police sent a helicopter into the range, only to discover the group completely safe at Penn Creek Hut, drying out gear having turned around.

    For some time now, especially since the old track which sidled above Penn Creek was washed out, the route has become notorious for parties becoming stuck and requiring rescue. This group had not required a rescue, but that information was not available and so a search operation was launched anyway.

    Search officials use many factors to decide how likely it is that somebody might need help. There’s not enough reported context to fully explain why a search was launched when it was. My guess, however, is that a combination of “5 young people” plus “Penn Creek” plus “several waves of incoming torrential rain and certain flooding”, and very possibly some additional information, left doubts about the party’s ability to cope with circumstances on its own, and led to a conclusion of a reasonable chance that the group might be in trouble.

    From the moment of that conclusion, the situation needs to be resolved as urgently as possible. If a helicopter had not found 5 relatively-happy people drying their gear in a hut, it might have been necessary to inject ground teams into some awkward parts of Penn Creek, and lift them out again, during a short window of time prior to likely floods.

    The reports of this incident inspired an untypical amount of attention in social media. One of several examples is on Federated Mountain Club’s Facebook page. The main discussion, however, was neither about the details of the trip nor the actual search operation. The most common angle of interest has been on the comments from police afterwards.

    Specifically, Police spokesperson Andy Brooke was quoted as saying “it is a timely reminder to take at least two forms of communication with you when venturing into the outdoors.”

    The discussion has probably been prompted because this statement isn’t so much a recommendation to consider if taking communication is appropriate as a directive to take communication, on an implied assumption that the necessity of communication is now a foregone conclusion. The two particular forms of communication with Mr Brooke propsed were a PLB, and a Satellite Communication Device such as a SPOT or inReach.

    It’s sparked some informal debate about at least two things: (1) Whether a PLB would have made a difference in this situation given that the party had no actual emergency, and (2) whether parties should be obliged to carry any communication at all.
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  • Daywalk: The Kapakapanui Triangle

    Our intended Labour Weekend trip was sadly messed up when our intended 3.5 day excursion became a there-and-back-again trip, between Friday night and Saturday evening. This weather had been predicted to continue until Monday night, but fortunes changed. Rather than ignore the rest of the long weekend, we decided to spend Monday back in the Tararuas again. This time it was only Debbie, Craig and myself who were able to make it.

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    Kapiti Island, seen west from the ridge near Kapakapanui.

    This route is occasionally referred to as the Kapakapanui Triangle. It’s been the subject of a few search-and-rescue operations over the years. Apparently there’s something about triangles which causes people to become lost in them. In this case, some people seem to think that it relates to the loop’s accessibility for a wide range of people, which increases popularity amongst those who might not go tramping quite so much in other places.

    My own theory, though, is that visitors become so distracted in awe with how the interior angles of any triangle always add to 180 degrees that they forget to watch where they’re going. Did you know that any triangle can be split into two right-angled triangles, no matter what type of triangle it is to begin with?

    Dates: 28th October, 2013
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Ngatiawa Road.
    People: Craig, Debbie and me.
    Huts visited: Kapakapanui Hut (0 nights).
    Route: Around the loop via Kapakapanui Hut, then Kapakapanui, and back to road.
    [Photos]

    [Download GPX file] [View GPX on NZTopoMap]
    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.

    Well… the Kapakapanui Triangle is not really a triangle if you look at its shape critically on a map. It’s more like some kind of imperfectly formed trapezoid. The Kapakapanui Imperfectly Formed Trapezoid doesn’t roll off the tongue so nicely, though, and nor would it be a name to reliably explain why people become lost in it… unlike The Kapakapanui Triangle.
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  • Trip: Up Hector. Down Hector.

    Labour weekend of 2013 is meant to be a three and a half day treat from Otaki Forks, up to Hector and around a loop involving Neill-Winchcombe, Maungahuka and the Tararua Peaks. The weather forecast doesn’t look that great. Some rain, but more significantly there’s strong alpine wind predicted at speeds of between 70 and 110 km/hour as the weekend progresses, potentially getting worse. No doubt Tararua tramping at its best. Uhh, yeah…. We may need a backup plan.

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    Craig climbing Field Peak.

