Day 106 - rain rain go away
Arthur’s Pass —-> Hamilton hut
15km hitch + 17km walk
It was absolutely hammering it down this morning, but convincing myself I’d be walking towards dryer weather, I packed up from The Sanctuary and got ready to hitch back to trail.
Josh’s foot was giving him a lot of aggro again so he’d decided to take a few days off. We arranged to meet in Methven in three days time. Annie & Grant were taking a rest day today so I’d be on my own for the next few days.
The first few km of today’s walk was alongside the road. With the rain still pelting down, I didn’t much fancy walking alongside the highway - I’d seen how close drivers could get in good visibility let alone in heavy rain. I decided to skip the main road and start walking where the trail turned off to a trailhead instead.
I got a lift outside The Sanctuary within 30 seconds of me walking outside. The guy who gave me a lift thought I was bonkers heading out in the rain but I was at Cora Lynn road by 8.30am and set off towards the Harper River track.
The track took me on a steady climb through the forest, the smell of wet pine filling the air.
All the streams were gushing with water. In normal weather they would have been trickles, barely even noticeable, but now, some were tricky to cross as water thundered down the hill.
Leaving the m the forest behind, I continued to climb out into the open tussock. I was really started to get soaked now. It wasn’t particularly cold, but both my jacket and trousers soon wet out and after an hour I was starting to feel it. There was no view out over the valley, the cloud masking anything worth looking at.
Around 11am I reached a very quirky A frame shelter, and it couldn’t have arrived at a better time. I didn’t take any photos as I was too cold and wet but this is from the DOC website.
I was now shivering so I took off all my wet gear, got dry and put on my thermals. It was weirdly colder inside the hut than outside, so I made a cup of tea, and then another one to try and heat myself up. After an hour, I begrudgingly put my wet gear back on and headed out into the rain once more.
But no more than 15 minutes later, the clouds had disappeared and I was suddenly walking under blue sky.
The trail followed the Harper River for the rest of the afternoon. With all the rain, the river was running very fast and it was the first time I felt nervous about crossing. It took me a while each time to find a place to cross.
I reached West Harper hut by mid afternoon and took the chance to dry my stuff out in the sun. It felt like a totally different day.
The hut itself was in its original state from 1957 - canvas bunks and dirt floor.
I pootled along for another couple of hours until I reached Hamilton hut, nestled just out of the forest above the river. Wonderfully designed with two separate bunk areas, I was very glad of the comfort after seeing West Harper hut earlier on.
It was Saturday so the hut was almost full with overnight trampers down from Christchurch. I played a few games of Monopoly deal with a good bunch and chatted to Nick who was the only other TA walker there. He was heading NOBO and expecting to finish in July - I’m not sure I could keep going that late with how cold I was already feeling…! Thankfully the fire was burning in the hut so the evening was lovely and toasty.
