Me and 16 CTC members started off this long and epic journey under the SH 73 bridge over Broad Stream. Due to the unpredictable spring weather conditions that were forecasted for that day, we were ready for anything from avalanches to a sunny mountain day. We actually got to enjoy a bit of everything.
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Our first plan was to hike Sabine Circuit. That didn’t happen. However, this long weekend still turned out to be our greatest snow adventure of the winter of 2019.
Mount Herbert / Te Ahu Patiki is the highest peak on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand. It’s proximity to Christchurch makes it an ideal spot for a day trip. The peak used to be covered in an ancient forest but that didn’t go very well with farming needs for open, grassy areas. Nowadays it’s all covered in grass and gorse.
As you might know, I’m quite a new member of the Christchurch Tramping Club (CTC). The club organizes mostly day trips, every now and then you can join an overnighter or something special. One of these ‘special’ things that I decided to attend was a photography weekend in Arthur’s Pass in our club hut.
Wharfedale Hut is a standard DoC hut with a nice, easy-going trail going all the way from a carpark at the end of Wharfedale Track Road to the hut. To get to the carpark, we had to cross a couple of rivers. One of them could cause troubles to the non-4WD vehicles so if you’re heading up there, make sure the water level is not too high. The crossing would be impassable and you’d have to leave your car by the river and hike about 5 km to the end of the road.
Foggy Peak (1741m) is a popular peak among Christchurch trampers. It’s well situated right next to a car park at Porters Pass and it’s one of the closest high mountains from Christchurch.
Another trip with the Christchurch Tramping Club. It was me and 3 more guys. This is a great number to travel safely and efficiently in the mountains.
After my last trip with the Christchurch Tramping Club to Boundary Creek Hut, I felt pretty motivated to try out something harder this time. Just clearly based on its name, Mt Misery sounded hard enough to me. There were 18 of us that day. It was Sunday morning and we arrived at the parking lot at the corner of West Coast Road and Cass Road.
Fizan trekking poles are supposed to be “the lightest trekking poles in the world”. That’s a pretty confident statement from its Italian manufacturers. I got a pair of the poles a year ago and I’ve been using them intensively since then
So I did it. I joined the Christchurch Tramping Club. I have to say that I was a bit suspicious of what it was going to be like to hike in a group of a dozen hikers with different life and tramping experience under their belts. Well, I have to say now that it was great fun!