Mangaehuehu Hut

I had hiked passed this hut once before, and ran past it twice, but never stayed at it. So when I was looking for short hike to do somewhere around Ruapehu this was an easy choice. DoC lists this as a 6.8km, 3 hour hike to a hut on the Southern side of Mt Ruapehu (elevation gain is approximately 400m each way). The hut is a standard 18 bunk hut, complete with a fire place.

I left Auckland just after 7am, knowing I would arrive to the car park at roughly 12am. One of the reasons I chose this hut to hike to is if I arrived there and the hut was full, I could still double back to Blyth or Lipton hut, with daylight to spare (just). The walk is roughly half beech forest and half open tundra. Starting at the car park on Ohakune Mountain Road, the walk takes a small climb to Rotokawa, a small alpine Tarn with a great view of the mountain before dropping down to Waitonga Falls. Until this point the tracks are beautifully maintained as see a lot of tourist traffic to and from the falls. After the falls is when the tracks become more rugged. They are reasonably well marked and maintained, but would be describes as ‘technical single track’.

A wide boardwalk around Rotokawa

Only a few minutes after the falls comes the only significant un-bridged river crossing, and it is only ankle deep. When the water is low it is a simple process to keep your feet dry crossing on rocks. If the water is high you can still mange this, but it might be safer to just deal with wet shoes. From here the track climbs to the turn off to Blyth and Lipton hut, or on towards Mangaehuehu.

Swing bridge and single track/ boardwalk.

The track continues though Beech forest with a couple of single person swing bridges switching between boardwalks and single track with frequent views of the Mountain. The walk is a fairly easy stroll with no major climbs so it’s very enjoyable.

The hut sneaks up on you and pops out from around a corner with an excellent view of the mountain. The hut was warm and cosy (with the fire going), and had everything one would expect from a standard DoC hut. I prefer this style of hut, where the majority of beds are in the main section of the hut with the fire place, it’s less private, but I enjoy sleeping near the fire when it’s cold.

Can just see the corner of the hut

The round the mountain track, which this hut is a part of, see very few visitors per year, so this isn’t a particularly busy hut, despite it only taking me 2 hours 15 to hike in. I’m very keen to hike to this hut in winter, so stay tuned for a winter hike report.

The view from the hut in the evening.

The hike out is the same but in reverse, the only “strenuous” section would be the stairs up from the Waitonga Falls. The Around the Mountain (Ruapehu) track is my favourite track I’ve done so far, so this track is one I highly recommend. 

Training for a long(er) hike.

In the Kaimai Ranges

I will preface this by saying the longest hike I have done is 5 days, 82km and most of my hiking is generally two days one night. So if you’re looking for advice when preparing for a long through hike (weeks – months long) this isn’t necessarily aimed at you, however it will still be somewhat helpful. This post is more for those looking to go from an over nighter to several days (3-5 days).

My first longer hike was Around the Mountain, Ruapehu. It was amazing, but painful. Day one was long and tough, day two was tough, day three was ok, but I was getting worn down, and day four was an easy walk, but still a painful shuffle. I found two things in particular that were difficult, the weight of my pack on my shoulders, and the stress on my feet and calves. Now my pack was on the heavy end (21kg) but not crazy and I’m generally in good shape. I just wasn’t prepared for 6-10 hours per day walking with a heavy pack.

I’ve not yet seen any wonder program of special exercises to prepare one for multi day hiking, and I really doubt one exists, sure some general strength work (squat and deadlift) and maybe some unilateral work (step ups, Bulgarian squats) will help but when it comes down to it I think the training that will make the most difference is time on your feet and time under a heavy pack.

Mt Ruapehu

I’ve said before with regard to running that you need time on your feet and hiking is no different. Hiking is a long time with a heavy pack, plugging away on your feet, and the only way to replicate this stress is to put a heavy weight on your back (and therefore your feet) and clock up some distance. Again with the weight of the pack on your shoulders, once you have some meat on your upper back from weight training the only other thing that will help is to build up some resilience but having the weight on your back for a long time. Now I know this isn’t the most accessible training in terms of time, but I’ll address this later.

In the lead up to my hike across the Kaimai Ranges my plan was to get out each weekend for two months prior and get in 6-8 hours, 20 odd kilometres with a 20kg pack on. The plan was to weight my pack up to 20kg, as that would be the max weight to start the hike with. The plan was then to head out early on either a Saturday or Sunday to cover 10-20km, either on the road around home, or sections of bush within close driving distance. This didn’t quite work out as I was very busy in the lead up to the end of the year, but I was able to get some time between Christmas and New Years to get out hiking under my pack.