    Dates: 25th – 26th October, 2013
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Otaki Forks.
    People: Craig, Debbie, WeiMin and me.
    Huts visited: Field Hut (1 night), Kime Hut (0 nights), Parawai Lodge (0 nights).
    Intended route: (From Friday to Monday) Otaki Forks up to Hector (Field Hut on Friday night), then Winchcombe, Neill, and navigate down spur direct to Neill Forks Hut for Saturday night. Up past Maungahuka, Tararua Peaks and back to Kime for Sunday night. Return to Otaki Forks on Monday.
    Alternate route: Continue beyond Hector to Aston, then to Elder Biv for Saturday night. Past Renata and Maymorn Junction on Sunday, then up to Kapakapanui for Sunday night. Follow ridge along and past Pukeatua (.812) on Monday, back to Otaki Forks via Fenceline.
    Actual route: Up Hector (almost). Down Hector.
    [Photos]

    [Download GPX file] [View GPX on NZTopoMap]
    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.

    All four of us convene at platform 9, after work on Friday night, and we’re away soon after. There’s already some dissent about the planned meal for tomorrow night. Debbie doesn’t much like the taste of kumura and WeiMin just doesn’t want to carry four of them. During our Waikanae dinner stop, WeiMin rushes away to New World and buys a 500 gram packet of rice. That’ll be enough to replace about half of the former ingredients.

    I think WeiMin’s brought his own dinner from home. Debbie, Craig and I wander back to one of the fish and chip shops—the one that’s furthest away from where we parked, but which also has the most customers. It’s been a while since I’ve had fish and chips, but going tramping is a good excuse to pig out. Besides, we have to climb up 700 vertical metres before sleeping tonight.
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  • The tragedy over the long weekend

    People who read this may have heard about the climbing tragedy up Mount Taranaki over the weekend, within Egmont National Park. I’ve wandered around the park a few times, and I walked to the top of the mountain in late 2010 (via the most direct and easiest route). I guess this accident feels closer to home for me than some others, despite me not being an alpine climber.

    So far, this article is the most down-to-earth media collation I can find of what is and isn’t known.

    I’ve checked my photos from my own most-recent visit. The following two photos respectively show the area near the top of The Lizard, standing with the camera at 2435 metres, but on a nicer day. The Lizard veers around to the right (in the second photo) below this rocky spine. The two climbers reportedly chose to dig themselves into the ice, located at about 2400 metres, slightly below where these photos were taken, having climbed the East Ridge and come down from the summit. On a topo map, that would have placed them about here, give or take.

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    Looking up.

    Looking down.
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  • Trip: Heritage to Tunupo (and back)

    We had an impressive weekend planned, more or less the reverse of my previous attempt at a similar trip several years ago. Sadly, it failed in a similar way, except this time the method of failure was a pressing sou-easterly that made tops travel extremely uncomfortable. It was another victim of the Ruahine winter. Maybe if I were smarter I’d take a hint, but I know from experience that it’s still possible to get great winter trips in the Ruahine.

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    Dates: 30th August – 1st September, 2013
    Location: Ruahine Forest Park, Petersons Road (Heritage).
    People: Craig, Alistair, Sarah and me.
    Huts visited: Heritage Hut (1 night) — aka Alice Nash Memorial Heritage Lodge.
    Intended route: In via Heritage Lodge, head up to Tunupo (.1568), north-east almost to Otumore (.1519), then south-east through the Pohangina Saddle to Longview Hut. South-south-west past Rocky Knob (.1226) and Te Pohatu (.1132), and down to Leon Kinvig Hut for Saturday evening. Up to Toka (.1519) on Sunday, north-north-east to Tunupo (.1568), and back down and out via Heritage Lodge.
    Actual route: To the top of Tunupo, then we turned back rather than risk a very cold and strong snow-heavy southerly.
    [Photos]
    [map:https://93a12629bf06.ngrok-free.app/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/20130901-heritage-to-tunupo.gpx%5D

    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.

    Our weekend’s forecast wasn’t entirely promising, but a strong southerly was predicted to blow through, with luck, by early Saturday, which should enable some good, calm weather for tops travel.

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  • Daywalk: Johnsonville, Spicer Forest, Colonial Knob to Porirua

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    Mooooooooooo!

    We’ve now been back in Wellington for a couple of months, and have finally found somewhere to live in Johnsonville. I’m enjoying being back, and I’ve already been for a few scouts up Mt Kaukau for some fresh air. It’s been a busy time getting everything sorted, but I’ve been trying to fit in some outdoor expeditions in-between times (a combination of just wandering around the nearby hills and more significant tramping), to the extent that I’m slightly behind in writing things up.

    Today, I went for a north-ish walk. We now live fairly near the official Te Araroa route, as it comes up Rifle Range Road and across Mt Kaukau, so I thought I might follow it back towards Porirua and discover how long it’d take. For me, this meant walking through a short stint of streets to reach the end of Old Coach Road, at which point I’d just follow the main route via Spicer Forest, up to Colonial Knob, and down to somewhere like Elsdon behind Porirua.

