Quoin Ridge

Every tramp has its moments, whether it's the views, a physical or mental challenge, a particularly stunning area of bush, or interesting people. Rarely, a tramp will stand out for many reasons - this is one of those trips.

What: Navigation trip up Quoin Ridge and around to Elder hut, return down spur into Eastern Hutt catchment and down river to exit.
Where: In and out at Kaitoke Waterworks
Why: Navigation practice, two new huts, explore Quoin Ridge and Eastern Hutt River.
Who: Solo
When: 4-5 June 2016

The main range of the Tararuas is largely well tracked and traveled apart from in the south where the tops peter out down from Alpha via Quoin Ridge and eventually into the water catchment at Hutt Forks.

My memory (from the '80s) is that you were not permitted to go into the area at all. As teenagers we would look longingly across from Marchant Ridge at this terra prohibita and vicariously enjoy the tales of trampers that had gone in there anyway. So it's pretty much remained as unfinished business for three decades. With a good forecast, a free weekend, and a bit of navigation practice under the belt I'm finally set to knock the bugger off.

Looking at the map, and reading a few reports from other trips, I figure that navigating up the ridge and returning the short route down a spur will be the most straight forward. This will give the experiences of travelling the length of the ridge, dropping down the spur, visiting the Eastern Hutt Hut, and returning down the river. The only remaining question is where to spend the night. I haven't been to Elder Hut before so that becomes Plan A but it seemed a bit of a stretch in limited daylight hours so Plan B is the shorter trip to Alpha Hut.

I'm a little late leaving, after some last minute problems with a leaking camel back, so it's 7:40 on a decidedly crisp morning as I leave the car next to the information shelter just inside the Kaitoke Park gates. There's a sign to the Norbert Creek Loop and a good quality 4WD track heads off across the paddocks before splashing across Farm Creek and up the hill. The view behind is of white frosted paddocks and dacron mist in the Pakuratahi Valley. The Hutt Valley is already enjoying the full sun.

Near the top of the first hill looking south(ish)

The rules

The Norbert Creek turn off is well sign posted and is just before where the road levels and heads under shady beech forest, before topping out (about 400m climb), then dropping into the valley beyond. The road ends at a well marked walking track down to the Hutt River.  A few minutes later at the river there is a large sign noting where to find the track on the way back, and a well trodden path heading up river to the swing bridge. The bush is rich and dense with punga crowding in around the track.

Sign to find exit to Kaitoke

First view up river

About an hour after leaving the car I'm gingerly picking may way up slippery, frosted mesh onto the bridge. There's a view up and down river from the middle; a good excuse to pause for a few photos - however it will be a while before the sun makes its way down here so it's still a little dim.

On the other bank there is a choice of up or down river. The map shows the route as being left and down river to reach Quoin Ridge but, after reading a trip report from TTC, I'm heading to the spur above the gorge for what looks like a more graded route to the ridge.

The track is well marked and easy to follow through lush bush. It's lovely and flat for 300m then it dives into a creek and climbs 160m to the top of the spur. Someone has left pink tape at various points along the route: once to warn of a wasps nest, and another marking some mistletoe. There's two wee pink plastic squares on a tree, and a ground trail  marking where my route leaves the track at the top of the spur, about 30 minutes after leaving the bridge.

Pretty easy to find the start of the route

The ground trail comes and goes, and there are few markers remaining on trees, but it's generally pretty obvious where to go: up. Coming down it might be a little easy to drift off the spur near the bottom. Just before the top there is a bit of scramble through some fallen trees, on the other side is the ridge top and more pink markers. The route along the ridge has a more obvious ground trail and at this point there are a number of orange markers indicating the normal route down to (or up from) Hutt Forks.

Where the Spur meets Quoin Ridge - through the wind throw to the left
Looking south down ridge

It's good travel through forest and I hardly need to use the compass, even when the ridge levels off. Occasionally the forest thins into scrub and tussock - one section is marked with a sign warning about sticking to the track to protect sensitive vegetation. It's harder going in the scrub and easy to lose the route but overall pretty good travel and the brief openings give increasingly stunning views to Wellington, Wairarapa and parts of the Tararuas not hidden by Quoin and Alpha.

Translation: please try to find the few remaining markers
while you feel guilty about what you might be stepping on

Briefly out of the bush and first view across to Marchant Ridge

And looking across the western part of the catchment and Maymorn Ridge

The top of Quoin is open and there are small patches of snow. It's like a large, rounded and very soggy cushion; apart from the ice on the puddles. The views are panoramic and spectacular, although I am most interested in getting a look down across the Quoin Stream catchment at the spur I intend to descend tomorrow. It looks great from this angle! The clouds just to the west are less welcome, although there's virtually no wind, so they are just hanging around and don't look threatening.

Top of Quoin; peaks along Southern Crossing behind

The spur running down from the left. Quoin stream somewhere below
From top of Quoin 

There's a saddle to negotiate which proves to be the trickiest travel on the ridge - it's possible that I missed the track dropping off the east of the ridge into the trees as it's a bit of a struggle through scrub and grass. It's also longer than it appears from the top, taking over an hour to get through.

