Mt Benmore 21st December 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: Tramp No. 16

Mt Benmore (again) 21st December 2002

My second attempt at this tramp in the past few months looked much more promising than the last attempt , with ten of us from The CTC leaving the cars at about 10am on a fine day. We crossed the flat and started up the hill following a farm track, a different way from last time but My memory fails to pinpoint exactly where we ascended. Had lunch at the mast station and then continued along the ridge, dropping down the spur at the other end. A pleasant but uneventful walk apart from the fuss made crossing a creek near the cars at the end of  the walk as every one still had dry feet and so all sorts of manoeuvres were concocted to try to keep feet dry, I just waded through no worries. No photos  for this one either.

Mt Winterslow 15th December 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: Tramp No.15

Mt Winterslow 15th December 2002

A group of about 10 of us from the CTC  headed off along Woolshed track for this epic trip way back in the summer of 02'. Left the cars around 10:40am on another glorious day to amble up through scrubby bush, pausing to check out the old coal mining site, before continuing on to the Woolshed Creek hut. All very open terrain with low scrub and tussock and a well formed track made for good travel. Had a break at the Woolshed Hut, which was an old musterers hut and has now been replaced with a large new DOC hut, complete with Warden and renamed the Mt Sommers Hut. A few minutes up stream was an old wooden structure which was used as a sauna. This now has been removed by DOC. My Guess is from the hut we crosses the stream and headed up the ridge on the true left of Woolshed Creek reaching the top just east of Peach Saddle. Along the tops we went finally reaching Winterslow point at 1700m and had a quick stop before heading back down the way we came untill we dropped off the tops at a scree slope, possibly from point 1625. This was my first Scree and I loved it. I believe we then linked up with Morgan stream and followed it back down to Woolshed hut arriving there around 6pm. The last part of this trip was back out along Woolshed track the same way we came in and we arrived back at the cars at 7:40 PM. I was exhausted, the longest day I had yet done. Around 25KM with a height gain of about 1200m. And finally I have photos.

 The entrance to the old mine site

 Looking down on Woolshed Hut

 A small gorge

 The Old Musters hut, now gone.

 The Sauna, also gone

 looking across to Mt Sommers

 Some Nice Views

 Me in my early tramping regalia

The wide open tops

Warfdale Track 23 November 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: Tramp No.14

Warfdale track 23 November 2002 

Still Sticking with the local tramping for this one, my first trip with my tramping buddy, Bryce, who had recently moved down from the North Island. Our Intention was to go up to Black Hill hut, but after talking with another fellow on the track it appeared to much to go there and back in  one day. Left View Hill around 9:40am on another perfect day and after a pleasant walk along the Warfdale, got to the Black hill junction about 12:30. After consulting the map we decided to head on to the Warfdale Shelter and have lunch. Left the shelter around 1:45pm and headed straight up the hill opposite the shelter which linked us back onto the track I had been on just the month before in the moss covered trees. The track was very steep and not too well formed in places so had to stay alert. got to the Mt Oxford junction and headed straight back down to the Warfdale and View hill, arriving at the car around 5PM. A good days walk.Apparently the Warfdale track follows a route that the old farmers use to use to drive cattle to and from Lees valley. A lot of this area is regenerating native forest.

Mt Oxford 20th October 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: Tramp No.13

Mt Oxford (again) 20th October 2002

This was another solo trip and I did it as I was going to head up to Porters Pass and head up to Foggy Peak, but the Nor'west changed my mind about that and instead I decided to do the Mt Oxford loop as I had not done it this way. I left Coopers Creek at 10:25am and headed along the westerly track towards Ryde Falls and the Warfdale track. After linking onto the Warfdale for several minutes I reached the Mt Oxford track and proceeded to climb. Had lunch at 1:00pm on the ridge where the stunted and twisted Beech trees are all covered with moss. This is my favorite part of Oxford Forest, it is very cool. Didn't stay long as the wind was cold and headed on to the summit, reaching it around 2:30pm. Rested for a good 30 minutes hiding from the wind behind the rock wall while meditating on the great views out across the plains. The wind intensified on the way down and I was relieved to hit the bush again. Got to the car around 4:45 PM.

