[Margaret Craigie]

Is anyone able to tell me, please, if it is easier to use the sidle track from Arete Forks to Cow Creek, or to use the river/gorge?

Relevant info such as when you last tramped the route, weather conditions at the time, how long it took etc would be useful.

Regards
Margaret Craigie (Hut bagger).

[Tim Dunning]

Hi Margaret,

I can’t answer your question in entirey – we turned back on the river trip as one of the party I was in was not up to it. I can tell you that the sidle track is a bit of a pig! Much up and down, very slow going. With an admittedly un-hurried bunch, it was about 3 hours to cover four odd k’s.Hard to imagine that it would not be faster in the river – which was the anecdote we heard from a guy we met at Cow Creek hut. The route up to the tops from Arete Forks, along, and back down to Cow Creek was frankly more enjoyable.

Watch out for the weather: have seen warnings that the Arete forks area is flood-prone. The river is plenty cold too!

Tim (cold-water avoider)

[Paul C]

Hi Margaret

Tim’s email reminded me that we went in to Arete Forks via Table Top, which was a really good route in fine weather. Much more enjoyable than the track and certainly no slower.

Another tops route the club has taken is over Cow Saddle and Te Hekenga, but I haven’t done that.

So there are more than just two options, and Table Top is better than either the river or the track if you strike good conditions.

cheers
Paul

[MikeM]

That must have been a seriously ultra-fit club trip to take a route via both Cow Saddle and Te Hekenga. Aren’t they in different mountain ranges?

It’s also possible to get down the spur to Arete Forks from Waingawa, above Cow Saddle on Cattle Ridge, as long as you’re cautious to avoid the bluffy bits at the bottom. There was lots of leatherwood up there and fairly clambery (gravity helps as long as you’re going down). There’s a bit of a ground trail through some of the vegetation with some effort if you’re lucky, but I’d still recommend reasonable nav skills.

[Paul C]

Whoops. Waingawa is the peak I was thinking off. Doh!!!!!

[Author]

Posts