Waiohine - Kime

Waiohine - Kime

2-4 June 2012; Queens Birthday





Solo

The Plan: A light tramp, with no extra kit and surviving on One Square Meal (OSM) bars. Head in from Waiohine car-park to Bull Mound via Cone Hut and on to Alpha hut; evaluate and head on for Kime hut for the night if going well, otherwise night over at Alpha. The next day head to Mt Hector and down Neill Ridge to Cone ridge then to Waiohine car-park via Cone saddle. Not quite what happened though…

Forecast: Good weather in the Wairarapa and Hutt; some showers from the northwest on the Kapiti coast. No weather warnings. But again, not quite what happened…

Saturday 2 June: Waiohine – Alpha - Kime

At 0740 the car is locked and it’s time to head up the ridge towards Cone Saddle (after noting a club van that must have arrived not long before). The morning is frosty and misty but cloudless and still.

The track climbs quickly the first 250m, meeting the dawn as it drifts down the ridge. The grade eases slowly up to 680m and after sometime there is a well posted turn west and down to Cone Hut, arriving at 0905, somewhat under DoC’s 2½ hr estimate.

There is only one river crossing today so it’s doesn’t take much to decide to remove boots and socks despite the hard frost in the Tauherenikau Valley. This gives dry feet for the trip up Bull Mound, 730m above the valley floor. There are patches of snow and ice on the hilltop bog as the track ducks in and out of Dracophyllum, leather wood and beech scrub. The Wairarapa is clear but Neill Ridge to the north is ominous; a hogs back cloud pushes up against the ridge from the north, spilling over into the upper Tauherenikau.

The track eventually dives back into the bush and drops precious meters only to climb again up out of Hells Gate. It is 1130 when Alpha Hut appears and the weather is starting to close in. Half an hour is enough to text home (I know there's coverage from previous experience), have a bite to eat, don a few more layers of clothes, and write a note in the log book. By now, any previous thoughts of going further than Kime hut have been dropped. The hut notice board says it’s 3-4 hrs to Kime and in this weather it would be foolhardy to commit to anything else.

A wiry, older Maori chap turns up. He is doing a one day from Kaitoke to Otaki and leaves Alpha a few minutes ahead. We trade the lead across the tops and it is a comfort to know that there is someone else about, particularly as he has done this route 4 times already this year.

On the tops the wind quickly gets up, the temperature drops and the extra layers are put to good use (although I should have taken a little extra time to drag out over mitts and adjust my new coat). Glasses are quickly rendered worse than useless and stashed in a pocket on the grounds that seeing everything fuzzily is better than seeing nothing clearly.  The track is mostly pretty easy to follow though and the other chap is in view much of the time.

The wind howls across the ridge from either side upsetting balance and occasionally throwing in sleet or freezing rain. The track wends over interminable knobs and peaks; at times covered in snow.  It is about an hour to the top of Aston and a sign saying 3-4 hrs to Kime; slightly demoralising given the same time estimate at Alpha Hut. As well as the driving rain, boots are soon soaked through from the ice encrusted puddles. Footing is invisible beneath the tussock which hides slick mud and sudden drop offs. The result is drunken lurching with the wind adding an unhelpful push at inopportune moments.

With head down and concentrating on the track ahead it is a pleasant surprise when the cross on Mt Hector appears in the snow. It’s a bit too miserable to spare more than a passing thought for the trampers killed in WWII. However on the other side the wind drops away and we head down through the mist, over Field Peak arriving at Kime at 1450. Here my nameless companion says goodbye, calls his transport, and sets off for Otaki forks. It will probably be dark by the time he gets there.

There are a few parties in the hut; a couple of Outdoor Pursuits women doing crosswords, a lone bloke and a party of youngish chaps. It’s cold inside without a fire, and the idea of drying clothes by wearing them is soon given up as a bad job. By 1700 the sleeping bags are out and it’s only a trip to the loo that will shift me. A chocolate OSM serves for dinner.

There's little wind here so the mist sits; the moon peeks fitfully through the clag but later in the night the wind comes up and showers of rain roll through. The temperature in the hut drops to about 5 degrees overnight but the new light weight sleeping bag holds up well.

Sunday 3 June: Kime – Alpha - Cone

The hut starts stirring at 0700. The single bloke is off first for Otaki forks. The two women are going to head for Elder Hut and the other party to Alpha Hut.

At 0820 the sopping, cold gear warms slowly on the way up Field Peak to Mt Hector. The wind and driving rain soon makes a nuisance of itself but the new coat performs well and it’s warm enough.

At Mt Hector, the start of the track to Neill Ridge is not obvious but there is only really one possible direction. The wind is fierce making it difficult to stand, let alone travel in a straight line. As the rounded top of Mt Hector gives way to a razor edged ridge it becomes easy to follow the route, although the track is not always that obvious. Once again the nuisance glasses are rendered opaque and consigned to a pocket (there is also a realistic fear that they will be whipped away).

The map doesn't show the myriad small knobs that adorn the ridge and in the flying, shredded cloud it is difficult to judge progress. Each knob clambered over gives way to another saddle with the wind howling through. Occasionally a small cairn passes within myopic range confirming the route.

