3 Days Solo Hiking in the Ruahine Ranges

as I'm going here heading up to Ria Hut then along up the W arranged Mah and down and all the way to Hut for tonight I'll carry on from there is it's B on 12 the time I'm leaving R A here that is the weather is very fine just a few patchy clouds around Sunny warm not much of a breeze which is a lot better than what it was forecast for I could see the um mang Mahou high point on the uh range here it's a long way away and that's ponak still couple KS after it so it's probably going to be 5 hours before I get there unfortunately but at least we got good weather for it [Music] so I am at the junction Dead Man's track carries on up that way that goes back to the um same car park that I started out down there this triangle Hut about a year ago now I um um Dad and I went to Triangle Hut we um did the ru Road into table flat um Road end which starts way down that way you spend um you pass Iron Gate HS triangle hearts and you come up this track and all the way out to longa here um so the Junctions kind of over there where that little Hill is I'm going to go around this one and then have to go all the way up and there's mang M sticking up the top there here I am at the turn off to Triangle Hut just go up this hill behind me it's just a long descent triangle Hut in the valley you can look up the valley Iron Gate Hut is somewhere that way and uh there's mangou it's a big climb can see there is a grand Trail here so now I am entering untracked back country and unknown that country to me Fair the side being is that Junction right there and so Begins the climb up I'm at the um top of Mong mahu um for the most of the climb um there is a track you can follow that last part there might still be a track but I couldn't find it so I just kind of picked my own way up which was um tiring and slow but I'm up here now so it's pretty much all downhill to um still thick clouds around this is the um River Valley some clouds coming in but um there's a ridge through here in Huts just down there here I am at the um Junction um the poll is to C nart descend off that way and the next pole Hut is just hiding there we go all the way down there uh we're entering Leatherwood country we're there is an orange marker over there but um this track is really rough it's um I wouldn't ever want to climb from the Hut up this way only going down I'm most of the way down now um just Dro My Bag here the uh track actually improves quite substantially when you get into the subalpine like I am and as you get into the trees it's this giant wide area probably camp on but um it's mainly that first 200 M of descent or 200 M or the last 200 M of percent of your leaving ponak that are a problem just cuz it's quite hard to follow and kind of weaving in and out of Leatherwood but um the rest of the track hopefully is quite nice like [Music] that looks like this tree got a little hungry and is eating the trail marker what a sight for sore legs don't know if I've been this happy to see a Hut here we are thank you spider I was just having a look in the um HUD book and um I'm the fourth person to come to the Hut this month December um yeah last person was here on the left on the 21st and it's the 28th 27th 28th today 27th today unfortunately these mattresses have mold on them it's a good thing I brought uh my little gray mattress although this one here looks brand new that's my bed now so I've um had some food not dinner yet I'm going to have that when I get back cuz I'm going to go check out the river just over there um 5 minutes down that way if you're wondering where the toilet is it's just off if you follow this path up here up there's the helip pad and the toilet's just on the other side of it let's go check out the river this is a ridiculous path to the river it's quite steep it's just down there somewhere here we are at the river you can also see had quite the uh wash out after the Cyclone as well the water was up to those lines there you can compare it to its regular height there was a lot of water coming down time for dinner is so my bids all sit up it's my pillow just full of clothes I've filled out the um intentions book so now I'm just getting packed up and ready to leave I've had breakfast the weather is somewhat fine outside no wind thankfully quite still over the tops um but there is a bit of cloud moving in again goodbye Hut supposed to be 3 hours to the hangi range onto the swing bridge and then 900 M of climb I've made it to the bridge it's a bit hard to follow the track there's um yellow markers there um but there's also red ones like on that tree that goes sleeply up there and I've had a look at the GPS and I don't follow the stream here so I believe it's the red markers I have to follow I left the Hut at 920 so another slightly later start than I wanted but we're going now I was going to say it's the hardest bit of track I've ever done done it's poorly marked but there is a ground Trail it's incredibly steep turns out I'm not even on the right spur I now have to go back drop about 50 m down and I'm going up that one I've just splashed some water on my face I'm off the spur now the um marker is there so don't follow the red ones like I did cuz that was challenging and that's where I'm going at least I found the track now what I've got to do is cross this River this looks steep but a lot easier so the bridges around behind that corner have to come