Te Araroa 25/01/26

Day 126, Tin Hut to Stodys Hut (2594)

It was a cold morning and I started the day well wrapped up and gloved for the climb up to Martha Saddle.

Morning view from the long drop (there was no door)

It was a relatively easy walk on an old Landover track that zig-zagged up the hill to the final scree slopes and a very cold wind.

Starting the climb 

Zig-zags through the scree

Scotty nearing the pass 

The good track continued it's switchbacks down the other side, a really great walk to Top Timaru Hut.

On the way down 

An impressive spear grass

Silty river

From there the path climbs high above the river before dropping into the bush and down to the river.

A climb up to avoid the gorge a

Awkward to cross when you can't see the bottom 

A river joins the Timaru from Mount Prospect which was more like grey mud and from there it was impossible to see the bottom of the river which made the inevitable crossings a bit worrying.

The path goes up there, note the trail marker 

I thought I would camp somewhere along the track but the only decent places I saw were too early.

And down here

I made a route finding error in one place where I tried to climb over a rock outcrop and ended up sliding down the other side and losing my water bottle that was in an outside pocket of the rucksack, I think I should have crossed the river again.

Trying to avoid falling down to the river 

It was 18.00 when I reached the start of the climb to Stodys Hut, marked two hours. I hoped there would be space in it and I wouldn't be disturbing everyone by my late arrival.

Climbing up towards Stodys Hut

As it turned out I was there in an hour and a half and there was only one person there. Two people that I had passed earlier arrived about an hour and a half after me.

Above the tree line 

A fine old hut for mice and men.

Stodys Hut