December 24

Walk to Aspiring Hut

I went to the Aspiring Park Visitor's Center after breakfast to check on trail conditions and register for a hike. I decided I would like to stay at Aspiring Hut tonight and try a dayhike to Cascade Saddle tomorrow, one of the hikes I had thought about on the flight over, and one which had been recommended by the guide yesterday. The hike may be impossible if there is rain, due to the slippery conditions on the tussock grass slopes above the tree line, but I thought it would be nice to at least get above the trees to see the view there, even if I could not go all the way to the saddle. The lady at the desk did not think this was an unreasonable plan for an overnight hike, though it is known as a very difficult one. I got a hut pass for the night for $14. Aspiring Hut is a category one hut with gas and water, that sleeps about twenty.

I went downtown and stopped at the Adventure Center, where I bought a Mt. Aspiring map and a Deep Canyon Experience T shirt. I told the lady there that our pictures didn't come out, and she let me pick a picture left over from an earlier trip. Most of the left over pictures weren't very good, but they had a nice picture of someone rapelling the Gurgler, which was what I wanted, so I took that one. Then I stopped in the grocery store for some trip supplies, and went back to the YHA to finish packing and reserve a room for Christmas. I also called Trusty Rentals to extend my car return date to January 2, since it was now obvious that I would not be back in Christchurch on December 28.

I started the long drive to the trailhead at 10:30. The road started in the same direction as we went yesterday, following the lake out past a campground and through sheep pastures. The road turned to gravel and passed through more farmland. Lots of sheep were on the road in places. I sometimes had to wait for entire herds to clear. The road forded a few streams. Some of these could have been trouble if the water had been any higher. The road deteriorated toward the end, and I scraped bottom once. I had checked in advance that rental cars were allowed on this road.

Although it was warm and sunny in Wanaka, it was rainy at the trailhead. A front had been sitting on the mountains for a long time now, and showed no sign of budging. To the east was rain, and to the west was sun. The trail went up the valley through green sheep pastures, following a jeep trail up the West Branch of the Matukituki River, which was a light cloudy blue.

I soon arrived at a junction with the Rob Roy Valley trail. I had heard this was a beautiful valley with a glacier view, and it was only two hours each way, so I had time to go up. I took my pack, since I didn't know what the sheep might do to it, and went up the trail, crossing a bridge and climbing into the hanging glacial valley. This trail had been improved recently from a "route" to a "track", with new bridges and even a bench, plus some interpretive signs. Parts of the climb were steep and muddy, however, so it was not really easy. Also, my right knee was still sore from canyoning yesterday.

The trail climbed through wet, mossy forest, along a swift river. At times the view opened to reveal the glaciers hanging high above, and a big waterfall below the glacial ice. The trail eventually cleared the tree line. It was now clearing and partly sunny, but the mountain tops were in clouds. The track ended at some nature signs. There were some other people here, and some had followed the route past the end of the signs up the valley.

I stopped here to have lunch, and attracted a couple of keas. A person coming down from the higher reaches of the valley told me that she had gone up to try to get closer to the glacier, but gave up because you can climb a long time and it still doesn't appear to get much closer. I went up just a little further, because I had to get started back to make it to Aspiring Hut before dark.

I made it to the main valley at 3:30. There was now a strong wind and some rain. The wind was down the valley, making walking up it difficult. There were sheep everywhere, and some cows. I passed Bridal Veil Falls, which led to the first stream I couldn't cross with dry feet. It stopped raining eventually, and the sun came out, but it was still windy. Mountains were visible ahead, and a rainbow formed behind, rising gradually from the valley floor. I passed some black and white birds with long orange beaks, which made a loud high-pitched noise. They were common here. I had to cross several more streams, some of which could not be crossed dryly. My feet were already wet, so it didn't matter any more.

Soon, Cascade Hut became visible. It is a small hut with minimal facilities, a half hour before Aspiring Hut. The trail crossed another big stream and then a swampy area before Aspiring Hut became visible, a nice stone structure with big windows. Inside, it was full of people, but was not at capacity. The big main room had windows all along one wall, a stove, a telescope, a kitchen on the wall across from the big windows, and tables in the middle and some beds around the edges. Another room contained just sleeping platforms.

I put my stuff in the sleeping room, on the bottom shelf, and met a German who had been here many days, taking day hikes all around. He had just returned from a walk up Culler's Route toward Cascade Saddle, where I was planning to go tomorrow. He was not very encouraging. He said he went as far as the pylon at the highest point of the first ridge, and then turned back because he had not brought warm clothes, and the views were poor since the ridge was in the clouds. He said there were some difficult climbs, especially coming down, and that an ice axe would be helpful. He said that although he considered himself to be in excellent condition, it was an extremely difficult route, and he did not recommend it. He said some other walks with fine views were possible, including one up the valley to French Ridge Hut, where there was some snow. I decided that I would have to try Culler's Route after reading and hearing so much about it, even if I couldn't get to Cascade Saddle itself. It was too notorious to pass up.

I started making dinner at 8:30, after listening to the German talk about his climbing and his trip to America and his slide shows. Some people were already getting ready for bed as I finished cooking. The hut warden came in and collected the fees and checked hut tickets. He said he thought Cascade Saddle had better views than MacKinnon Pass on the Milford Track, if conditions were good. It was not promising now, though the weather was supposed to be improving. Some people sang Christmas songs as darkness fell, and I want to bed soon after dark, expecting to rise early tomorrow for my attempt at Cascade Saddle.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1996. All rights reserved.