This is another trip I'd been keeping up the sleeve for when I was feeling a little more confident about finding may way about with map and compass. The area in question is loosely confined by the Akatarawa Road, the Renata Ridge up to the Southern Crossing and the Hutt River. The plan is to head up the ridge running northwest from Pakuratahi forks to about point 536, head north past 572 then east along Maymorn Ridge for a bit of a look, retrace steps and then head northish to intersect the track Renata Ridge Track near Maymorn Junction and on to Renata Hut for the night. The following day, retrace the route without the side trip to Maymorn.
Nice theory - now let's see what happened.
What: Navigation trip
Why: Push the boundaries a little
Where: Western Hutt - Maymorn Ridge area
When: 29 October 2016
Who: Solo
Map: Map
The forecast is not great again so an intended trip to the tops around Mitre is postponed in favour of a trip that doesn't involve river crossings or open tops.
The Pakuratahi Forks carpark is empty at 6.45am, and damp. I figure there is likely to be a bit of a route up such an obvious ridge so, after crossing the swing bridge, keep a weather eye out as I potter along the loop track. A couple of possibilities present themselves but in the end I walk to the Flume Bridge to get a good look at the end of the ridge, then back track 100m or so to where the track levels out on an old terrace. Sure enough, a ground trail runs to the edge of the ridge, and a bouldery route leads up. After a bit it's clear I'm on a reasonably well used trail with some useful spray markers.
The ground trail becomes clearer once the track rises above the humus covered lower slopes into the mossy forest above. It's raining and the landscape is sodden but it's not windy, so once the initial climb is out of the way things proceed in a satisfactory manner, with little time spent casting about. There's a bit of wind fall to contend with but not too bad.
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| A bit of wind fall |
I emerge onto another overgrown vehicle track and follow it as long as it is going my way, then follow loose ground trails to the start (end) of Maymorn Ridge.
There's a reasonable trail leading up the ridge, with just a few spots where a bit of casting about and compass/map work is needed. Once on Pukeruru it get's a little more tricky: travel south for about 500 metres (always further than you think) then east into a saddle (don't miss it) and up the other side. When you have an idea where you're going there are a few trails to follow that seem to be going in about the right direction.
Things progress fine to the scrub southeast of 770m. The cloud is high so the shape of the ridge can be seen which is an enormous help. The going now promises to be tough. Trails come and go in the thick scrub. Periodically clearings run across the ridge so you follow them to find the next path of least resistance. At one of these I come across some pink tape which mark a cleared track and progress speeds up markedly.
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| The view south off Maymorn Ridge - not so impressive today |
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| North to Kapakapanui on left, Renata ridge ahead, route up to Southern Crossing on right |
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| Maymorn Trig |
The pink taped route is nowhere to be found so I follow the compass, struggling through thick scrub and low forest, heading on and up until, suddenly; a trig. Out-competed by the regenerating forest around it, it blends into the landscape into which it is slowly rotting.
Beyond, there is a route down to Hutt Forks. But for me at 2.45pm it's time for a bite to eat (not too long as it's pretty cool) before heading back through the scrub. At least it hasn't been raining for a while.
The return trip is a different proposition. I have a bit of an idea about the landscape, but it's impossible to retrace the exact route. I find the pink tape again but somewhere along the way lose my long serving black Macpac cap. This is the cap that has been on my head through all the adventures this year; ever since I liberated it from the clutches of number one support crew, to fulfill a far nobler calling. I'm a bit put out.
I get a little carried away on the way back, considerably overshooting the high point after 770. I had thought it would be a potentially tricky spot so had marked the shape of a distinctive tree and a patch of bright green moss, but had whistled past them thinking it was too early. I back-track and find them and take a bearing west into the saddle. As with many descents, there's no clear shape to follow. From the map you just don't want to drop too far south, as that side of the saddle is quite steep. From the saddle it is plain sailing up to the next ridge and north to Pukeruru to a clearing I had marked on the way in.
The route seems more obvious on the way back so it's quick going until I figure it is time to start bearing NNE towards 642. I find it a bit tricky here and make a false start on a ridge I can't identify on the map before cutting across to something more promising. This turns out to be a problem area tomorrow also.
Some old vehicle tracks coincide with my direction and make for fast going for a while but they eventually peter out. The undulating top of the ridge is interminable and confounds any directional sense as the light wanes. I put off getting a head torch out in favour of retaining at least some peripheral vision.
The last steepish climb up to the track is what I am waiting for but the sun is well gone by the time the trail starts upwards. It is quite surprising how the trail although old is still more compacted than the surrounding forest floor so even in the dim light your feet tell you you're on track. However, at some point it breaks right and I miss it in the dark so I keep on struggling up over rotten logs and through moss and humus, eventually giving up and cracking out the light.
Inevitably there is hard track under foot again and the gleam of a track marker. It's a bit of a relief to be able to amble along the well cut ridge track on a firm surface. It's not supposed to be far to the hut, and after a bit an old sign informs me it is only 2 minutes away. Soon after the smell of smoke and disinfectant indicates it is close but then fades. It takes a few minutes to percolate through, but eventually I figure I have waltzed past it in the dark.
