So with an early morning alarm going off at 4:45 am all the planning had now come to fruition. It was time to summit some peaks!
First on the board was Little Mount Peel standing at 1,311 metres above sea level. I had some previous history with Little Mount Peel having walked a portion of it during my degree but we never made it out of the bush line so I was dead keen to get to the tops.
The walk never really gave you any time to warm up, getting the calves burning straight away as you climbed up the steep root laden trail. I was pushing hard as I wanted to be up and down by 11:30 am. This would allow me time to refuel myself and drive to my next peak.
Once I got out of the bush line I was deep in the clouds and there had obviously been some negative temperatures overnight as the puddles and mud were frozen solid! With some more exertion I got up above the clouds and what a view! The sun was beginning to crest over the clouds and the lighting was spectacular. I soon came across some steep wooden board walks. Not the obstacle to come across after a night of frozen temps! The boardwalks slowed me down significantly thanks to their slipperiness. However after a tedious 800-900 metres I was verging towards the summit.
One last push got me to the top where I was greeted by a cold wind but I was stoked to have ticked the first one off the list!
After a quick photo shoot and a sit down in the hut, I started my descent. I made for some serious time coming down and was back at the car 10:15 am – heaps of time in the day left!
After having a feed on the best chicken filo pastry pies (thanks Mum!) I departed and made tracks for Alford Forest.
Next on my list was Mt Alford at 1,171 metres. I was a lot more relaxed now as I had already got the first one in the bag and knew I wasn’t going to be pushed for time. I started my climb at 11:15 am through some beautiful native beech forest before gaining some altitude and coming out into some farmland.
After a short conversation with a herd of cows blocking my way I passed through the farm gates and into some sub alpine scrub which was fantastic as it left me in full view of the sun and it felt great to be out walking on such a nice day!
The more height I gained a building started to come into view. As it turns out, there is an observatory just below 1000 metres elevation. Something I definitely was not expecting to find!
As I crept past the 1000 metre mark I started to come across more and more snow! Anyway, upon arrival at the top and found a stunning spot to lay down and had a bite to eat as I looked up the headwaters of the Ashburton River and over across to Mt Hutt. As timing would have it, Dad gave me a call as I was relaxed out sunbathing and was stoked to hear that I had bagged my first 2 peaks.
After taking the mandatory photos I started to cool down so began heading back to the car. Along the way I had to have another conversation with those cows about blocking the way but they allowed me past. A further surprise came near the bottom in the natives where I came across the farmer clearing his possum traps. We had a great yarn for 5 minutes before we parted ways and wished each other a good day.
So, first two in the bag!
#1 Little Mount Peel – 1,311m, 9.9km, 2 Hours 45 Min
#2 Mt Alford – 1,171m, 9km, 2 Hours 45 Min
On to the next!
Cam.