    Date: 5th October, 2013
    Location: Spicer Forest and Colonial Knob (Wellington).
    Route: Old Coach Road in J’ville, along Rifle Range Road and Ohariu Valley Road to Spicer Forest. Up to Colonial Knob, down to Elsdon, and back to J’ville via the front roads.
    [Photos]
    [map:https://93a12629bf06.ngrok-free.app/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/20131005-jville-colonial-knob-porirua.gpx%5D

    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 began at about 10am. Visibility wasn’t terribly good, with clouds channelling over the ridges above about 200 metres, but this first part of the route which weaves around farm-land is fairly easy to follow. I passed a couple of people riding their horses up from Rifle Range, but that was it.
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  • Surviving the Tararua

    If you’re like me and think the Tararua Range is awesome, nod your head towards Maori Television this Thursday 3rd October, at 7.30pm (alternatively 10.30pm on Friday), for the third episode of the network’s relatively new series, Survive Aotearoa.

    In each episode of Survive Aotearoa, Barrie Rice and Chris Kumeroa act out a possible scenario in New Zealand’s outdoors, pull apart the situation for analysis, and calmly consider and convey advice on how to survive. This Thursday, the scenario will have them acting as lost, injured trampers in the middle of the Tararua.

    I’ve personally found what I’ve seen of the first two episodes to be fascinating. The show’s been going far beyond simplified advice (like “take a PLB and wait for rescue”) to convey rich information about survival techniques. In a sea of sensationalist broadcasting, it’s a credit to the ability of Maori Television to produce quality and useful programming.

    Both episodes which have so far screened can presently be viewed online.

  • A reflective account of an accident

    There’s an interesting article on the NZ Alpine Team blog. It’s courtesy of Rose Pearson (thanks!), one of two people who suffered an accident near Zit Saddle, within 1 km of Top Kokatahi Hut, late last month. The pair were ultimately located and rescued after eventually being reported overdue. This followed several days and nights of struggling to survive, with serious injuries, in the open, and with luck on their side as far as weather was concerned.

    Emphasis is my own:

    So what were our mistakes? We didn’t turn around when we reached the icy south side of Zit’s Saddle, which had significantly more snow that the northern side. At this point we could have still extracted ourselves. The second mistake is my own. I began rushing and didn’t act appropriately given the danger of a fall.

    Finally, should we have had a PLB? In our case yes. I had just spent $700 on one. I purposely bought the smallest model so it wouldn’t matter if I always carried it. Why didn’t I carry it? I bought it two weeks prior for mountaineering or solo trips. I did not consider user error, or the possibility that all party members could be immobilised. I also didn’t consider the difference in time between rescue due to being overdue versus rescue as a result of PLB activation. In our case, Nelson’s broken and dislocated wrist became much worse as it began healing crooked and he suffered from frostbite as a result of our five days out.

    I also didn’t consider that SAR might act differently as I owned a PLB. They knew I had a PLB and I was told by both the West Coast Police and West Coast SAR that they would have come a day earlier if I didn’t own a PLB. They couldn’t understand why I didn’t activate it.

    It’s normal to make mistakes, and hopefully those who do can learn things as a consequence. Unfortunately, for those who haven’t yet made mistakes, there are too few reflective accounts from others in public, and this can obscure some of the most useful learning insight for others. It’s for understandable reasons, but it also means that when someone manages to write about their experiences so that others can learn, it’s valuable material.

    The article’s definitely worth a read. It contains some very good, and insightful reflections of the immediate consequences, and on what went wrong, both as individual mistakes and what combined to make a risky situation much more critical.

  • NZ Tramping History in the works

    There are several good-looking books on my reading list right now. To add to it, last week I attended a seminar, by Chris Maclean and Shaun Barnett, who spoke about their upcoming book titled Tramping, a New Zealand History. The book received a grant from the Ministry of Culture & Heritage, who hosted this seminar.

    The new book is still in its draft stages, but it looks as if it’ll be a good and interesting read once it’s published. You can listen to a podcast of the seminar via the New Zealand History Online website, or here’s a more specific link. The authors have also created a Facebook page to help collate material and discussion of the book.

    Both authors are well accomplished. Chris Maclean has authored a variety of histories, particularly based around the Wellington region. He’s probably best known in tramping circles for his detailed history of the Tararua Range, titled Tararua: The Story of a Mountain Range, first published in 1991 and which continues to pop up on Trademe on occasion, but more recently he authored an historic biography—Stag Spooner: Wild man from the bush. Shaun Barnett has a collection of well-authored titles, including co-authoring the recent Shelter From The Storm. He’s also well known for his scenic photography, and for activities such as editing of Wilderness Magazine (formerly) and the Federated Mountain Clubs Bulletin,