It's after 9pm and more than 14 hours on the go when I disturb two women who have just turned in for the night. I don't waste time: hang sopping gear to drip, identify where the loo is (a bit of a walk), grab some food, and climb into bed. There's a bit of rain during the night indicating what to expect tomorrow.
Renata is an old corrugated iron hut with an indifferent fire place. It's not as abused as I expected and there's good company - the women have done some interesting trips and are just completing a loop around Judd Ridge, Renata and back to the Forks via Waiotauru (not so pleasant). One of them is aiming to bag 50 huts this year and has only 10 to go. I only semi-envy them their coffee in the morning as I munch on a slice of fruit bread and salami, and listen to belts of rain battering the roof.
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| Renata Hut |
As expected all gear is still wet and cold but there ain't many options. At 7am I leave them to their preparations and, well wrapped up, ease tired muscles back into motion.
Although my route is no longer marked on the map it used to be well traveled and the departure point is still marked on some maps as Maymorn Junction. I expect to see some obvious indication of it but miss it. In the end I just pick a spot and bash around onto something resembling a spur and start down. Eventually I find something I decide to call a trail and follow it. An old marker eventually confirming the choice. It may as well be a completely different ridge - there's is little familiarity from yesterday and there are false trails all over the place. Even following a compass bearings is tricky as you are never sure whether you are dropping off the edge of the ridge or just traversing another undulation.
I find the old trail again, which turns into a vehicle track and everything is good for a while. Then it heads off down hill towards Frances Stream. Backtrack, another bearing, another bash along what is hopefully the right ridge. This continues for a while with no breaks in the canopy apart from tantalising glimpses of nearby slopes which can't quite be made to fit the map.
The 'ridge' turns into a spur which I follow to a stream to get a bearing - it's flowing in an unexpected direction which means it can be one of two possibilities. That means following that slope up will get me to here on the map ... or here. After a series of such decisions I'm pottering along a ridge at the correct altitude but in a slightly unlikely direction when I recognise a clump of epiphytes fallen onto the track. Oh. Turn around. Backtrack. Take other option at last decision point.
This all happens on the ridge somewhere around 632 to 646 and by the time I've sorted myself out again I work out that I have passed Maymorn Ridge and am navigating past 572. This also proves to be infernally tricky. I describe another loop trying to get onto an identifiable feature.
The canopy is thick and high so the only indication of the terrain is what you can see through the surrounding trees - this will be less than 100m so hardly much to go on. There's also no chance of getting high enough up a tree for a view. At one point I find a fresh pink ribbon on a tree. Clearly indicating something but absolutely no other clues as to what. It is completely frustrating to know that just one little clue is all that is needed to make everything snap into a frame of reference and suddenly make sense.
In the end, fed up, I drop into what I believe is the head waters of the Kerekere Stream - it is flowing in the correct direction and I know I can follow it up towards my ridge and that there are a couple of old vehicle tracks that I might intersect. This time everything goes to plan but there's a fair amount of untracked real-estate between.
Finally I hit the ridge to Pakuratahi and lope along the old vehicle track, promising myself a break and bite at a clearing I recall from the way in.
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| Feeling the strain - clearing a bit short of 618 |
It's not all over yet but at least it feels like the home straight. I call home command from 638 as it's approaching 5pm and if I take a wrong spur I could be spending another night out.
The trail is pretty good going and I recognise features. I'm also watching the map more closely and keep a good idea where I am as I bump over 641 and 642. Here I pause to take a bearing down the ridge and keep a weather eye out, as there are a few old markers about. At a bit over 500m the ridge splits and its a few minutes before I recognise and carefully backtrack. From here on I spend more time looking for spray markers and less time with the compass as I followed these on the way up.
Finally, with protesting knees I'm negotiating the spur steeply down to where it abruptly flattens to spit me blinking out onto the loop track. I wander along the delightfully flat and smooth surface and across the swing bridge; still a bit of daylight left but not a lot of leeway. There is one car left in the park as I leave about 6.45 pm - almost 11 hours on the go, that's quite enough for one weekend.
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| Pakuratahi Forks at last |
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| Somewhat more cheerful than last selfie |
Postscript
Quite an experience. The body took a bit of punishment - numerous scratches and bruises from thrashing about in scrub, skin on left thigh went sort of numb and still not quite back to normal two weeks later, weird skin rash on face from stumbling into God knows what, something like a stress fracture developing in right foot ... i.e. normal sort of stuff.
It was certainly a navigational challenge - I really can't say I nailed it. Best claim is I ended where intended but with a fair amount of wasted effort on the way (especially day two).
Did I learn anything? I don't think I got much better at not getting lost but I think I got a little bit better at coping with being lost while working out how to get found again. After all, I spent a fair proportion of Sunday not knowing exactly where I was but not being particularly concerned about it.
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