Along the Mt Arthur Range

ALONG THE MT ARTHUR RANGE by STEPHEN HEALEY

A s it turned out water (or rather a lack of it) was to dominate this trip—far more than I thought it would even knowing in advance that water was going to be scarce along the range. Hopefully this info will be of some use should you happen to wander along the Arthur Range—we only knew about half of the tarns and the extra knowledge in advance would have made life so much simpler as you really need to taylor your trip around the available water. After leaving Mount Arthur Hut those tarns listed below are the only ones you can rely on for water over summer. But if these tarns were good after the 2½ months of drought we had last summer they should be good anytime. Ellis Basin. This tarn is marked on the map, just west of the track down to Ellis Basin and is the last water until well past the Twins Saddle between Pt 1476 and Pt 1541 on the northern side of ridge just west of South Twin. This is your logical destination for the first night. It took us a day’s travel to reach here from Mt Arthur Hut Pt 1497 (south-eastern side) by Cowan Spur turn off. There are a handful of tarns here, but there is another good tarn and campsite about 1½ hours south of here at Pt 1622, if you have time to get there Pt 1622, (eastern side of ridge). Just before the final climb up to Pt 1622 there is a small basin below with a nice tarn and campsite. This tarn is marked on map. There is another tarn just past Pt 1622, also marked on map, but the water is not as good, nor are the campsites. This is the best area to stay if you want to reach John Reid Hut the next day. Hough Saddle. There is a known campsite at the bush edge on the eastern side of Hough Saddle which is only 100 metres below the ridge and easy to get to. There is apparently water down there, but we went straight on by, so not sure how far you would have to go to find it Saddle between Pt 1541 and Mt Gomorrah. Approaching the 1,400 metre mark on the way down off Pt 1541 we looked back to the north-east and saw a tarn glistening below. There are two or three tarns down there altogether about the 1,370 metre mark and we found running water in the stream bed draining this area and which was the only running water we found near the ridge tops.

There was no other water anywhere to be found, so you need to make strategic use of these tarns if travelling along here.

The end.

O r perhaps some of you might like to hear a bit about the adventures we had along here as it was a great trip through a fairly challenging area, even if it didn’t all quite go to plan ….

I met Tony at the usual place at Welly railway station and here we had the first of our hiccups—the ferry was running over an hour late. and then while waiting in the queue at the terminal we took the opportunity to redistribute gear and here I realised I had forgotten my big fold-up drinking bottle. It had water in it when I dug it out at home so I hung it on the line to dry and promptly forgot it. Grrrrr!

Anticipating water issues I still had two 2 litre fold-up bottles, and I bought a 1½ litre lemonade that I could push down inside the rear zip pocket of my pack, giving me 5½ litres capacity all up—must be enough surely. More on the lemonade later though!

After a ferry, car and shuttle ride we arrived at Flora Saddle car park about 11 pm where the plan was to head up to Mt Arthur Hut, but there were seven or so cars in the car park and we thought we might arrive there to find the hut full. So we bunked down under the stars for an extra hours sleep.

We were up at the hut by 8am the next morning, (it’s only an hour above the carpark) and here we stopped for a brew and some breakfast. We found just a single occupant in the hut—we could have come up here ok last night after all. The girl staying there was interesting. She asked to borrow some toilet paper as she didn’t have any and then asked for the time as she had no watch either. We left before we could find out what else she might have forgotten.

It was around 8:30 by the time we got away and the day was already very hot. We were on top of Mt Arthur by 10:00 after dropping our packs at the Winter Peak/ Ellis Basin turn off. We spent some time there deciding whether to follow the ridge along to the saddle before the Twins and drop down from there, or whether to follow the Ellis Basin track and sidle. Eventually the security of a known route won out over the higher level option. Looking up later from below I think this was the right call as you would still have to drop down to the same place and it is much easier following the track down rather than negotiating a route down through bluff’s from above.

Back at the packs about 11am I remembered the lemonade I was carrying in my pack and reaching for it I opened the top for the first time only to lose a third of it as it proceeded to explode all over me—open fizzy drink with caution after carrying it in your pack to altitude is my advice!

We now followed the Ellis Basin track until it dropped down through the bluffs and started heading downstream. From here we could see a tarn in the basin below us so we left the track and headed directly down. This is a beautiful tarn in a spectacular spot and would make a great campsite if you had time to stop.

