Day 74, Nichols hut to Waitewaewae hut.
It was a very blustery night but it stayed dry as the wind whistled round the hut.
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| Away from the hut in the morning |
The morning was still very foggy but the wind had dropped to a fresh breeze and we all started fairly late.
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| The top is beyond there somewhere |
The others soon pulled away leaving me slogging away up the hill in peace.
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| Got there |
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| Where's the marker? |
The cloud was making an attempt to lift and there were some brighter spells. But unfortunately no view from the top of Mount Crawford 1472m.
There were a surprisingly large number of flowers at this height, I will have to find out what they are.
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| Coming down the ridge |
The cloud started to break up as I descended the ridge towards Shoulder Knob and while it didn't clear there were some good views with cloud effects.
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| Mountain Celery? |
The walking was slow over the rocky ground especially where the tough wiry grass had overgrown the path making it impossible to see what I was putting my feet on.
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| Bush again |
Soon after the last top it was into the bush again, starting with the moss and lichen covered trees and about 800m of mainly steep, rocky, rooty and in places muddy descent to the river.
An interesting suspension bridge over the river followed by a short walk along the bank brought me to the hut.
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| Waitewaewae hut |
Luxury compared to last night, sixteen beds and only five people.
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| Great views |
A really good day, only a short distance but hard work. It was good to be up on an open ridge even with the wind and cloud.
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