First Time on a Fit Trip - Baton Saddle

First Time on a Fit Trip – Baton Saddle Trip Route

Mt Arthur, Tablelands via Gordons Pyramid, Lesley River Valley, Baton Saddle, Baton River Valley.

Highlights (many)

 Distinctive sub alpine vegetation (dracophyllum groves) and karst limestone tops of Mt Arthur.
 360 views from the summit of Mt Arthur that covers most of the top of the South Island.
 Parkland like tussock and beech forest country of the Tablelands.
 Remains of miners and drovers camps
 The very pleasant Splugeons Rock Bivvy and Flanagan’s Hut.
 Pristine rivers – Leslie and Baton.

Terminology

The club has a grading system for its trips: Easy, Medium and Fit. It is the latter category that seems to hold the most mystique and also strikes fear into the hearts of those who have let their physical condition go to seed.

After a hard week at the office, the idea of a sleep Approaching Mount Arthur (Harry Smith)

Tramping & Mountaineering 2004

Hugh Norris deprived and physically strenuous long weekend (my impression of a fit trip) is not the most appealing. However as the trips for Waitangi weekend were posted on the club notice board, I thought I was reasonably fit, and needed to get fitter, so decided to initiate myself into the realm of the fits.

Most forms of social initiation consist of three stages – firstly, a public humiliation, secondly, the learning of special or secret rituals, and finally a return to the wider social group with some boon or renewed status. With initiation into ‘the fits’, the first stage, public humiliation, involves struggling to keep up at the back of the party, panting desperately. The second stage, special rituals, will be seen throughout this report. As far as I am aware the parallel doesn’t apply at the third stage unless you count boasting at club night about the hardships endured.

There were six of us on our trip – two initiates and four veteran fits.

We arrived in Kahurangi National Park at the Flora Saddle carpark at 1.30 am. The first (thankful) sign

Salisbury Lodge with Gordons Pyramid in the background (Harry Smith)

that this might not be a ‘purist’ fit trip, was when plans to walk off in the pitch black for several hours in a direction tangential to our route, were revised and we set up a fly in the carpark with the easy and medium trippers.

In the morning I could sense a slight bit of agitation from fellow fits when it seemed we might not even be the first out of the carpark – after all what were we doing there in the first place, with the sun so high in the sky! In the end we did get away first – by several minutes. We knew the first day of the trip was going to be relatively straightforward. It was the Baton Saddle, scheduled for the second day that was the unknown quantity. Once we passed the Mt Arthur hut and followed along the gentle tussock and snow grass ridge and then on to the distinctive limestone rock of the region, the sun was beating down. A stranger (local tramper) appeared on a crag above the track and pointed out where we might find a spring for our thirst further along the track. When he heard we going over the Baton Saddle he shook his head and cackled ominously! Prior to the trip, I had consulted my father (also a local Nelson tramper) about the Baton Saddle. He said with a smirk that he had never done it but had heard it was ‘long and torturous’!

We had a leisurely stop on the top of Mt Arthur – this was cut brutally short when the cheery faces of the mediums appeared over the skyline. Apparently they MUST NOT be allowed to catch up with the fits, so we stuffed everything into our packs and Tramping & Mountaineering 2004 threw ourselves down the opposite side of the mountain like lemmings. From here it was crosscountry over limestone crags until we met up with the Gordons Pyramid track – then over the Tablelands and down towards the Leslie River to find Splugeons Rock and our night’s accommodation. When we were feeling tired and sure we had gone far enough to get to the bivvy, we became indignant because it had not appeared, there was even a suggestion that the bivvy had been moved! Much high tech gear appeared, altimeters and a GPS, and technology was pitted against the traditionalist on the trip (I leave you to guess who) who relied on studying the map contours. Unfortunately three different map editions all showed the bivvy in a different place. The mystery was resolved with a further five-minute walk along the track where the bivvy appeared. It wasn’t a rock shelter as we had expected but a well renovated small and historic hut (an old drovers’ camp) set on a rock ledge. Far from being dingy, as old huts often are, the entire front wall was made of an opaque tarpaulin which can be fully rolled up to allow light and fresh air into the shelter and the view across the valley. We left it up all night as there were NO sandflies. Once the dead rat was removed (thank you Yibai) from the mezzanine sleeping area, real estatesque descriptions of our accommodation came to mind, such as ‘well appointed’ ‘good indoor outdoor flow’ and a classic Wellington one -‘the walk up is worth it!’.

I recall pulling my book out to read – there were polite coughs and scowls- apparently not the done thing to bring a book on a fit trip! Similar reaction to my metal plate and cup. Apparently re-used plastic steam pudding packaging is de riguer among true fits, and passes as a bowl, cup and spoon in one.

Contrary to expectation an excellent sleep was had, there being no snorers, and our trip leader showing kindness by allowing us to sleep until 7am. The day broke however with the dread of the Baton Saddle ahead – its notorious stinging nettles and speargrass had become Jurassic in our imagination. After two hours following the Leslie River we came to the junction for Wilkinson’s Track – the route over the Baton Saddle. The word track had been crossed out by some wit(?) and replaced with HORROR! Five minutes up the track we came to the first grove of nettles. We were forced to put on our wet weather gortex overtrousers to protect our legs, not pleasant in the clammy heat while sweating up hill. Unfortunately the nettles went straight through the fabric anyway so the only thing to do was to try and avoid any contact with them altogether. Anyway, it turned out to be not too bad, as the track made its way, without too much drama, up through the collapsed limestone bluffs. It was raining with a gale on the saddle – and our final obstacle was the wall-to-wall speargrass down the other side and the prospect of being human pincushions. Luckily our trip leader had made a wise choice about the direction of the trip, as going Splugeon’s Rock Camp (Harry Smith)

Tramping & Mountaineering 2004 steeply down into the speargrass is much preferable (as they tend to brush by) to walking up into them (where they have an impaling effect).

We disturbed the solitude of a hunter when we arrived mid afternoon at the excellent Flanagan’s Hut (named after a runholder who used to bring stock up the valley). It was cold enough to enjoy a good fire and another quality nights sleep.

The final day was a five hour walk down the Baton River though beech forest, sun showers– and several gorges. Summer had returned by the time we reached the four-wheel drive track for the last hour of walking. In a penultimate display of decadence (for what I had expected to be a gruelling Calvinist slog), blackberry bushes and apple trees appeared by the track and the fits appeared at the roadend, engorged with purple stains on their chins. Finally there was an excellent swim in a delightful pool in the Baton and a change into clean clothes. I thought to myself, surely all of this is conduct unbecoming of a fit trip and will appear before the club disciplinary committee!

Anyway it was highly enjoyable excursion into very interesting country. Even Harry was happy!

The trip members were Eva Lottermoser (leader), Yibai He, Andrew Chisholm, Harry Smith, Tracey Grose &Hugh Norriss