follow up the river a bit more and now Begins the 900 M climb that rge over there that Sawtooth Ridge the infamous Sawtooth Ridge of the Hy Rangers and I came yesterday came over those high points along and down this uh Ridge here check out this View County nigh Hut is way down the valley that way it's where I came from got TI hicker is the high peak over there got some awesome Cliffs Sawtooth Ridge of course this is where I'm heading up now um sun isn't out it's supposed to be mostly overcast so I'm going to Chuck some sun block on anyway now cuz it's only going to get more open from here it's going to be a sad moment when I eat the last of these giant sour skittles it's a great view this here this Ridge was the one I was climbing up unintentionally oh wow I'm thinging back over here that is where I'm going that High Point way over there is Iron Pig so that's where I'm going unfortunately and then along and down into these trees so I reckon it's going to be longer than yesterday which was 6 and 1/2 hours so it might be 7 to 8 hour day today it's um 10 12 at the moment and the high point is up there if it was a 3 hours like the do time said I would be at the High Point at 1220 from the time I left at 9:20 down at the hut but um it's going to be probably 1230 12:40 CU of my walk up the wrong Ridge but at least I'm up here now this is interesting deer antler not quite a three-pointer I don't know is that being cut off or is did dro the aners right I wonder if that's been dropped or cut off but it's just extra weight so I'm not going to carry it out I'm going to get up there come all the way up this Iron Pig one hour hopefully it this one hour that'll be great tops right there I'm at the top this is looking into the Roo Rangers this is where I'm going to be going next and it's Pinnacle Creek the there that looks interesting signs are just there it's now time for lunch cuz I'm very hungry it's nearly 10 1 we've had some water had some food about to carry on to um Iron Pig now see how it goes here we go this is the head of um Pinnacle Creek guess you just pick your way down somewhere but it's awfully steep there's a little SP of orange through there in the middle I don't know if you can see that but that's waterful Hut say's an hour 30 here it also sit an hour 30 at the top it also sit an hour to Iron Pig from the top so that's a shame I got to go this way um I can I've seen the track it kind of goes I don't think it goes up to that Peak it kind of goes along and up we we'll see how it goes so I'm just Pinnacle Creek is just behind me there all behind there um I went up to that Peak but the track doesn't actually go that way cuz right behind it it's a bigger roded thing there's actually this little ground path and it um cuts into the slip and trust me it's a lot easier to go through I've had a look at it and it is much better than going up over that Peak so up there's that little Peak if you can't make it through that u shaped Bend there um so this is the track part and slightly worn but it is um it is a lot Stabler given the conditions and then it goes up and the high poter peaks up there and the track is just flat from there on out so there's the signs down there and I came around this part and it's definitely one of the sketchier bit of tracks I've been on then you come up to this kind of here and up now the hard Parts behind me I get to enjoy this [Music] View [Music] random trig here I don't know if this peak is named or have a [Music] look [Music] [Music] here I am Iron Pig is just there that's where I've come from and I'll tell you now it takes do not take an hour to get from Pinnacle Creek to here it takes 2 hours so at least that's what I've done it in um then go wiers over there [Music] it's cold up here it's probably it's probably 10 sub 10 there is very very gentle breeze and um the rain clouds are still quite High um the original thing original plan was to go to Mango wer the highest point of the Rangers but um it's an hour return and uh it's cold and the weather is as you can see deteriorating so I'm just going to carry on to Kelly Knights now I'm now the top Iron Pig uh at 1,73 M this will be the highest point on my walk cuz I'm not going to manga it's back that way it's got some incredible views into the Valley and some also great views out into the Ruku [Music] [Music] area [Music] way across the valley there where those big slips are that's the ridge I walked up and that high point is uh1 1632 and uh then I've come all the way along this Ridge up to Iron Pig all the way down [Music] here that's where I've come [Music] from um it's now 5:30 so was this time yesterday I got to Hut it's going to be about 6:30 to 640 before I get to Kelly KN Hut unfortunately but at least I'll get there before dark I'm about to enter the forest they haven't filmed much in the last hour and a half um the track's very hard uh to follow at times in the grass you just kind of look at the next pole and move towards it cuz there's several ground trails and they're all deep and concealed by the grass so I've had a few slips um and this last part is pretty much just a rough cut track through the Leatherwood and the forest is right [Music] there [Music] finally made it to the junction that's where I'm going it's just through there the bridge is up the river that way here's the bridge I reckon I could drink that whole river I'm really thirsty I've got barely