Windy Tops

Tag: bagged:powell hut

  • Trip: High Ridge and nav to Mountain House

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    High Ridge.

    It’s been a while since I’ve been out with the WTMC, largely due to other things happening. I decided it was time to change that, and found a scheduled trip to High Ridge. I hadn’t been to High Ridge for around 12 years. The previous time was a memorable experience for multiple reasons. It’s a navigation trip, and also one that can work in moderately wet weather as long as it’s not prohibitively windy, so a forecast for some rain in the Tararua wasn’t a huge concern. The forecast had rain clearing about mid Saturday.

    Dates: 11th – 13th January, 2019
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Holdsworth Road End.
    People: Peter, Heather, Tony and me.
    Huts visited: Holdsworth Lodge (0 nights), Mountain House Shelter (1 night), Powell Hut (0 nights), Totara Flats Hut (1 night).
    Route: From Holdsworth Road up to Mountain House Shelter on Friday night. Then beyond Powell Hut to .1330, and south-west along High Ridge to Flaxy Knob, and nav down to Totara Flats Hut for Saturday night. Then follow the old track north-east of Totara Flats Hut, along Totara Creek. Near the headwaters of Totara Creek, navigate up spur to above Mountain House Shelter. Then back to Holdsworth Road.
    [Photos]

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    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.

    We arrived at the end of Holdsworth Road at about 7.45pm, combining transport with another group who were aiming to navigate up the Atiwhakatu river catchment.

    I pulled my camera out and quickly discovered that not only were the recently charged batteries flat, but my spare camera batteries were also flat. That served me right for grabbing and charging some random batteries I’d found lying around, and trying to use a camera I’d not tested for a couple of years. My weekend with electronic devices was not going to be simple, but right now there was no time to figure things out.
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  • Trip: Powell, Totara Flats and Sayers

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    Saturday night sunset
    on Totara Flats.

    This is meant to be a tramping club trip, though really it’s just Éamonn and me. We’re the “social” trip, but I think people bailed on the social idea when it became clearer that we’d be pack-horses for everyone else who’s converging on Totara Flats from various directions. Between us we’ve decided the most “social” way of getting to Totara Flats will be up to Powell and over High Ridge. I’ve decided my hobby on this trip will be collecting Department of Conservation Asset Numbers. Asset number bagging is set to be the next big thing once everyone’s gotten bored of hut bagging, and I figure I’m getting a head-start on the crowd.

    Dates: 10th – 12th December, 2010
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Holdsworth Road End.
    People: Éamonn and me.
    Huts visited: Holdsworth Lodge (0 nights), Mountain House Shelter (0 nights), Powell Hut (1 night), Totara Flats Hut (1 night), Sayers Hut (0 nights).
    Intended route: Walk to Powell Hut on Friday night, then over High Ridge to Totara Flats for Saturday night, then back out to Holdsworth Road.
    Actual route: Powell Hut on Friday night, but to Totara Flats via the more direct route. Over the Waiohine to Sayers Hut on Sunday, the up to spot-height 772 and along ridge to the north past 768, and eventually back to the track above Totara Creek. Then out to Holdsworth Road via Pig Flat, and down to the Atiwhakatu Track.
    [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.
    5267715733_b325f6bb97_m-5830903
    The Atiwhakatu Valley
    from near Rocky Lookout.

    Friday, 8pm: We’ve arrived at the Holdsworth road-end, the weather’s not too flash. Best to get going.

    8.55pm: It’s not quite raining yet, but a strong nor-westerly is blowing. I’ve just been nearly blown off my feet near the Rocky Lookout. Not at the lookout, but on the track below it. The wind just came screaming alongside the ridge out of nowhere. It’s eerie and discomforting.

    This’ll be bad for Steve and Richard, who were planning to walk and swim down the Waiohine Gorge. We’ve checked the book and they signed in at Holdsworth Lodge earlier today, headed straight for Waiohine Forks. We’ll be okay for ourselves, by comparison. I have the rain all sussed since I bought myself a brand new tramping umbrella earlier today. It’s in my pack, and may just prove to be the best $14.99 I’ve ever spent.

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  • Daywalk: Holdsworth Jumbo Circuit

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    Megan B on Mt Holdsworth.

    I think the Holdsworth Jumbo Circuit (AKA the Powell Jumbo Loop, the Jumbo Powell Loop, the Jumbo Holdsworth Loop, and so on), is by far the most popular tramp in the Tararuas. The circuit is typically walked over a couple of days, and the three back-country huts spaced around it are supposedly responsible for some insanely high proportion of hut ticket revenue for all of Tararua Forest Park. (Higher than 50% at least.) The Holdsworth road-end is one of the Tararuas’ most accessible, and the loop attracts people from all sorts of backgrounds. For many people it’s their first experience outdoors.

    Date: 15th May, 2010
    Location: Tararua Forest Park, Holdsworth Road-end.
    People: Megan S, Megan B, Richard, Christine, Katja and me.
    Huts visited: Holdsworth Lodge (0 nights, camping nearby), Mountain House Shelter (0 nights), Powell Hut (0 nights), Jumbo Hut (0 nights), Atiwhakatu Hut (0 nights).
    Route: From Holdsworth road-end up to Powell Hut, over Holdsworth to Jumbo, down to Jumbo Hut, down the alternative track north of Raingauge Spur, then past Atiwhakatu Hut back to the Holdsworth road-end.
    [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.

    We walked the Holdsworth Jumbo Circuit as a daywalk, which is very feasible if you’re reasonably quick, and easier if you’re taking daypacks rather than tramping packs. We’d heard of others walking the loop in about 8 hours, but without much context to go on. With nobody being certain exactly how long it’d take, we drove to the Holdsworth road-end on Friday night to camp in preparation for an early getaway — staying at Holdsworth lodge would have been preferable, except that it’s closed for maintenance at present.

    It’s amazing how much extra junk it’s necessary to take just for camping overnight, or perhaps it simply spread out because we didn’t have nice structured packs to stuff it all into. At least we were able to leave it behind in the morning. Christine and I both still forgot to bring inflatable mattresses in any case, so had to get used to sleeping on the harder ground, although it fortunately wasn’t too cold.
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  • Trip: Jumbo / Holdsworth Loop

    Who would have thought that a mountain range named after a brand of spreadable butter could be so pointy?

    Dates: 1st – 3rd December, 2006
    Location: Tararua Forest Park
    Huts visited: Holdsworth Lodge (1 night), Atiwhakatu Hut (0 nights), Jumbo Hut (1 night), Powell Hut (0 nights), Mountain House Shelter (0 nights).
    [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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