The Tramping Report

Woolshed Creek Hut in winter

Woolshed Creek Hut is quite a different tramping experience in winter

The weather forecast was for snow right out onto the plains on Saturday night and Sunday. That limited the options for tramping to the front of the foothills. The Mount Somers area fits that requirement. And I hadn't been to Woolshed Creek Hut for two years so it was easily decided.

Besides, I was keen to see how the new hut was settling in, and also it's always an attraction to me to be in the hills during a big snowfall.

We headed out of Christchurch Saturday afternoon for the drive down and arrived at the Woolshed Creek carpark about 4.00 pm. The final few kms was through snow.

Honora headed off as soon as she was ready to go. I was almost ready to follow when a car came along the track. It was a young couple just coming in for a look. It was as well I was still there as they weren't able to turn their car around with its town tyres. After helping them I was half an hour behind Honora. But that was ok as we'd walked to this hut many times before, and in the dark.

Snow laden branches hung across the track in places

The snow was a few centimetres deep on the ground. In places the trees also were still laden with snow from the last fall. Branches hung interlaced from each side and I took care not to dislodge snow onto me as I crouched by underneath. It was chilly already and I didn't want to add to it.

Above the bushline the snow was deeper, as much as half way to my knees. But I was wearing my plastic climbing boots so my feet kept toasty warm.

Darkness fell halfway to Woolshed Creek Hut

The last light faded at 5.30 pm. I was still 30-40 minutes from the hut. The snow made for slower travel than usual. I did have two torches and spare batteries so it wasn't an issue. But I diverted from the walking track to the 4x4 'Burma Road' for the easier and more direct travel.

I arrived at the hut just after 6.00 pm. Honora had expected me to catch her along the way so she was concerned at my non-appearance. I hadn't thought to switch on my UHF radio when I crested the last hill before the hut and let her know I was on my way. It was something to learn from.

Woolshed Creek is a very large hut. It has 26 mattresses on platform bunks, in two separate bunkrooms. The common room is cavernous compared to most tramping huts. In fact it's so large it doen't feel like a hut at all to me. But on the plus side it is very well insulated and double-glazed so once the fire was lit it warmed up quickly. And it was great having the hut to ourselves.

In the morning it was snowing gently with no wind, and it didn't even seem very cold. We didn't have anything planned for the day other than the easy walk out so we just had a lazy morning around the hut.

Woolshed Creek Hut and resident snowman

The Mount Somers Walkway Society deserve far more recognition for the work they've put in over many years to develop the tramping facilities around this mountain. This hut may have been built by DoC but it would never have happened if it wasn't for their efforts.

I probably won't get to stay in it very often but I do look forward to more weekends, in winter or when the weather's so bad as to keep the crowds away

We headed off at 11.30 and were out at the car park by 1.30 pm. The snow that was falling when we left the hut turned to rain before we were out. The ground was awash with snow-melt water and the streams were rising rapidly

It was an ideal way to spend the weekend with such an unpromising forecast

 

Tramping weather forecasts

Having enjoyable tramping trips depends on reliable weather forecasting. The biggest part of this comes from your ability to interpret the professional weather forecast in relation to the localised effects for where you are going.

The best way to develop that ability is to make notes on what each forecaster says for each day into your planned trip. Then make notes on your tramp about what actually happens with the weather. Before long you will start seeing patterns that build an instinctive understanding.

Before that you first need detailed weather information. You can't get this from the brief descriptions from television or newspapers.

Five best tramping weather links

These are the websites I consult to give me the background to what is going to be happening in the South Island and Stewart Island:

• snowforecast.com 12 hr increment 7 day

• MetService.com 6 hr increment 7 day

• US Navy public forecast 7 day

• MetService mountain forecasts 1-4 days

• Ashburton Trading Soc. (Blue Skies Weather & Climate Services) 6 day

Using these weather websites, plus a good amount of 'reading between the lines', means Honora & I can go for months without tramping in bad weather. However sometimes we actually choose to go with bad weather just to make a trip more interesting (or less crowded).