any water left and I've just decided right now that when I get to the Hut I'm going to drop my bag and go for a quick swim the Hut it's been the longest day I've ever hiked in my life so far it's currently it's almost uh almost 10 7 which accounts for a whopping 9 hour and 50 minute day something like that I am very tired that's the most refreshing drink of water I've had in a long time had a quick wash wash the clothes that I needed got to head back up to the Hut now and get some dinner going haven't even had a look inside the hut yet oh concrete floor hey these beeds don't have Mt on them it's a lot better than Baki Hut might get that fire going unfortunately there isn't a table in here Kelly KN Hut doesn't have a roof filled water tank but um I filled up my bottle at the river so I'm going to use that first and have to do a few trips back up and down good thing about bringing spear candles is when you come to a hot without them you can actually get some Li in as well as you can leave them here for other people and make a pack lighter at the same time I'll get these going the fire is roaring down putting out a lot of heat it's now 9:30 f a little rest um got a lot of water ready for the morning and some water cooling down that I can have tomorrow fire is out now but there's still a lot of warmth in here closing the windows going to hop into bed now eating so um I'll see you in the [Applause] morning this is my breakfast bacon Mash in a pack of two minute noodles I was I'm looking through the hot book I can't tell which is less visited Kelly Knight or because this Hut book goes back to 2017 went back to 2015 this Hut gets generally quite a few visitors um although this time I'm the only person at least recorded in the Hut book to have come here all of December last person here was on the 11th of November so yeah it's been a while since anyone's been in here ground wher this is my Hut go away oh now it's over there I'm all packed up now ready to go I was just about to leave because it wasn't raining 30 seconds ago and uh now it's all just decided to come down so got to get my rain cat on get my pet cover on and then I'll get going 2 hours to The Junction now leaving Kelly Knight Hut of course the uh rain has just stopped as I have um put my rain cat on and got the pet cover on but I'm sure it's going to start again it's supposed to be raining on and off all day pretty much um now we go I'm leaving it's about 10 9 um I was aiming for 8:30 but then it rained and I um had to unpack and repack my bag a couple times that's all done now just got hit by some stinging nle right there I believe believe this is water furn I can't remember what it's called but um down there you can whatever water furn is I don't know if this is it but um they grow in the same area as the Neto and you can um rub it on where you got stung and um the pain will go away I've just come over the last somewhat high point before mang Mahou so now it's quite a long gradual flat descent for one last climb to the summit of mangam Mahou and then the rest of the track from there on out it's pretty much downhill it's just started raining again unfortunately um but the wind has been on and off and uh visibility is at about 50 odd M I'd reckon there's mang Mahou there's marker now on top of long the hallway it's my highest point for today and it's pretty much mostly downhill now toia Hut um but the wind and the rain are still quite Fierce at the moment so I'm going to keep going and uh if the weather um improves I'll have another break somewhere I'm now back on the track between Ria Hut and triangle Hut it's a bit sheltered here I'm just at the t uh it's been around an hour since I left mang Mahou um I've still got to walk up to the junction and then all the way down to longia so it's probably going to be around an hour and a half before I'm there [Music] just beening the hut for the last nearly hour and a half it's currently 450 um I'm about to get going again getting down to the car park I don't have a car there and I'm get some getting picked up and um uh car would be here till about 6 so I'm estimating it's about an hour's walk down for me that's what I've done in the past at least yeah the weather is looking a little bit better though some more rainclouds are coming in um so got quite the nice view today just leaving um here Hut now calling it a bit close cuz it's now 10 5 so I ride out of here we here in 50 minutes and I haven't made it down in 50 minutes before say it's 2 hours but um the fastest I've made it down from ranga Hut in the past was about 1 hour uh that be fine been there for a little longer than expected but almost 2 hours but not complaining cuz I needed a rest up today done something to my the back of my left knee think I've pulled a muscle or done something to a tendon but it's a little bit tender and discomfort um it's giving me a bit of discomfort yeah the weather isn't the best but it's not the worst either here I am at the end it's been a long few days all the way up all the way down Kelly night but of course all the way back today and I believe in this pocket I can even get to [Applause] it to celebrate I have one last giant sell Skittle and now it's sometime [Music]

Channel: TheWayfarerNZ

Views: 2,399

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Id: Dn8ANVJrZgI

Length: 42min 2sec (2522 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 09 2024