[Emanuel Garcia]

I recently summited Mt. Matthews (28 April), for the second time, walkingall
the way to the end of the trail to the spot which overlooks Palliser Bay (on
a clear day). On the way up, at a bush-clad peak BEFORE the ridge at the
end of the trail, there was a metal pole, which I photographed. Rangers tell
me that the pole was part of an old trig station that may — or may not? —
mark the true summit of Mt. Matthews.

After taking a pic I tramped on for another 15 minutes, down the ridge and
then back up to the very end.

Just as a matter of curiosity, is the true summit of Matthews marked by that
pole, or is it at the very end of the trail on that final ridge?

Many thanks

Emanuel

[Ian]

Hi Emanuel,

According to the LINZ geodetic mark data (http://data.linz.govt.nz/layer/787-nz-geodetic-marks/) the pole is either on the summit or very close to it.

It’s coords are recorded as -41.351945874722, 175.014336141389.
Which can be viewed in Google Maps here: http://goo.gl/maps/LuyCI

I’ve also grovelled been up Mt Matthews twice… I’m not sure why I bothered a second time!

Cheers,
Ian.

[Emanuel]

Thanks for that Ian, I think you’re right about the placement of the pole, and the end of the track is actually a bit lower

I was up there two Fridays ago when I took a picture of the pole, which was pretty easy to miss, actually.
Cheers,
Emanuel

[Emanuel]

I went up again this last Saturday and although I didn’t have an altimeter I checked the pole again — there’s only one and it seems that you can climb a bit higher after it, which may itself be the true summit, before plunging down and going up again to the end of the trail overlooking Palliser Bay. This day the view was spectacular, clear and sunny. (Couldn’t find any geocache by the way).

Anyway, I’ve had enough of Mt. Matthews. Views from South Saddle quite fabulous, but the winds were up.

EG

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