Mountain Radios

And don't forget the Mountain Radio Service for daily weather forecasts on your longer trips.

Honora does the radio sched in a nor west storm on Mt Allen on the Tin Range, Stewart Island

Packhorse hut on a wet day

Rivercrossing skills are not usually needed on the Kaituna track to Packhorse hut

We'd been trapped in town by bad weather for two weekends in a row, with the long range forecast looking like it might go to three. We were desperate to get out tramping for at least part of a day. But what to do when the weather was so bad?

The walk to Packhorse Hut is right at the bottom end of what qualifies as a 'tramp'. So that was the mission.

There was little traffic on the highway to the Kaituna turnoff. Sheets of water stretched across the road in places. And curtains of rain were being blown up Kaituna valley by the strong south west wind. But we weren't deterred.

Honora carried her plastic climbing boots in her pack, to put on after the four stream crossings. It was so wet I wasn't going to bother trying to keep my feet dry.

The first crossing was the deepest - just over my knees. We did that one linked up, though not the full MSC method. The next three were almost to knee level.

Crampons might have been useful on the muddy track

After crossing the streams I just wanted to get up the hill and into the shelter of the hut, so I just went for it.

The top part of the track is completely open to the weather and was being lashed with near freezing wind and drenching rain, but I still arrived at the hut steaming.

The hut was dry, and for the whole time we were stopped there we were entertained by the antics of scuttling mice. But it was cold and we only stayed long enough for lunch and hot drinks.

So, it was just back down and home again, making it a 4 hour round trip. But it made for a much better day than if we'd stayed at home indoors

The flooded stream made the Kaituna track much more interesting

Stewart Island kiwi

This Kiwi stretched out to sniff right in front of me

A kiwi is likely to walk out in front of you at any moment. You need to have this in your mind the whole ten days it takes to walk the North West Circuit of Stewart Island.

We saw this one and stopped. It came out and  sniffed all around us, before wandering back into the thick vegetation.

On this rainy day we could easily have been walking faster, with other things on our mind, and would have missed this magic moment.

Motatapu Track tramping info

There are a steady stream of enquries about the Motatapu Track between Wanaka and Arrowtown. People must be planning well ahead for their spring and summer tramping trips. I can't imagine many would be walking it at this time of year when there's likely to be snow over much of it.

I haven't tramped the Motataup myself. And I don't expect to in the immediate future either. The Wanaka and Queenstown area has such a wealth of wonderful tramping routes that the Motatapu isn't likely to rise to the top of my list for a while yet.

However I accept it does appeal to a lot of people. So to help people with their planning, here are the best links I could find, all in one place:

Three best links for Motatapu Track

• Motatapu Track 22-24 November 2008   This is a slide show of an Otago Tramping & Mountaineering Club trip through the Motatapu

• Motatapu Track brochure   The official DoC brochure on the Motatapu Track

• N Z Tramper website  Motatapu Track information on Matthew Walker's website

Mount Oxford overnight tramp

Camping along the Wharfedale Track

Camping in beech forest along the Wharfedale Track makes a much better start to a day tramp on Mount Oxford.

We took the hour's drive from Christchurch and parked at Coopers Creek carpark late in the day.

Saturday's day trampers were just heading home.

It looked like they hadn't had good views from the summit as the upper part of the mountain was in cloud. But we were optimistic as our favourite weather website, Snow-forecast.com, had told us to expect clear skies on Sunday.

The DoC information board at the car park said it was a three hour walk to get to the Wharfedale Track. But we only had two hours before darkness and we did't expect it to take any longer than that.

We started off at a good pace and settled into our usual groove. The track was good under-foot and had a consistent easy grade all the way. And it worked out just five minutes under two hours when we reached the Wharfedale, and found a good camp site too. This was just before the Mt Oxford track junction.

