Autumn has arrived in Arthur’s Pass. It’s much more gentle than the European autumn. There are no yellow or red coloured leaves falling towards the ground, everything stays green. Yet you do get autumny vibes from nature – the light becomes much more gentle than in the summer, the mornings are chillier and the water is very fresh once again.
Anna and I set off quite late. It was around 12PM when we left Christchurch and around 2pm when we arrived at Greyneys Shelter by SH73. We left some chips in the car to welcome us on our return, and off we went up Mingha River.
Cass-Lagoon Saddle Track is one of the most popular tracks in Craigieburn Forest Park / Arthur’s Pass broader area. About half of the track is part of Te Araora Trail. Anna and I decided to see on our own eyes if it’s as pretty as people say (spoiler alert: yes, it is!).
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.
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.
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.