Today’s target, Mt Bruce (1,630m) near Arthurs Pass. Looking at a topo map there is a marked trail taking you 2/3 of the way up. However, its a bit of a meander and I mean, marked tracks are more like guidelines….right?
With a bit more of a leisurely start, I left the car just after 8:30 and headed into some stunning beech forest. It was pretty easy going which makes sense as this is part of the Te Araroa trail network.
It wasn’t long until I was breaking the treeline and in tussock and dracophyllum terrain. I had talked to a work colleague who spends a lot of time in this area thanks to his batch at Bealey Spur. Some information he gave me was after a obvious and definitive gully, peel left and walk straight up the hill to the ridgeline. From there you end up being 200-300 meters from the summit. A lot faster and more direct than taking the trail around the face of the mountain.
So, I did just that. It was a bit slow in patches but I was making good time. The sun was out in full force and with little wind it was hot work!
Once on top of the main ridgeline, dropping away steeply off into the backside of the mountain was an epic scree run. This was to be my way off the mountain. Down the scree then walk out the riverbed.
The summit was conquered and lunch was had. I found a nice pocket tucked off the peak and lay back and took in the views.
After a while I donned my pack and began my walk back to the scree run I had passed earlier. Now came the fun!
The top was steep and made for some great moments of surfing the rocks. Towards the bottom however, the rocks grew in size and became a bit awkward to walk over due to their larger size bit also some being loose while others weren’t.
From here, I began descending through some lovely meadows before hitting the creek bed and thick forest.
Fortunately, walking along the creek bed was relatively good walking. Bits and pieces were impenetrable thanks to fallen trees and undergrowth. Occasionally I jumped on some game trails which helped progress.
Before you start to think I just blindly dropped off the back of a mountain and decided to walk out the creek bed, I had prior knowledge up my sleeve. That coworker also told me that there was a marked trail majority of the way up the creek. He was not wrong and after 30 minutes of bush-bashing I came across it!
The trail is not marked on any maps as it is part of the Wilderness Lodge located at the base of the mountain. That being said, I didn’t see any signage saying public could walk up it.
Anyway, it was good to get back onto a track and I made good time descending out the creek. The views were pretty spectacular at times with great cliffs and crystal clear water.
Back at the car, this track was clearly very popular as when I started there was only 1 other car. Now as I left for home there was 9 other cars!
Till next time.
#25 Mt Bruce – 1,630m, 9.8km, 4 hours 23 min
Cam.