The climb out of the saddle is onto a knob south west of spot height 1308: the top of the spur of interest. Try as I might, I can't see the hut in the forest below (it turns out to be painted green and sits in quite a small clearing). Across the valley is the long undulating top of Marchant Ridge.

Looking back at top of Quoin

The snow underfoot thickens during the final walk up to Alpha and a sign marks the transition from the catchment to the forest park.  It's absolutely quiet apart from the sca-runch of my steps and occasional skitters of melting ice. Across the valley, the ridge from Aston to Elder drops from the snowy tussock into dense, dark bush. There's still plenty of day left so it looks like plan A is on.

Destination: Aston on right with ridge running over knob and down to Elder on the left 

Regional Council hands over to DoC, or vice versa

There is a tarn on top of Alpha, and others at various points up the ridge, but many were a bit manky looking so I'm glad I carried my own water and for future reference wouldn't rely on getting water on the ridge.

Alpha is where my route joins the well trodden Southern Crossing. I have to admit I have never climbed the few meters off that track to the top of Alpha, mainly due to the close proximity of a warm hut and the state of the weather on most previous occasions. This time I stop for photos, lunch and check in with home base to confirm that I'm continuing to Elder.

Top of Alpha looking south

Top of Alpha looking north, false spur ahead

Over fruitbread, salami and cheese I sit on a rock soaking in the sun and the views: snow on the peaks and sun on the plains. At about 1:20 it's 5 hours 40 since leaving the car.

Aston is under the edge of the stubborn cloud which isn't moving and I don't really want to be stumbling around in mist when the light fades so I keep on. No-one has been through since it snowed so I have the pleasure of breaking the crust and cracking icy puddles. The snow is a bit thicker on the way up to Aston but presents no difficulties beyond the need for careful footing above some of the steep southern slopes. The shape of the ridge from Alpha to Quoin becomes apparent close to Aston but I'm still a little surprised by how long it took.

Looking back to Alpha (left) and ridge down to Quoin

On Aston

The Southern Crossing keeps going but I'm heading off to the left

An hour after stopping for lunch in the sun on Alpha I pause for photos in the cloud on Aston. There's still very little wind so it's not unpleasant. I resist the temptation to continue around to Atkinson and instead follow the markers over the edge for the steep descent. Once off the tops the track is easy to follow through typical mossy forest - it's absolutely lovely.

Ridge to Elder as the cloud starts breaking

Elder hut

Around an hour twenty after leaving Aston I pop out of the bush to find Elder hut just below, tucked in behind the knob. It's a pretty new and tidy four bunker, well built and double glazed. There's an older gent in residence who has come up the long and winding ridge from Renata. But the log book indicates no other visitors in recent weeks.

Two is a good number for the size of the hut and he's good company. We chat about this and that as we prepare our respective meals. He's doing an interesting line in DIY dehy, whilst I am staunchly light weight: penny stove and Back Country eaten from the pouch. We are both quite happy to settle down for the night in the pitch black by 6.30.

It's a cold night and I have tights, socks, two tops and a hat inside my bag to keep it at bay. The obligatory excursion to the nearby long drop in the wee smalls demands a brief and chilly pause to view the stars and the lights of the Hutt and Wellington in the distance, as well as diverse small towns on the Manawatu plains. The lights show an oily sway with the air movement across the distance, although there's no wind here.

Mercifully my companion is not a snorer and we are both surprised to find that it is a little after 6.30am when we wake in the predawn light. Outside it is cloudless, decidedly crisp and again the views are captivating, this time the snow on Taranaki catches the sun and Ruapehu looks impossibly close.

Kapakapanui catches first light

I'm first off, as he has an easy day to get down the ridge and is in no hurry. The sun is still well hidden just before 8 although it is colouring the horizon and touching the hills around Kapakapanui. A steady pace sees me at the top of Aston in a little over an hour. I note three figures on the ridge line from Alpha and they arrive at Aston shortly after me. A couple and a single have overnighted at Alpha and are heading to Maungahuka, Neill Forks and out to Waiohine via Cone (single) and Totara Flats (couple). A good trip to do some day. They have crampons which I suspect they will be needing before the top of Aitkinson. The snow is harder after the cold night and the ice on the puddles is much thicker making it a little skatey in places.

Top of Aston has a view today - Quoin on left, Hutt and Wellington in the distance

At Alpha 45 minutes later it's a bit early for a break but it's so clear and the views are just to good not to stop for a bit. East is the Wairarapa Plain bordered by wrinkled hills rising to the Haurangis in the south, the slips on Mt Matthews in the Orongorongos are visible. The view also extends to the Hutt, truncated by perspective and separated from Wellington by a wedge of harbour. Beyond and above, the snowy Kaikouras hover. The eastern peaks of the Tararuas lurk in the distance to the north and close by the dress circle curves around to Atkinson.

