I had been pondering for a few days about what to do on Saturday. I found that Emma was looking for a trip too, so after passionate discussions about the weather and abandoning plans A, B, C, D, and E (as usual), we settled on a loop from Mt Thomas to Pinchgut Hut and Bob’s Biv. Emma included it as part of her Scamper series. She again called this nearly 9-hour tramp a “warm-up,” which is quite disturbing to me as I can’t think of a “non-warm-up” trip without feeling pre-sore legs and butterflies in my tummy.

There were only four of us, but that allowed us to be quite flexible. During the whole trip, we were fast and lazy at the same time – we moved at a good pace, but we also took longer breaks than on an average moderate trip. First, we climbed Mt Thomas, from where we followed a forestry road to the end of Pinchgut Rd, where an old NZFS track starts. It goes over a couple of ridges and over Gorge and Whare Streams and climbs up by pt552, not too far from Pinchgut Hut. It’s in mint condition and has been maintained by (who else but) Honora and Frank. 

After a decent stop at Pinchgut Hut, we climbed up to pt1081 along Cattle Peak Route. This part is quite overgrown and would benefit from a trim if anybody’s interested. Both gorse and native shrubs have overtaken some parts of the track, but navigation is still pretty straightforward. Bob’s Camp Biv is well worth a short, maybe 300 m horizontal and 80 m vertical detour from the main track. It sits on a lovely beechy saddle between pt956 and pt1046. The biv itself could use an upgrade as the old outer lining made of plywood or similar material has gone through too many soaked and dry cycles.

After tackling pt1046 and pt953, we finally climbed pt1043 and took Ridge Track back to the cars. It was a great day out, and to be honest, I liked this loop more than the Oxford Loop or any other loops around. It’s now at the top of my list of favourite Mod/Hard day trips in the Canterbury Foothills. Thanks to Emma for organising and to Honora and Frank for their track work!

Stats: 26.8 km, 8h 30min, 2144m ascent. Route on NZ TopoMap (download below)

Participants: Emma Rogers (leader), Michal Klajban (scribe, GPX), Andrew Ecker, Jonathan Carr
Tramped on 12th October 2024.

Photos

Map

Download file: GPX-hikingisgood-com-nz-2024-Bob_s_biv_Pinchgut_hut_adventure.gpx