I started easy with 1-2 hours, then 2-3 hours just to ease into it, get the back and feet used to hiking again, as I hadn’t been out for a while. After this short warm up I ramped up the time on my feet, and the distance covered to better replicate the distance I would be covering on the North South track. I was also able to get out with some friends to the Crosbie’s hut, and used this as training as well. In total I got only 5 days of training in, but it was 5 days on my feet, under a 20kg pack, preparing my feet and back for the challenge ahead.

Mt William

On the way up Mt William

Table Mountain from Crosbies hut

I can say that even this little bit of training made a noticeable difference, I didn’t get any soreness in my shoulders until the fourth day, and even the fifth day wasn’t that bad. My feet held up really well also, they were a little worn out by the end, but never that sore.

I was only able to get this level of training in as I was on holiday, however it is still possible to simulate during the work week or weekend. One option is to have a weighted pack ready to go either after work (or before) or after dinner to get an hour in walking around the block. Even better would be 1-3 hours or more during the weekend. Either getting out before lunch, or if possible pack a lunch and go for the whole day. Ideally spend 6-8 hours hiking, but any amount you can get in will help. I did all of my training on trails, however this isn’t necessary, footpaths and road will work just fine as its really just about building up time on your feet. I do think that adding as many hills as you can will do you good though. It really boils down to weight a pack, and walk around for as long as you are able, as many times as possible before your big adventure. Just don’t go overboard and get hurt.

Water proof socks

I wish I had these socks for this hike

After the frozen and numb feet hiking at Mt Taranaki I searched out some water proof socks. I was lucky enough to find some reasonably priced sealskin socks (Brand, not animal). I ordered their walking socks, thin weight so that I could wear them over my injinji compression socks when hiking. I was unsure of how good they would be, so I was testing them out on the hike to Crosbies hut.

The first thing I did was put them on and stood in my dog’s paddling pool, dry feet, no leaks, things were looking good.

The socks feel a little odd, with three layers, the middle layer being water proof, and the fit was a little small, but otherwise they felt great, very comfortable. The thin weight fit over my toe socks and in my shoes just fine, but I don’t think I would like heavy weight socks (I should try to be sure though).

Still like these as inner socks

I then walked the 6 hour track up to Crosbies hut in what I would describe as moderate to low level mud (Nothing like Mt Pirongia). It was odd stepping into a stream; the water was cold and filled my shoe, my feet felt like they were wet, but they weren’t, it was an odd sensation. Though all the mud I didn’t have to worry about me feet getting wet and cold, they were dry the whole way.

Sealskin socks, they don't look fancy but they work

Once we got to the hut I took my soaked shoes off, then the water proof socks to check my inner socks – bone dry. They were so dry I took them off and put them aside for the next day, as a test. The next day we were almost at the end of the track and while walking through a stream if felt a little water on my big toe. Then a little later I was standing in a puddle and felt a little more water. When I took my shoes off I found something had made its way into my shoe (lots of mud) and worked a little hole in near the big toe. It was a small hole and only let a little water in so the sock was still 98%. It was a real shame to get a hole in the sock on the first outing, but by no means was this the fault of the manufacture, or a let down on the quality of the socks. There was so much mud in my shoes this was likely to happen. In future I will need to take better care to keep debris out of my shoes.

My final verdict on these socks is that they are an amazing game changer; they will be with me on any hike set to be muddy or cold. I don’t think they are necessary in summer (accept maybe on Mt Pirongia) as I find even if there are river crossings the water warms up quickly and isn’t much of an issue, wet feet are sometime just part of life. I think if I had had these for Mt Taranaki the experience would have been much more enjoyable.

I always seem to pick hikes with a lot of mud

As always, I didn’t get paid to write this, and I bought the socks myself, and will probably buy myself another pair.

Crosbies Hut Via the Karaka Tramping Track

Near the start of the track

I had a number of friends who wanted to try an overnight hike for the first time so I had to try finding something appropriate. Not everyone had the gear or the inclination for camping so a hut was the best bet and since there could be as many as ten of us, something we could book was the best option. I have been to Crosbies hut before with friends and really enjoyed it. There were also several other tracks up to the hut I wanted to check out. The tracks weren’t too long or too short, and the elevation climb wasn’t anything major so this was a good first time option.

The Karaka tramping track looked like a good option (if muddy), of the many tracks from that area. The track was listed as 4-6 hours, but I planned on 6-8 just to be safe. We got started just after 10am which would give us a maximum of 8 hours of daylight.

The whole first day was light rain, with moderate levels of mud, which didn’t bother me one bit given my water proof socks (More on those next week). The track was otherwise very well maintained, with the second half of the track (the main range) a quad bike track, so very easy going. The climb was very moderate and mostly un-noticeable (to me at least).

An example of the Main Range track

This was track was also a good test for my gators, these worked pretty well keeping my socks somewhat free of mud, though I think I will test them out a few more time before I decide if they are worth it or not.