Benmore 29th September 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary : Tramp No.12

Benmore 29th September 2002

Another club trip this time to Mt Benmore behind lake Lyndon  in the range which carries it's name. Benmore is pretty much open travel with no bush, just light scrub and tussock. The earlier brilliant spring weather had gone to be replaced with cool wind and light rain. We headed up the northern ridge heading east  along the top after a good grunt up.Had lunch at a rock outcrop and as the weather closed in most of the party turned back. Four of us continued on up to the summit for another hours travel in the rain and then headed straight back down the way we came. Fortunately the wind stayed light so it may have been a bit wet but wasn't too cold.

Mt Richardson 21st September 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: tramp No. 11

Mt Richardson(Again) 21st September 2002

This time it was a club trip and we were suppose to do the Warfdale track, which is very near here and I hadn't yet walked it. The change of plan came about because the nor'wester was very strong and the rain band looked like it was dumping on the Warfdale, so the leader decided to do Richardson. 

Not much to say about this except that when we got to the top a couple of the group wanted to do the loop and the rest of us didn't with the wind the way it was and it was pretty cold, I also had got a head cold so didn't feel so good and just went back down the way we had come.

Mt Grey 15th September 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: Tramp No.10

Mt Grey 15th September 2002

Yet another of the local foot hills on yet another perfect spring day, for the last of my solo trips bagging the 4 near tops. Left the Grey picnic area on Okuku rd around 10AM and headed up the Red Beech track following the Grey River untill crossing it by the Scott's Rd track junction before heading up the ridge to take me the back route onto Mt Grey. A nice track with some excellent views of the area behind Grey nearer the top. reached the summit in 2 & 3/4 hours and had lunch in the perfect conditions  with great views of the Canterbury plains. I had mucked around on Mt Gray a few times in my younger days, mainly coming up from lake Janet, so I had never done the loop. The last time I had been up there was after the big snow of 92' when the snow was waste deep and it was hard going and we didn't make it to the top. After lunch I headed down the Grey track, a very winding track through lovely forest and reached the car in 1 hour 20 minutes. My diary states it was an inspiring walk.

Mt Thomas 8th September 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: Tramp no. 9

Mt Thomas 8th September 2002

We were having such a great spring that year as another fine warm day greeted me on another of the local mountains hereabouts and a revisit to the mt Thomas area, the scene of Tramp No.1 nearly two years ago.

This was my first trip actually up onto Mt Thomas itself as I headed again up the Wooded gully track to make the junction of No's 1 & 2 tracks. This time I headed east up onto Mt Thomas and made the summit in 2 hours.

Came back down the No.1 track through the pine forest, the lower half of which had recently been logged, so was difficult to know where the track was and not a pretty sight either. This track was pretty steep. Made the car from the summit in just over 1 hour so a relatively short walk and again a solo effort.

Mt Richardson 1st September 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: Tramp No. 8

Mt Richardson 1st September 2002

Third weekend in a row out tramping, unheard of. This is the second tramp in the local area, with Richardson being a low peak overlooking Glentiu and lees Valley. Starts from the Glentiu Picnic area and passes a small waterfall before a steep climb up through the beech forest. Left the Picnic area around 12PM and got to the top in 1 and 1/2 hours. Admired the views but the nor'west was becoming quite strong. Headed east along the Blowhard track through open tussock and old burnt tree stumps trying not get blown off the hill. Dropped down the bypass track to complete the loop back to the car. The wind was getting dangerously strong and I had to stay very alert for falling branches or trees. Arrived back at the car at 3:20pm.

