Sunday 2 March 2025

Leader: Owen Cox

This trip is one of the hut bagging ones. Originally down as a three day trip we pared it back to a day trip to Snowy Hut as both Kime and Winchcombe were bagged on earlier trips, leaving Snowy as an outlier.

The club has done it as a day trip in the past but that was from the car park at Schoolhouse Flat. Consequently we were expecting a long day from the car park before the blue slip. Four left there at 7.30am. We passed a group camping at Schoolhouse Flat and cut across the river and flat to Sheridan Creek to avoid the first slip. We then followed the track to the bridge over the Southern Waiotauru and climbed up to the old road above, arriving there just after 11.00am. This dropped us down to the Eastern Waiotauru (or Snowy) about 1 km upstream. The river was low and warm so we made good time. The deep pool below the flats was only stomach deep so no need for the expected short swim. The flats in the Snowy were really nice. The goats keep the grass well mown. (There were plenty of goats - we came across a few and smelt a few more).

We arrived at the hut about 12.30pm, did the obligatory photo stop and then had a leisurely lunch on the flat. After about an hour we headed back down the way we had come. As it was hot we dropped down to the river about 1.5 km below the swingbridge. After a swim we headed down the open riverbed to just above Sheridan Creek. Here we cut across the flat and then crossed back to Schoolhouse Flat for the plod back down the old road to the car.

For those liking numbers we walked 33.3 km, 47,000 steps. Just over 9 hours walking - total time each way 5 hours plus 1 hour at Snowy.

Those on the trip were:

David Williams, Gordon Balfour, Owen Cox, Rob Dey

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.