On the positive side, this will be have to be brief.
This weekend I've designed a trip around the Rangiwahia Hut road end on the west side of the Ruahine Ranges. The forecast and my fitness are not brilliant, so I plumb for a relatively less ambitious loop taking in a bit of off-track, Irongate Hut (the new hut should be just about finished now), Triangle Hut and Rangiwahia Hut.
What: Tramp
Where: Western Ruahine Range
When: 7-8 December 2019
Who: Solo
Map
The usual long drive up, this time via a pretty good old-school bakery in Fielding (noted for future reference). The only thing of note is the amount of haze in the air - possibly something to do with Australia being on fire.
It's a popular road end so I'm expecting a few cars - there's two, possibly an indication of the forecast. I head off about 8.50 am.
Straight out of the carpark I take a right onto Deadmans track and plod on up. It's a good track, Climbing steeply then more gently. Before the bushline a couple of hunters are coming down - they've spent the night under a fly and bagged a deer in the morning. They're happy to stop for a chat and I pick their brains about the conditions and vegetation on the ridge - the forecast wind was reasonably kind to them but is set to get up during the weekend.
There's a long section through tussock and I can start to get a feel for the landscape - it's surprisingly gentle. At the top (10.25) it's hot in the sun and I'm not feeling 100% so stop for a half hour snooze in the tussock above a wee tarn, tucked out of the wind.
Underway again I head right (south) off the track and down the ridge. It starts wide and flat without much of a foot trail - it would be easy to drift off line in clag and miss the sharp drop to a saddle and the continuation of Whanahuia Range.
It's a bit scrubby in places and the foot trail comes and goes but it's fine going to pt 1392 which I loop around to approach from the south. The wind is even stronger now but isn't making a difference to the haze. Tucked in the tussock I study the map - the spur down is obvious today but would take a leap of faith to find the top in clag (11.50am).
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| SW from 1392 - probably pt 1434 |
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| Top of spur SE off pt 1392 - note the haze |
I can't see any foot trail as I clamber down through thickening scrub. Before long it is full on leatherwood with no sign that anything but animals come this way. I chose this spur because it leads straight to the hut and it's inconceivable that someone hasn't used it as a commuting route - once again the Ruahines aren't following the Tararua mold.
The leatherwood band runs lower than the map indicates and I'm thoroughly sick of the clambering and rending by the time more mature forest takes over. Towards the bottom the spur steepens and there's a glimpse of the new Irongate hut. I drift a bit too far right and have a clamber across a steep face to find a way down to the river. You don't want to get too close to the stream opposite the hut as there is a significant waterfall.
Across the river the brand spanking new Irongate hut is glowing in the sun. I arrive about 2pm to a sign on the door indicating that the workers have finished and are happy for all comers to demolish their remaining food but not to touch the other gear. Their farewell entry is the last in the log book.The old hut has been demolished and the new hut is certainly an improvement - warm, light, spacious with a big veranda. The DOC website still has photos of the old hut and I didn't count the mattresses but it looks like it would sleep 10-12 on bunks and room for many more on the floor and deck.
I have plenty of food for myself and don't fancy carrying anything more, so restrain myself to nibbling one of their Cookie Time cookies as I inspect the premises.
It's really tempting to stay but I'm keen on having a short day out tomorrow so reluctantly leave the new facility (and free food) about 2.45.
Heading up river the track ducks up a stream on the true right then leaves it to climb steeply onto a spur. In coming weeks the news is full of satellite photos of the Australian smoke plume reaching across the Tasman - but today I am just left wondering if the sunset colours in the mid-afternoon sun filtering through the beech canopy are related.
There're stoat traps along the way and I empty and reset 5 or 6 (all rats). I'm still not feeling great so just plod along and am relieved to get to the bottom and the flatter river travel (4.10pm).
It's a narrowish valley so you're in and out of the water but I don't recall anything challenging about this section. Triangle hut when it hoves into view (4.55) is perched on a wee terrace. It's old but perfectly serviceable. The Whio protectors are frequent visitors and it shows as the hut is kept tidy.
I note in the log book that another party took a different spur off the range to me (off Mangahuia) - they too do not recommend the experience and I can completely understand their sentiments (yep - that would be you Jean!).
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| Triangle Hut |
There's a bit of afternoon left and had I been a bit more on the game I might have looked at heading on to Rangiwahia Hut. The sensible thing however is to stay put and peruse the hut literature, which is what I do.
The wind gets up a bit during the night and it's raining off and on in the morning. I get away at 7.15 up the marked track - a far more sensible way of getting to and from the ridge. Looking back across the valley I'm a bit regretful not to be heading up the ridge behind the hut to Taumataomekura - this had been part of the original plan put paid to by the weather forecast. I have to admit to myself that, weather aside, I'm just too far off colour for it have been a goer.
The wind is strong across the ridge with clag coming and going. The foot trail is obvious though so I hardly need to look at the map. A short diversion up to Mangahuia (9.10am - not because it has a spot height) then I'm on the long, long, gentle descent to Rangiwahia hut. The cloud starts to break, the wind drops and the rain fades.
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| Mangahuia |
I didn't know what to expect but Rangiwahia Hut is a surprise (10am). What looks to be a beautifully muralled small hut with no windows turns out to be a massive woodshed. Then comes the hut with equally beautifully decorated toilets. The hut sees a lot of visitors and the infrastructure has received investment to match.
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| Rangiwahia wood shed |
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| Rangiwahia Hut and Rangiwahia outhouses |
It's about 10.05 and there's no point hanging about so I head on down the wide track. There're some engineering challenges with the steep and eroding faces in the area but DOC is keeping on top of it and there are some excellent information boards.
About 20 minutes down from the hut the track crosses a gorge on a beautiful arched wooden bridge looking like something from a Lord of the Rings film set.
After that there's a bit of a climb across a crumbling hillside and succession plants then back into good forest on a wide track. I bump into one couple on the way up but don't stop to chat, getting back to the car about 10.50
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| Not too busy today |
Postscript
The loop around Rangiwahia Hut and Deadmans is a much visited part of the park with very good tracks and facilities and info on the DOC website. There's no need to say anything more about that.The Whanahuia range south is clearly traveled and the short bit I did was pretty straight forward although the foot trails weren't strong.
Once again, seemingly obvious off track routes don't have evidence of use and are tough going through the scrub belt. It's definitely doable but I don't really recommend the spur off 1392.
The new Irongate Hut is flash, large and will really lift the possibilities from the Petersons Road end.
I was unsure about the quality of travel from there to Triangle Hut. In the end it was fine - the main thing was just that it is a bit of a grunt over the spur. I don't know what the river is like around the loop but it might be interesting to find out on a hot day.
As for the rest - pretty much exactly what you would expect from reading the map.
All up, not a particularly startling weekend but a passable loop trip.
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