As it darkened a Morepork close by sounded out its onomatopoeic call ("moore-poork") and replies echoed from all directions, and continued for another hour. They fell quiet and we slept on a soft carpet of moss.

We were up with first light at 7.00 a.m. All the bellbirds in the forest started tuning up their notes together and practiced their clear little tune ad libitum. The wind softly sounded its own song in the tops of the trees.

We climbed the Mt Oxford track. I had a case of the 'eagers'. I seemed to just float upwards effortlessly, though I could feel my heart pounding in my ears. I was glad to have the cool morning air keeping me comfortable.

It was 9.30 when I reached the track junction at the 1130 m mark.

Branches brought down by heavy wet spring snow fall

All around here a huge amount of large fallen branches littered the ground. These were brought down by a heavy wet snow fall late last winter.

The forest had previously been healthy here but that might start to change now and dramatically over the next few years.

So much timber coming down at once could lay the groundwork for an infestation of pinhole beetles (platypus species). As the next generation emerges they then attack the living trees.

The old NZ Forest Service recorded this process developing over many years following snow damage to beech forests. It's part of the natural cycle. It'll be interesting to see how the early phase develops here.

Honora caught me up and I left my pondering behind. A short distance later we emerged above the tree-line into sparkling sunshine.

Looking north east to the Lees Valley from the the track up the western ridge of Mt Oxford

There was such a contrast of space and light after the confines and gloom of the forest. And the sunshine added radiant warmth to the cool air.

We walked on to the broad flat top of the range.

Below and to the east, the Canterbury plains were covered in a thin blanket of low cloud. I could see the cloud moving steadily inland, and evaporating along a line just short of the beginning of the hills.

Further inland, the high ranges stood up like a long straight wall. That's where our eyes turned.

And as usual I started noting and naming off all the peaks and passes to myself. But there was more to it than just putting names on them. In recognising each feature I was also seeing them through the memory of all the times I'd walked on those mountains and ridges and in those valleys. The whole landscape seemed to come to life in front of me.

Walking on with this still in my mind brought a most sublime feeling of contentment.  It was very pleasant walking the easy kilometre to the high point of Mt Oxford,

The summit has a large wooden trig point marking it. Nearby is a low rock wall wind break. We didn't need that and sat out on some comfortable rock seats and had lunch. It was only 11.15 a.m. I'd been expecting there to be people about, day trippers from town. But no. Who knows why, when we could see Christchurch was having one of its gloomy days buried under low cloud flowing in from the sea.

It being so early we decided to go for the 'grand traverse' of the whole Mt Oxford massif. This would be new red line for both of us ('red line' is the way some people have their maps covered in red lines showing the routes they've covered).

A short distance further along the range we came to an area of golden tussocks. In the middle of these was a very pretty pool surrounded by bright green cushion plants. Onward toward Oxford Hill the tussocks were growing a bit taller, and this meant we needed to give more time to watching our feet instead of just gazing at the views as we walked.

View of the Ashley Gorge valley and the narrow gravel road winding through it to Lees Valley

Another kilometre and the view ahead looked down into the valley of the Ashley Gorge.

This marked the end of the range proper and the terrain turned downwards. 300 metres below we came to Ashley Saddle.

We climbed the ridge on the other side and our route turned south. From our new vantage point we could now see lush bush again, in the southern faces and gullies of Mt Oxford.

4x4 track on tussock slopes of Mt Oxford far above the intensely farmed Canterbury Plains

An old 4x4 track sidling just below the ridge tempted us with easier walking. Just around the corner though it dropped away to Big Ben Saddle, which was not the way we wanted to go.

Our route followed a fence-line on the crest of the ridge as it dropped another six hundred metres to the Coopers Creek road end.

The final section twisted and turned through native shrubs, gorse, patches of beech forest and pine plantations, to emerge at the Payton Lodge scouts camp.

It was 3.00 pm when we reached the car park. We still had time to enjoy a refreshing afternoon tea in the garden at Oxford's Cafe 51 before heading home.