Easter Trip: The Hodder Valley

Machine-read text (unproofread)

Read from the scans by software, so it contains mistakes. Typing it up properly would help blind readers: use Suggest an edit.

EASTER TRIP - - THE HODDER VALLEY Leader: Dave Catchpole. Ten minutes after leaving the it had taken us five hourrs to do road we were brought to a stand- a two-hour trip. Graham found an still on the bank of the swollen "extra good" camp, site which, I Hodder River. A couple of indivi- must admit, was sheltered, but I dual attempts to cross failed, so never did succeed in making the Dave produced the rope and we ground fit my back or in remaincrossed, J. Pascoe fashion, against ing in one place during the night an extremely cold and swift cur- as the site had a pronounced slope. rent. After tramping for some Doc and Peter must have felt distance up this side we crossed something like this too for, by way again, having decided to sidle the of protest, we shifted on the last bank on the true right. We climbed night to the abandoned Canterbury to about 400 feet above the river Tramping Club site. and followed a fence line for some At 4 a.m. on the Saturday we distance, passed the confluence of were awakened by Doc yelling out, the Shin and Hodder. This took us "Action; Action!" (He managed to to a point about halfway along the do this-with enthusiasm--each day lower gorge of the Hodder and in consequence of which serious here we descended to the river doubts were thrown upon his again since there seemd no point sanity by the rest of us). We cast in further sidling. a sleep-laden eye outside, observed Soon after re-entering the gorge that this was no day for tramping we came to a place where the river, and went back to sleep. being confined between vertical At about 10 a.m. noises coming rock walls; looked rather nasty. from the river bed were heard by Dave again produced the rope. We Dave (whose audio stage is apparlooked at the stream, then at each ently quite efficient). He went down other, then at Graham who, ob- to investigate and found a party serving that he had been unani- of eighteen members of the Canmously elected for the crossing by terbury Tramping Club who had a secret vote, tied on the rope and been unable to cross the Hodder at launched himself into the waters. the scene of Graham's exploit of At about one-third of the way the day before and so had eamped across he disappeared in a cloud of for the night in the river bed. They foam which, on subsiding, revealed were now braving the elements and only his head. He looked remark- going on through the upper gorge. ably like a fox terrier energetically We found out from them that the fighting against the current but Wanganui Club, with whom we had getting nowhere. Dave grimly held shared the transport in, had only on to the rope while we held on to managed to get to the confluence our breaths. However, in a few of the Shin and Hodder that day, seconds he was out of the swift the river having held them up and part and then on to the opposite claimed two of their ice axes. They bank where he held up his ice axe were going on to the Shin Hut next the handle of which had been day (i.e. today). After some further snapped off halfway down. With conversation we bid them goodbye the exception of Peter, who also fully expecting them back in a took a plunge, we all arrived on couple of hours. In this we were the other side dry above the waist. not wrong for several hours later After Graham had wrung out his they arrived back and camped for shirt we continued up the river pre- the night intending to go out next ferring some tricky rock climbs day and finish their Easter at Hanrather than the river wherever mer Springs. We spent a jolly possible. couple of hours with them while At last we left the gorge behind we were cooking tea discussing the and came to Shingle Flat where relative merits of the North and we made camp as it was late in the South Islands and eating their food day and obviously a waste of time whenever we got the chance. They to attempt the upper gorge. So far were a good crowd and before they left they provided some of our had come down, and soon after it party with an unusual type of sport began to snow. Threequarters of which I shall relate further on. an hour later I decided to turn During the day Doc and Peter back as the chocolate I had eaten suffering from an excess of energy, seemed to be having a bad effect took a quick trip across the upon me and I was feeling too immediately above us to the ghis shaky to climb a fairly steep rock Hut where they met the Wanga- pitch which we had encountered. nui Tramping Club. When they Thet trip down the ridge was came back they reported that this fairly fast at first but, having got was a very easy, route and that the below the worst of the weather, it Shin, in comparison with the Hod- degenerated into a series of leisder, was quite low. In view of this urely stops and starts which would we decided to go out this way to have been most pleasant if it had avoid further "swimming" in the not been for the wind. Hodder. On our arrival back at camp After some discussion we de- Dave told us the story, of how the cided that the gorge would C.T.C. and they had bailed up quite be hopeless on upper morrow (Sun- a large boar in the scrub and had day) so we would attempt Tapuae- dispatched it with a blow from an nuku via Tongue Spur, a long lead- ice axe. They had the partly dising ridge of the mountain flanked sected carcass for proof and were on either side by the Shin and busily engaged in cleaning up the Hodder. to take home. At 4 a.m. on Sunday Doc woke us legndo next morning again saw us up with the now accepted, "Action! up at 4 a.m. as we had to be out to Action!" The weather did not look the road by nine to pick up the particularly good but we thought transport. Having eventually found that we would still have a go at everything and got packed in the the climb. Thus we set out after darkness we set out for the saddle. breakfast to climb Tongue Spur. The night was quite clear and we After we had been going for about had a very pleasant trip. over. An an hour Dave, John, and Doc de: easy walk down the Shin brought cided to return to camp; Dave had us to the ronfluenie where we been feeling crook since he had made a half-hearted attempt (havwoken up, John had only come up ing gone the wrong way) to climb the ridge for a look around as he a steep piece of rock up to a terhad no ice axe, and Doc had not race upon which was situated the been particularly interested in any Hodder Hutt where we rould obtain case in this climb as he had already a cup of tea from the W.T.C. Howdone it before and since the wea- ever, Peter and I decided that the ther looked none too good higher tea was not worth the trouble and up he and Dave judged (correctly) continued straight down the river that there was no point in the to the road. The others must have climb anyway. decided similarly for they arrived Peter, Graham. and I continued only a few minutes after us. We and after a further four hours up changed, had a cup of tea, talked the ridge we rested behind a rock for a while to the local farmer, and had lunch (a piece of block and then got on the truck for chocolate). By this time there was Blenheim and home. a cold, sharp wind blowing, a mist GEORGE.