The forecast for the weekend was pretty uninviting – gale force winds on Saturday with increasing rain throughout Sunday. The low on Saturday night was forecast to be -3°C at Kime Hut. I figured there was no way we would be going ahead with our planned route along the tops. In fact I was so certain we would be using our bad weather backup plan to divert to Penn Creek Hut, that I brought marshmallows along for toasting on the fire. Or maybe I had become a fair-weather tramper.
On Friday night we parked at the new Otaki Forks road end, skipped the emergency track and walked across the slip – and 45 minutes later arrived at the original carpark. It was a beautiful clear night and there were endless stars. Just a little over 2 hours later we got to Field Hut. After a quick hot drink to warm up everyone made quick work getting into bed.
On Saturday we left the Hut just before 8am. We headed up Judd Ridge, passed Table Top and continued along the track towards Bridge Peak (avoiding the track down to Penn Creek Hut ). As we neared Bridge Peak, it clouded in and the wind started to pick up. You could feel the moisture in the air. We stopped for a quick snack and to put on some layers – progressively all deciding that full wet-weather gear was in order. There was hope for the toasted marshmallows yet!
We carried on, warming up with the climb up Boyd-Wilson Knob and then got buffeted by wind on Vosseler. The group had a brief chat, and we all confirmed that we were happy to carry on. We continued along the track, passing the opportunity (again) to make an exit down to Penn Creek Hut (as the spur north of Vosseler apparently once had an old track down to that hut). My dream of toasted marshmallows was slipping away!
We then carried on over Yeates and McIntosh (peaks along the ridgeline). We found a slightly sheltered spot for what counted as a lunch break, although it was too cold to stop for more than 10 minutes. Not much further on, we passed up our third possible exit down to Penn Creek Hut (via the Pakihore Ridge Track). While it was windy, the forecasted 65kp/h winds had not yet arrived, and Maungahuka Hut wasn’t far off.
Fortunately Tuiti, Tunui and the ladder were somewhat sheltered from the wind – making it more enjoyable (than otherwise) to travel the more exposed and steep terrain. The rain had really set in by the time we arrived at Maungahuka Hut at 2:45pm – 7 hours after leaving Field Hut.
Once in dry clothes, we made hot drinks and a few of us snuggled into our sleeping bags. There’s no fireplace at Maungahuka Hut and I accepted the fate of a cold dessert. But ever the optimist, our trip leader mentioned that he had a candle! So we ‘toasted’ marshmallows over a flame and enjoyed s’mores for dessert.
After too many cups of tea, I woke up during the night and found that the gale force winds had finally arrived. Being a fair-weather tramper, I drifted off to sleep thinking that if it’s this bad in the morning, we might have to make a long dash out via Concertina Knob and Neill Forks Hut to avoid the strong wind.
But our trip leader’s optimism paid off with the weather too – mostly. Morning dawned without the wind. Just with steady rain. We put on our wet clothes and boots and set off. Given the rain and cold temperature, it seemed more sensible to take the Pakihore Ridge Track down to Penn Creek Hut and to then go back up to Judd Ridge – skipping exposure to most of the bad weather. Our trip leader pointed out that this would also make a nice loop – never mind the big descent and ascent – adding some bonus kilometres to our trek.
The Pakihore Ridge Track gradually wound through a beautiful goblin forest before making a fairly sharp descent down to Penn Creek Hut. We had another hot drink to warm up and only a short 30 minute lunch break to avoid getting too cold. No time for a fire, even though there were spare marshmallows to be had.
We set off on the track up to Judd Ridge. Once we got to Field Hut I had to put on a few more layers, and we scoffed the last of the biscuits that were left over from dessert the night before. As we plodded down the hill, the sun set and it was eventually dark enough to put on our headtorches.
Minutes from the bridge over the Otaki River, we heard a voice and watched in surprise as a runner emerged from behind us. He was the only other person we saw the whole weekend. Once we got across the bridge and onto the old road, we put our heads down and sped out to the road end – excited at the thought of dry clothes and sitting down.
It had been a 12 hour day of walking, with just a handful of brief stops and a 30 minute lunch thanks to the cold weather. It was a tough trip, made a bit more challenging by the classic Tararua weather – cold, wet and windy.
But leave it to a WTMC trip – or maybe an optimistic trip leader – to be reminded that you can tramp in wet weather. Although marshmallows are definitely better toasted over a fire!
An Aokaparanki Loop/ Maungahuka Hut trip is at Aokaparangi Loop Maungahuka Hut – my ‘why’ for tramping