From here on though the route became more difficult and travel was very slow. We left the basin and took a steep dry watercourse to try and climb up onto the spur to the south. You are in scrub here and the watercourse looked like a reasonable option and it was ok, just slow. There were lots of little rock steps amongst the dense scrub, mostly one to two metres high, although they were much more difficult for Tony as he had spent much of January skiing in Utah and while there had a high-speed fall and damaged ligaments in one shoulder which meant he couldn’t use that arm to pull himself up or make a sudden save if slipping. This made his one-arm travel through this stuff even more challenging.

Cresting the ridge we could see the next open boulder area we were heading for across another gully. Route finding was a little tricky here as large rocky areas lead to steep drop offs and it was just a matter of weaving a way through. Once down and then up the other side we picked up a line of cairns that we were able to follow around under the Twins

After that it was just sidling under bluffs until climbing back up to the ridgeline above. At this point you are actually on a southern spur leading down off South Twin and we had a climb of 100 metres or so back up to the junction where we could get back on the main Arthur Range. It’s probably better to climb up here—we decided to sidle across to rejoin the main ridge, but it got very steep and we ended climbing straight back up the slope to get off the worst of the sidle. Dropping down into the saddle below we could see some mossy areas in a basin up ahead and as it was getting late (around 6 pm) we decided to drop down and look for water and a campsite. And the campsite we found was magnificent—an old dry mossy area we had seen from the ridge above, and which was probably the softest ground I have ever slept on. The Twins towered over us away to the east looking very formidable from here. The only problem was water so we wandered down to the stream bed below to find it empty. But by wandering up and down exploring Tony eventually came across a small tarn just above the stream bed five minutes below our campsite. We were very relieved as we had each carried about five litres at the start of the day, but had finished well over three litres each by the time we reached here and we were both quite dehydrated by now. It was a huge relief to be able to drink our fill and not have to worry about the next day’s water supply.

The next day we slept in (this was to become a habit this trip) after the best night’s sleep I can remember in the hills. The ground underneath was so incredibly soft I woke up facing the same way I went to sleep and don’t remember turning over once.

We got underway about 8:30 carrying about four litres each for the coming day. We expected to make Cowan Spur or the tarn by Pt 1622 that day so we weren’t worried for once about water as we thought six hours should do it—but of course things didn’t go quite to plan.

We climbed up over Pt 1476 above and as we dropped down the other side found two much better tarns than the one we had used the previous night. One right on the ridgeline—we walked right beside it—and another a bit further on down off to the right hand side beside a big mossy, boggy patch. These were only twenty minutes past where we had stopped and were much better water sources and were right beside the ridgeline—if only we had known we would have just come on to here the previous night.

Travelling along this section of ridgeline was much slower than we had estimated. There is no ground trail and with deep snowgrass, small ground hugging scrub, and rocky steps, you are just unable to stride out and get a decent pace going. We anticipated covering around two kilometres an hour for the day but only averaged about half that.

The heat was also having an effect. This slowed us up as we were trying to move economically and minimise the amount of fluid loss through sweating. Both of us had twinges of cramp at times, something neither of us could remember having before on a tramp—it really was exceptionally hot for most of our trip along here.

The range ahead looks particularly rugged but is mostly straightforward with a few scrambly bits. The one gnarly bit that forced us to sidle was a bluff on the western side of Pt 1565. This was a shear drop with a slip leading down to the right hand side. We actually sidled down under bluffs on the left hand side, but looking back the right hand side option was much better and shorter. If you can get down the slip face here ok take that side, you can see the bottom of the slip from the top of the bluff and it gets easier after that.

Reaching Baton Saddle we could see Flanagan’s Hut basking in the sun in a clearing below us, but pushing on we climbed to Pt 1580 where we had a second light lunch stop. It was now around 3 pm and we calculated we could have until they disappeared after crossing a low snowgrass saddle.

another four to five hours travel to reach our tarns if the travel continued to be as slow as it had been.

This was now a problem as we had got going too late and had already used up most of our water by this point as we expected to be there by now and we both had under a litre left. It was also going to be very late in the day before we arrived and with Flanagan’s hut and Baton Stream giving us ‘come hither’ looks from below our resolve started to weaken.

In the end we opted for the water-friendly option and headed for the hut twenty minutes back down the ridgeline and then a somewhat hellish descent off Baton Saddle. It was about 1¼ hours from the saddle down to the hut, but on one of the worst tracks I can remember. It is a very steep descent to the head of the valley and there is a line of blue marker poles to follow all the way down. Unfortunately it is completely overgrown and leads through a forest of speargrass the whole way. The foot trail is either hidden or vague most of the way and you are just pushing through never ending speargrass bushes with all the associated scratches and scrapes.