We made really good time for the first half of the walk, but that’s when the times got interesting. One sign said 1:45 to the hut, which was fine, but 45 minutes to an hours’ worth of walking got us to the next sign – 1:15 to the hut. So we were running a little slow we thought, no big deal. But after an hour an 15 minutes we still weren’t at the hut. Then we hit another sign, 30 minutes to the hut. It was partly a let-down and partly a relief. The signs were wrong, but we were nearly there.

What a difference a day makes

Given the rain and cloud we didn’t have a great view that night at the hut, but it had cleared by the morning and we had great weather and views for the whole walk down. The walk took us about 6 hours up and a little less down. I was leading the way, slower that I would usually walk, and stopping every now and then to let people catch up, so I could probably do the hike in 5 hours or less. I would have called my pace a slower walk, not too slow, but I had to be mindful about walking slower than I normally would. It was nice to walk a little slower, with mindfulness and to chat to different people than who normally hike with me. Next time I would maybe swap with someone and walk with the back group for a while, rather than leading the why the whole time. Just something to think about.

I enjoyed walking with a larger group, leading that way, next time I’d like to do a bit of reading about the track and the area, so that I could talk a little about the area and the history, as much for myself as for everyone else.

Lots of old mine shafts in this area

Attempting Round the Mountain – Taranaki

I say attempting because we didn’t make it around Mt Taranaki this trip, I don’t think we even saw the mountain at all. This is because we were trying to walk the track during an Ex Tropical cyclone after some of the wettest weather the country has seen.

The plan was to walk around the mountain in four days, staying in the North Islands highest DoC hut, hiking mostly higher tracks. This wasn’t to be. When we got to the DoC office at Dawsons falls we spoke to a warden about our plans to go up to Syme hut (highest in the North Island) and carry on around the mountain. We were quickly informed that there was forecast to be 130kph winds that high up the mountain and the safety limit for hiking was 69kph. With our big packs weighing 20kg each we would likely get blown off our feet. And that was just the beginning. We were told that we may not make the hut on the next day’s walk; we could get blocked by a river 10 minutes from the hut if the rain were to worsen (which it did). And if by chance we got past that river, there were several more on the next day, any one of which we could find ourselves unable to cross. At the time we said we would risk it, we had the gear to sleep in the bush if need be.

So we set off from Dawson’s falls to Lake Dive hut, via the high track, hoping to stay out of the mud on the low track. The track was very well maintained, but very wet. As we climbed the visibility lowered, the rain increased, and the temperature dropped. Other than the weather the walk was great, I’m sure there are amazing views, not that we could see further than 50m for much of the time. 

Average visibility for the day

At the highest part of the climb, approximately 1500m the wind was very strong, and basically at the limit of safety, so I can see why we were warned about going any higher. This was also the coldest section of the walk, the rain was pouring down hard and cold, which wasn’t too much of a problem, except that it was running down my jacket, onto my non water proof gloves. Every few minutes I could make a fist and squeeze out the freezing water. Eventually the gloves were doing more harm than good and my hands warmed up after taking them off. The other issue was the water in the track; 100mm in most places, up to about 300mm deep. It seemed like every other step flushed new cold water in to freeze my feet. There was no getting away from it. Eventually the soles of my feet were numb. It’s an odd, uncomfortable, heavy feeling to hike on numb feet.

So much water, but not too much mud

Eventually we made it to Lake Dive Hut, a very nice hut, all to ourselves, seems no one else was crazy enough to hike during a cyclone. We got the fire going, but never really got it roaring. It warmed the hut up well, but wasn’t enough to properly dry anything. We managed to get a view of what I believe is Fathoms Peak during a break in the clouds which was cool to see. Overnight the storm really rolled in, driving wind and rain almost all night. This vindicated the decision to turn back, and abandon going around the mountain. With the heavy rain the rivers would definitely be up, and we may or may not have gotten across. I didn’t want to get almost to a hut only to camp in the wind and rain and have to walk back the next day. Even more so I didn’t want to put us in the position of trying to cross a river that we shouldn’t. It would prove nothing to get across, whether we make it across a swollen river or not, it’s still a bad call.

I think this is Fathoms Peak, but I can't be sure

The next day we spent some time chopping fire wood for the hut before setting off back to the car via the low track. Wet again, but not particularly muddy the track had a few wind fall and wash outs but otherwise was very well maintained. I was very impressed with the quality of the tracks. Both the low and high track took us 3 and a half hours and we made it back to the car in one piece. 

DoC had already build a walk-around this wash out

It was disappointing not to be able to do the hike as we had wanted to, but we chose the safe option, so we can come back next year, maybe January or February for better weather.  

Still an enjoyable hike