Tararua Hut Bagging - Dorset, Tarn, arete forks huts

Dorset, Tarn and Arete Forks Huts – Sarah goes Tararua hut bagging

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Date: February 2022.
Trip type: Private tramp MF.
Location: Tararua Forest Park.
Author: Sarah.
Trampers: Sarah and friends.

Dorset Ridge Hut,
Tarn Ridge Hut,
and Arete Forks Hut –
Sarah goes Tararua hut bagging

A 3 day hiking loop trip through the Tararua Range passing some seldom visited huts: Tarn Ridge, Dorset Ridge, and Arete Forks.

Dorset Ridge to Arete Forks Huts route map

In mid to late summer the Tararuas are at their vibrant best. Flowers brighten the higher-level slopes—there are meadows of edelweiss particularly about Brockett and Table Ridge—and there are many more juicy snowberries to be picked than anyone could possibly eat. Butterflies and grasshoppers flutter and jump about. The rivers are warm enough for gorge trips or just fun swimming—and all the while the sun is shining from a clear blue sky with barely a cloud in sight.

So it was that Sarah thought it time to go exploring, to climb to the top of a few unclimbed peaks, and visit and stay at some unvisited huts. She set off with two friends on a 3 day trip and this is her story.

Sarah and friends preloading before the hut bagging trip
Sarah (centre) and friends carbo-loading before the trip
On the summit of Mitre, Tararua Forest Park
On the summit of Mitre
North Island Edelweiss on Brockett
Edelweiss on Brockett
Dorset Ridge tarn
Dorset Ridge tarn – reflecting on the journey ahead

Pan the photo for a look around

Tarn Ridge Hut
Tarn Ridge Hut with a DOC warning – but perfectly habitable anyway
Starting down the spur into the Waingawa River from Pt 1313 on Tarn Ridge
Starting down the spur into the Waingawa River from Pt 1313 on Tarn Ridge – a bit of a gamble that paid off
Arete Forks Hut
Sarah and friends at Arete Forks Hut
Arete Forks - one of the few Tararua huts with an open fireplace
Arete Forks – one of the few Tararua huts with an open fireplace

For more Tararua photos go to www.taraphotos.co.