Trips That Don't Run: Mountain Madness

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TRIPS THAT DON'T RUN, MOUNTAIN MADNESS - August 20/22 Ed,Note: Recently a party set off on a Holdsworth Mitre (Winter) Trip (seventh attempt for one - "Nuts" Bolts) We accept no responsibility for this article, Names mentioned are not fictious (being true characters in tramping circles.) The writer declares he has been saved from many horrible deaths by joining the W.T.M,C. but we leave that to your discretion and imaginat ation, This story has been submitted because it is a sequel to "April Fools" - remember Terry in the September Journal ?and. the writer wishes to point out how very easy it would be for newcomers who are not really familiar with our bush to meet their fate. # We were to attempt a first class trip and to make it more interesting were told by Tom Carter, Merv Rogers and Rowen Crawford (all T.T.C.) that they had been told by Bill Bridge of Search & Rescue that there was a missing shooter somewhere in the area of Mt,Holdsworth and the Waiohine, Since they were in fact a semi-official search party they declined to pay their fare, but ha ha they were on a "Tongue and Meat" truck and were informed that. starting from Bannister Hut at 5 o'clock on Sunday after noon would not get then to work Monday morning, if they had to use their own feet. Eventually we started our tramp to Holdsworth, the Bannister Mountain House section taking only 1 hour 25 minutes. We called in and found the shooter's friend fast asleep in his bag. We woke him up to enquire about his mate and were told that he had last seen him Thursday afternoon. We pushed on to Powell Hut with heavy thoughts, (heavier than a pack Dave?-Ed.) The previous week-end Phil and I had been up to Mountain House and met Johnny Underwood, the missing shooter. He was not a member of a Tramping Club but had gained bush experience with some friends. On completing his bond with the Government he had taken to the bush with a friend, However, when we reached Powell Hut we found Johnny in his bag, inside a tent erected in the Hut, warming his hands over the flame of a candle, He informed us that he had shot three hinds somewhere south-west of the Holdsworth High Ridge, late on Thursday afternoon and in stopping to. skin them,realised that he would have to spend the night out.

He made a bivvy using the skins for a roof. At six o'clock he was in his sack, but it started to rain and by one o'clock he was soaked and extremely cold, Unable to stand it any longer he sheltered and spent the rest of the night walking around the tree in order to dodge the wind which rebounded from one side of the gully to the other. When morning came - i.e. daylight he made his way up to Holdsworth in the mist and somewhere early in the afternoon he said that he reached a bump which he did not recognise. He was exhausted (having ha d only deer meat to eat) and thought to himself, - "if I am wrong here this is it and I couldn't care less," Fortunately a break in the clouds appeared and he spotted Masterton and knew that he was all right. On the way down he began to stagger and through being unable to assist himself he tumbled over many times and to avoid the exhertion of picking himself up he sat up and swung his legs round and on and down like that until he reached the hut. But here his troubles were not over as after he had shouldered the. unlatched first door open he found he could not lift his hand sufficiently to reach the knob of the second to open it. Apparently the lower half of all his limbs were void of blood and movement. However, he managed to lean backwards far enough to raise his hand to the required height to open the door. I thought to myself his name might have beenme Underground and I am glad I joined the W.T. & M.C! e Next day dawnd clear with brilliant sunshine but accompanied by an extremely high wind. Three of us set off but were forced to turn back, whilst the remainddr of the party staged an unofficial Winter Sports Session, up in the snow, Tom Carter, I am told, reached a speed of 30 m.p.h. glissading over the ioe. I do not know who had the speedometer or whether it broke a record, but I was glad it was he who was using my ioe axe and not I as I can well imagine what I would have broken, Sunday morning the wind had abated and "Nuts", Ted, Rowen and myself sunba thed in a little snow basin, stripped to the waist and it was a good thing no lady members were lurking nearby. Phil, "Spud", Tom, Merv and Dan (the Taranaki man) went out over Cone, One little incident caused Rowen to burst into verse and it/went like this I It "Nuts" - Bolt - up - in - the -snow, Going - to - poach - eggs - Hard - boiled - or - no! # The s tory behind this ditty is, that on Sunday morning "Nuts" carefully unpacked from a tin two uncooked shell eggs and gently lay them down beside his primis waiting for his pan of water to boil, gazing idly out the window, However some honest to goodness fellow - myself ofcourse got his HARD boiled egg mix ed up with one belonging to "Nuts.' #t In due course the wat ter began to bubble merrily and he successfully cracked the first egg into the pan, but the second one was very obstapedenand for minutes at least we all spectacle atproor the egg and "Nuts." >>>>> FS. I C -

However, our loud sniggers betrayed that something was amiss - "Nuts" exclaiming at one stage # there's something WRONG with this egg - but at least he did not get a chicken out of it and I very nearly got the"bird # as the uncivilised ignoramous threatened me with violence (Ed,note I always thought "Nuts# was a gentleman,) ) Joking aside "Nuts" was a very decent chap always considrate etc,etc, and we can say all these nice things about him now that he is going down South. Good luck "Nuts". tt : Dave, We have heard of the folk who "come home with the cows" but never before have we experienoed the bloke who creèps back to the fold when the Bell Bird rings in the morn : this was experienced at Smith's Creek recently and encouraged us to burst forth with