The dress circle without cloud

Marchant Ridge - Mt Reeves on ridge behind

Ridge down to Quoin, Rimutaka range on horizon

Dress circle again - note Kapiti Island on left

North over top of Alpha - Holdsworth will be in the middle there somewhere

I follow my foot prints from yesterday down the ridge to the top of the spur. It's a simple descent to the bush line with a bit of a ground trail to follow. I lose it before the bush edge at 1000m and elect to follow down the side of a clearing to 900m after a couple of abortive sorties beneath the canopy.

1100m on the spur - Rimutaka range on horizon

 It's a pretty mixed bag with dense undergrowth in places, a few areas where the spur is not so clear, and others where the ground trail is obvious and travel is fast. The compass gets a fair amount of use but I think it would be pretty straightforward in the other direction. There are quite a few old black tunnel traps with pink tape markers - they look fairly recent until I note that a piece of tape wrapped around a tree is riddled with neat little holes where the bugs have exited the tree over some considerable time.

At the bottom it's the work of a few minutes to cross the river and find the hut on the opposite terrace. It's taken a little under an hour and a half to descend 800m so not exactly rapid travel. The hut is catching a bit of midday sun but the clearing is still frosty.  A standard 6 bunker, it is in good condition. The last log entry is over a month ago and the entries are uniformly for people on day trips.

Eastern Hutt hut

Over lunch I study the map and figure that it will be under 90 minutes to the top of the gorge where I have to find the track over the spur. Rather than map watch the whole way I'll just fossick along for an hour then work out where I've got to.

I try to follow the left bank for a bit but it's not working so I revert to the river, crisscrossing down valley.  The river is mostly fairly closely hemmed in by trees or the valley sides and I end up mainly either in the river or in dense bush on a terrace, so there's not a lot in the way of views apart from along some of the longer stretches of river. The bush is stunningly beautiful; rich and thick which makes it a little tricky to navigate, although on some of the true right terraces there is a bit of a trail that speeds things up. At one point there are some markers that take you high above the river to avoid a swifter section. The river itself is clean and fast flowing, with a few swifter sections which require care or avoiding.

A few footprints in the river bed reveal that someone has been through with a dog in the last few days, and there are some old muddy prints on the terraces, but otherwise it is relatively devoid of signs of people.

After an hour I work out I'm pretty close to the spur and have my first crossing where I judiciously decide to use a branch. It's the only one during the day where I had any concerns and the next crossing (within 100m) is fine. A spur off spot height 790 serves as a progress marker as it descends to the gorge from the Marchant side. But I'm in the bush when I realise I have passed the final clearing and have joined the marked trail. A short backtrack takes me to the clearing, which has a large sign indicating the track up the spur. I guess you could miss it if you were in the river, but all up it was pretty straight forward and about 80 minutes from the hut.

Ya can't really miss it ...

The track is now obvious and well marked, I'm soon at the top of the spur and the turnoff from yesterday. It's familiar now so and within an hour I'm at the Norbert Creek intersection. Two joggers heading down the road are the first people I've seen since morning and stop for a brief chat.

The last view

The Norbert Creek track drops steeply through a little bit of scrubby growth, past a couple of startled foreign hikers, then into open forest. It's well marked and drops down a spur, then sidles along terraces before finally dropping to, and crossing, the stream in the soggy bottom of the gully. It's about 25 minutes from the top to the start, then a short walk back down the road to the car, arriving just before 4.

All up, I was quite chuffed to have achieved everything I had set out to do, in gorgeous weather and with stunning views. I have been wanting to travel Quoin Ride and the Eastern Hutt catchment for many years and picking up two new huts was a bonus. There's plenty of scope for some more exploration of the Eastern Hutt but I'll probably leave it for a bit - maybe in summer with more daylight hours for a leisurely trip the length of the valley.

Times

Because the weather was so good I managed to get a lot of photos and have been able to take the times off these. The times are probably a bit quicker than a group will manage, as this was fairly lightweight, solo travel with just the occasional stop for photos and navigation. However, when I say light weight - I did discover that I had lugged in a ground sheet, second spare pair of socks and a merino top that I hadn't removed from my pack from last weekend - damn!

Saturday
07:40    Depart carpark at first information shelter on Water Works Road Kaitoke
08:15    Norbett Creek intersection near top of first hill
08:35    End of road
08.38    River
08:41    Swing Bridge
09:10    Top of spur above gorge
09:40    Quoin Ridge
11:35    Quoin
12:47    Top of Spur to Eastern Hutt hut
13:17    Alpha  (lunch)
14:18    Aston
15:37    Elder

Sunday
07:55    Elder
09:00    Aston
09:43    Alpha
10:31    Top of spur
12:08    Hut
12:30    Dep hut
13:50    Bottom of spur
14:10    Top of spur
14:29    Bridge
15:10    Norbert intersection
15:33    Start of Norbert track
15:50    Car park