The blue marker poles were of interest though as there were many bumble bees up here and they have a particular affection for blue (my blue head scarf attracted them constantly as well) and one of the poles in particular had about ten or a dozen bumble bees clinging to it. Only after pushing past did I think I should have got my camera out for a photo but I couldn’t be bothered pushing back up through the speargrass to get it.

Flanagan’s is a great little hut and well worth a visit. The logbook was about half full and entries go back to 2006 so it gets reasonable use. The ridgeline from Baton Saddle to Cowan Spur had looked pretty gnarly yesterday, but entries in the log book suggested it was reasonably straightforward. A number of parties had come in to do the loop—up to Baton Saddle around and out down Cowan Spur.

Talking it over though we thought we might try something different the next day. Our plan now was to head about half an hour down river to where the track crossed to the true right and then head up a side spur directly onto Cowan Spur. This worked exceptionally well and the route was quite similar to the climb up from the Anatoki River around to the Drunken Sailor. The spur was steep initially but the bush was open and travel good. It took us about three hours to climb up to our destination, Pt 1563 back on the Arthur Range.

The travel from here south (with the exception of the sidle below Sodom) is much quicker than the travel north of this point—the ground cover is mostly short snowgrass and you can stride out without worrying about each foot placement and we made much better time from here onwards.

As we made our way along the ridge we spotted a native falcon. It flew ahead of us and then stopped on a rock watching our progress. I got the camera out and took a succession of photos as I got closer and closer to this remarkable bird. I was lucky to get quite close before it took to the air. Once up above us it just spread its wings and disappeared at an incredible speed. It’s ability to gain speed while just gliding amazed us.

As we approached Pt 1622 the two lakes marked on the map came into view and they look absolutely gorgeous. There is a small beach and flat grassy area at the eastern end of the bigger lake that is crying out for a campsite for a night or two. Unfortunately access is a bit of a mission and it is a long way down from the ridgeline.

We reached the northern tarn below Pt 1622 about 1½ hours after leaving Cowan Spur and dropped down for a drink and some lunch. Although it was only early we were already thinking of stopping here. Our intended destination for the day had been Hough Saddle and the bush edge campsite there. We had no reliable information on how good the water supply was there though and balked at trying to carry enough for that day and the next if unable to find any water there.

But it was a beautiful day, we had time in hand and the ready supply of H2O won us over and we spent the rest of the day basking in the sun, taking photo’s and exploring the surrounding area. The views from Pt 1622 were fantastic—we could see Mt Patriarch looming in the background with the Mt Owen massif beyond, while northwards the Twins dominated, but the ranges seem to go on forever to the north, west and south.

Now the mystery of the disappearing tent pegs deserves retelling here. I had packed up the tent that morning and when Tony went to pitch it after we arrived he couldn’t find the pegs. He had pulled out the tent and turned the bag inside out but no tent pegs. I couldn’t believe this as I had never left tent pegs behind before and it was a little far back to go and retrieve them. I felt really guilty and of course was going to have a major problem getting the tent up.

Then I happened to ask if he had got out the tent poles yet as they still appeared to be wrapped in their bag. I have always put the tent pegs inside the tent pole bag and wrapped the tent around them but Tony has never done this and always kept them separate. He never thought to look inside the tent pole bag and I had assumed he had already looked in there and the pegs weren’t there! Never assume your tramping mate does things the same way as you do is the morale of this tale.

Tony had carried his SLR camera and a tripod and that evening he stayed up on top of Pt 1622 looking for sunset photo opportunities and I joined him for a while before eventually retiring to the tent.

We were visited by a kea at this time and when I heard rustling outside I stuck my head out the tent to see it grabbing at a plastic bag of stuff Tony had left outside anchored by his walking pole. The kea wasn’t bothered by me and just kept on trying to make off with the bag and its contents so I grabbed my camera and took a few pics of him in the act, then tried to shoo him off by throwing bits of snowgrass at him. He played the game for five minutes or so before flying off in disgust.

The next day we again assumed that once again we would not get as far as we hoped but in hindsight travel was so much better through this part that Pt 1622 to John Reid is very achievable in a day’s travel. But we were not sure what was in front of us and were planning on a campsite somewhere around Mt Gomorrah. We got underway late, around 9:30, and then lost a half an hour shortly after when Tony stood on a big boulder that promptly gave way under him casting him down onto the sharp rocks below, and which saw him bleeding rather profusely from numerous cuts and scrapes and then using up most of his supply of tape to bandage himself. It all looked very dramatic especially when blood from cuts on his arm dripped all down his shirt and over his shorts while he was first taping up his leg. He gave generously to the blood bank that morning, but unfortunately no-one was collecting at the time.

