Rimutaka Summit - Smith's Creek

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* RIMUTAKA SUMMIT-SMITH'S CREEK "The trip must run", they cried bushes, and after about an hour and a through chattering teeth and their brave half of miserably pretending to enjoy words were swept away in the flurries of ourselves we saw a pylon loom up out rain and the cold howling wind as eight of the mist and then got on to a road Tongue and Meats and a renegade Tara- which left the main range, following the rua got off a truck at the top of the pylons along an adjacent ridge to Mt. Rimutaka Road on Saturday morning. Frith. Visibility was practically nil so The party was confronted by a dismal we estimated that about 20 minutes' prospect of thick mist, a few bleak hill- travel along this ridge should bring us sides, and horizontally falling rain, the to a spur shown on the map, leading road and the tearooms only preserving down to Smith's Creek hut. the identity of the place as the Rimu- Some distance along we decided it taka summit rather than somewhere in was time to leave the road and set off Outer Mongolia or Tibert during the into the bush, disobeying all natural monsoon season. instincts in favour of the confusion Thoughts of warmth and hot soup in instrument. A good looking spur was the tearooms were dispelled by a locked sighted and soon we were travelling down door and so we set off along the ridge it through reasonably open bush. As where rough, windswept scrub was mixed we went down the clouds grew thinner with patches of bush. It was very cold and the second growth thicker and in the wind and the party soon took on presently we located ourselves on a spur an interesting appearance with legs rang- going down towards Smith's Creek, the ing in colour from pink to deep blue Marchant and the Puffer saddle lying to with several mottled and two-tone west and the Tauwharenikau over to the varieties. One poor devil had black legs east. We came down on to the track and kept talking about a warm pub in just before the bridge with the handrails Featherston, but we later discovered and were soon in Smith's Creek hut he was wearing over-trousers and was where we met the other club party really enjoying the trip for some reason. which had come down from Dobsons. The patterns on our legs were soor Our "slightly more rustic possession" varied by a cross hatching of bloody seemed even more rustic, and rusty, than scratches from the tough, stunted gorse on previous occasicns, but with a fire going and the broken windows covered, water. "A" team, Miss Baker, B. Jefthe place became moderately habitable. feries, and J. Pachett defeated "B" team, The weather was slightly better on Miss Rickard, C. Capper, and M. Hall, Sunday and most of the party stayed in 5-1. bed until the rain stopped about 10 A little later we left to catch the truck o'clock and Peter, Penny, and Shona at Kaitoke after a trip which, despite arrived from Kaitoke for the day. Hughie's efforts, certainly had its Several members of the party went up moments, unusual yet enjoyable. the valley for a game of cricket, but Those on the trip were: Brian Devon, Lord Cobham himself would have given John Patchett, Dave Capper, David Watup in the conditions we found on the son, Derek Finegan, Roger Evisen, cricket pitch, so we had a game of soccer Alister Barr, Bill Lockey, and Murray instead with a Raro tin in six inches of Hall (trip leader). *