Eventually, however it is apparent that there have been no cairns for a while and no signs of tracks in the tussock; it is time to stop and take stock in the lee of a boulder. Sure enough, the compass and altimeter confirm that the ridge being descended is heading in the wrong direction. The climb back up to the last cairn is depressingly steep.

Even there the next cairn is not to be seen and the lack of visibility makes it difficult to reconcile the map to the terrain. Where I think the track should go seems to drop off impossibly steeply (I find out later that it does). There is more than one option open so after a bit of dithering and a couple of unsure starts, discretion wins over valour, and the only guaranteed direction is selected – back to Mt Hector.

The wind is still blasting across the ridge and its very difficult regaining the lost meters so the sight of the cross at Mt Hector looming through the clag is (once again) welcome. Now it's just the Southern Crossing to contend with.

The wind and rain have put paid to most of the snow, but not the mud. Fortunately the track is largely easy to follow, so it’s head down and plug on. The up-hills are reduced to a trudge and finding secure footing is an ongoing niggle. The level of swearing at errant wind gusts, slips, and recalcitrant gear indicates that a level of fatigue is setting in.

Finally it is clear that the descent from Alpha has started and at long last the bush line heralds Alpha Hut around 1320. A couple have just come up from Tutuwai and are sheltering in their sleeping bags. It is not difficult to talk them out of considering the crossing to Kime. They provide a hot, sweet cocoa which helps immeasurably.

After putting a note in the look book and texting the changed intentions home (including the likelihood of an extra night out), it’s back into the bush a little before 1400.

It is pleasant and peaceful below the bush line and a reasonable rate is possible although the up-hills are still slow. The open areas on Bull Mound are windy and give a view of just how horrible Neill Ridge is. The track drops off the Mound into the bush again then it’s all downhill.

By a third of the way down, reaching the car-park before dark is looking highly unlikely. At the bottom, the river is up and a stick helps stability.  However the legs are pretty tired now and at 1600 Cone Hut is extremely welcome. With light already getting dim I decide to stay the night; wet gear is peeled off; dry clothes donned and it's straight into the sleeping bag.

A little after 1700 a hunter turns up; he plus dog have been up Cone Ridge and had nosed up Neill Ridge but rapidly decided it wasn't the place to be. He takes pity and provides a hot drink which finishes off the warming up process. Later I find out there was also a club trip that had intended to go up Niell Ridge but turned back because of the conditions on the tops and ended up bivvying out below the bush line.

The hunter chats as he eats and settles in for the night.  In the course of discussion the story comes out that last night he accidentally let a shot off in the hut while cleaning his rifle, much to the surprise of a father and 2 sons that were present. Fortunately he was pointing the gun up and out the door at the time. He says something about the safety having been knocked off and the first time it had occurred in 30 years of hunting.

Cone Hut has always been a hut seen en passant and barely spared a glance, with its dirt floor, rough sawn planks for the sleeping platform and appearance of rotting quietly into the landscape. However it is pleasant by candle light and comfortable even without a fire to warm it. From now on I will not hear a bad word about it.

An OSM for dinner washed down with water fills the stomach but the aches and pains are enough to keep sleep hovering. Enthusiastic snoring from the other side of the platform guarantees it. Jethro the dog is pretty well behaved except when he tries to change sleeping companions a couple of times during the night and has to be firmly discouraged.

Monday 4 June: Cone - Waiohine

A little before 6 a loud alarm goes off. The hunter goes through his morning routine and offers another brew as he gets his kit together for a dawn hunt, down the right bank towards block XVI. Jethro has had more then enough of sleeping and is ready to be up and about, although he apparently doesn’t assist with the hunt apart from in a moral support capacity.

By 0700 it is getting towards light enough, so an OSM for breakfast; a quick squeeze to get rid of the worst of the water; into kit and out the door.

At 0730 it's, light under the canopy and quiet; the ground is relatively dry. First off is a climb of a little over 300m which is done in half an hour, then a long traverse along the ridge before dropping into the Waiohine. White mist fills the Tauherenikau Valley as it drops behind, while in front the sun rises over Waiohine to filter horizontally through the trees. One foot is sporting a pressure bruise from a fold in the boot making it more of a hobble than a stride this morning.

It’s a relief to reach the car just after 9am; remove boots and hunt for the car key. It’s not far to Aidan and Janne’s for breakfast, shower, inspect the mangled feet then lunch.  OSMs are all very well but a bit of home cooking is very welcome after a weekend of them.

Gear Notes

Time for new boots; painful feet just aren’t necessary.  Also time to get disposable contact lenses, glasses are a hassle on the tops in bad weather.

The new Macpac 40L Torlesse pack is a good sized weekend-staying-in-huts bag. There are a few down sides: a pack that needs a rain cover is a bit of a nuisance; the top attachment for the cover is not great; the hip belt is a bit insubstantial and the “water proof” lining doesn’t look set to last. But it’s good value at $90.

My old gaiters pretty much disintegrated; they are literally on their last legs.

The new Hollyford, Event membrane raincoat performed well; a good solid shell and reasonably adjustable with a handy map pocket.

The Macpac Express light weight sleeping bag performs well with a layer of under clothes at 5 degrees in Kime hut.

Under-Armour leggings performed extremely well. Comfortable walking and beat off the wind and driving rain; get another pair.

DoC hut tickets are available at Featherston Mobil. They were open about 0700.