All of this was happened while looking for a way down off Pt 1633 which involves an interesting rock scramble down off its western side before re-joining the ridge again below. We then sidled the next bump on the eastern side to reach the last saddle before Mt Star. We crossed this saddle and dropped down steeply on the western side and headed south again below bluffs off Mt Star towards the slopes leading to Hough Saddle which was visible ahead.

We continued to make good time until the approach to the sidle below Mt Sodom. Our route here got tricky though. Climbing back up out of the bush we reached a spot where we could see the first part of the sidle as far as the first spur off Sodom. Here there were slopes of slabby rock and snowgrass below and in front of us. I had been nervous about the sidle as I knew it was going to be steep—and I wasn’t to be disappointed.

We chose to drop straight down towards the bushline below us to around 1,330 metres to avoid the rock slabs, and we then sidled south at about that height until the spur ahead where we clambered up to a small shoulder at about 1,350 metres. We then sidled and ascended to keep above steep bluffs below until we reached a point where we could see a gully that gave us access down to a rocky gut below that then lead back up to the saddle ahead. At this point we were at or about the same height as the saddle, (a little over 1,400 metres) and had to drop down 40 to50 metres and then regain this back up to the saddle.

This sidle is no place for the faint hearted and while not technically difficult as there is mostly good snowgrass to hang onto and the footholds are good enough it is nonetheless very steep and exposed and with nasty bluffs looming below.

It took us nearly two hours to get from one side of this to the other. I stopped a few times while Tony dropped his pack and investigated the route ahead. Afterwards he commented that he was always very pleased to see his pack was still there when he got back as the slope was so steep he had nowhere particularly secure to leave it. I don’t know if our route was the best one, but anyway it worked.

The travel is ok if you have a good head for heights, unfortunately I don’t particularly. My ‘Fear Factor’ rating would be slightly higher than that of the Wilkin Waterfall climb, at least there are snow poles over that route to guide you up, which makes you feel a little more secure. Tony’s lead through here was invaluable, and I was very grateful to be following rather than leading! The photo below shows me looking back at Sodom and where we had come.

Continuing on over Pt 1541 we started the descent into the saddle before Gomorrah. As we descended we noticed there appeared to be tarns in the basin below us to the east. The time from our campsite to here was about 6½ hours so had we got away early and pushed on we could have easily made John Reid Hut in a day. Knowing the route past Mt Sodom would speed things up considerably as well.

Being after 4 pm we decided to drop down and camp where there was water again and actually this was a brilliant campsite—a lovely little basin with three different tarns to choose from and water flowing in the creek below (the only time we found flowing water anywhere near the ridge tops). Again we found some dried up mossy areas that provided us with a very comfortable sleeping platform and with the scary part of the trip under my belt (the sidle of Sodom), a good supply of water, and a soft bed, I had an excellent night’s sleep.

The next day was very hot again but we had the luxury of a sleep in again. It wasn’t getting light till after 7 am so we were just going with the flow and rising after it got light each day.

It took us around 15 minutes to sidle back over to the saddle from where we could see the trig on Gomorrah above.

Stopping for photos at the top we then proceeded down into the bush in the saddle below. There are good trails all through here and travel was excellent. A couple of more bumps and we were standing on the ridge above John Reid Hut. The views here are outstanding. Patriarch looks menacing just to the south and the Mt Owen massif is enormous, just away to the south.

From our campsite it only took us 3¾ hours to the ridge above John Reid hut so the total travel time from our campsite of the previous day to John Reid was under 10 hours. And having confidence in the line through the bluffs under Mt Sodom could easily save you half an hour or more so that part of the route is very achievable in a day.

We lingered up here for some time in no hurry to leave, but as we wanted to reach the river before dark we eventually had to head off down the ridge to meet Chummies Track. Entering the bush we were serenaded by around a dozen bellbirds. This was really special and I even took a brief video of it with my camera so I could relive their music at home. Then it was 2½ hours from here to the road where we found a nice flat spot next to a fantastic swimming hole which Tony took advantage of while I watched from a safe distance.

Greeting us here was a pair of blue ducks, who actually flew across to say hello and then later entertained us with their calls from the other side of the river for a while.

We were meeting our transport at 7:30 am the next day and luckily we were up early as the van came through at 7 am. It was still dark and I frantically waved a torch and managed to attract the driver. He had another party that he was dropping 15 minutes up the road, (where he had expected to meet us) so it was lucky I caught him. Half an hour later he was back and our trip was over.

This had been a fantastic trip through some fairly challenging country and I will remember it vividly for a good while yet.

On the trip were Tony Gazley and Stephen Healey.