Mt Oxford 25th August 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: Tramp No. 7

Mt Oxford 25th August 2002

This wasn't the first time I had been up Mt Oxford. I had done it earlier as part of a community walking day someone organised and it certainly wasn't the last trip up my nearest mountain. I did this trip solo and left coopers creek car park at 8:10am on a clear but brisk morning. Oxford is a good climb through regenerating Beech and then up an exposed ridge, with a height gain of about 900m. The recommended time to the summit is 4 hours but I managed it in 2 and 1/2 hours, which is pretty bloody good going considering there was still a fair amount of snow on the upper reaches of the mountain. I followed some animal tracks in the snow for some distance up hill, probably a Hare or Possum. The views of Canterbury from the summit are excellent and I never tire of them. After 20 minutes on the top and a bite to eat, I headed back down to the car and made it in 1 hour 40 minutes. I bet I couldn't do that now.

This was the first in a brace of tramps I did in the following weeks around the local Canterbury foothills.

Lake Christabel Track 18th August 2002

Uncle Roddus Tramping diary: Tramp No.6

Lake Christabel Track 18th August 2002

As I approached my second anniversary of tramping, I hadn't been out to regular, this being the 6th tramp recorded in my tramping diary. This trip kicked off a more intensive period of tramping, where I got out on more club trips as well as private trips and started to get myself more known with some of the others in the CTC. During this time I also started to go on more overnight and extended trips, culminating in the epic 5 passes expedition on early 2004. This period I learned a great deal about travelling in the mountains and forests and started to accumulate all the necessary equipment for my safe and comfortable enjoyment while out in the wilds of  NZ.

This particular event involved the taking of two young ladies of a vintage of around 7 & 8 years old , being the daughters of a very close friend, for a walk to an old hunters camp that had be set up 25 odd years before and well used since that time. I had discovered this camp a year or so before when a friend and myself had been camping in Hamner and came for a drive up this way and decided to explore Palmers Rd, finding the start of the Christabel track, we went for a short walk up the track. On the way in we encountered a party coming out from Christabel hut, who happened to be CTC members whom I knew vaguely. They mentioned checking out the cool hunters camp another hour or so up track. We decided to make this our destination. Around 2 hour or less from the road end we still hadn't found the camp and were about to abandon the search and head back when my friend had to go relieve himself and left the track and stumbled right into the camp. The Camp was hidden about 10 meters off the main track and you gained entrance via a gate in a picket fence made from native tree branches. The camp was very cool, with two large Moss laden sleeping areas and hand made seats and table from the surrounding woods as well as a stone cooking hearth with plenty of pots and pans and cooking equipment etc.. The sleeping areas and sitting/cooking areas were all covered by tarps tied to the trees. It was very impressive and I knew I wanted to come visit here again and possibly spend the night.

I had told my friend and her daughters about this place and they agreed for me to take them up there some time for a look. I finally found some time available and organised for us to do a day trip up. I can't quite remember the circumstances now but for some reason Sarah had something come up and couldn't go but she agreed for me to take the girls up and Emily and Caitlin were keen. The tramp itself  is pretty straight forward apart from a steep bit with a rope to help negotiate it but the girls handled it well as they had been on this sort of stuff before. They were starting to lose interest after a couple of hours and were going quite slow, but I encouraged them on as we were nearly there. We did indeed find it very soon afterwards and had a quick lunch while checking out the camp. The Girls liked the place and I took some crappy photos on some old film camera I had obtained(can't lay my hands on those photos right now). The weather started to deteriorate and rain started to fall, so I instructed the Girls to get out their raincoats and that we wanted to get out a lot quicker than we got in.Well, that and the rain got them going and I almost couldn't keep up with them on the way out. We got back to the car in 1 &1/2 hours and it was now snowing as we reached the car. On the way back over Lewis Pass there was now a couple of inches of snow on the road and just as we came round the bend at the top of the pass, a car had just slid across the road on front of us into the ditch. It took me about 150 meters to gently come to a stop and I ran back up the road as the people were climbing out of their car. No one was hurt and they declined an offer of a ride as they were going in the opposite direction to me.

An Interesting days adventure.