After a week off I was feeling fresh and motivated! I had 2 peaks lined up for on Friday, little did I know I was about to enter the pain cave. I was pushed to dig deep physically and mentally on this attempt.
Friday cane around and it was a beauty day. However, we had just had a Southerly pulse come through which dumped unprecedented amounts of snow along the Craigieburn Range and edges of the Southern Alps. Extremely unseasonable weather!
However, I knew I would be in the clear where I was going today. First on the books was Mt Cassidy (1,850m) located in the heart of Arthur’s Pass. Following this was my second peak for the day, Kelly’s Hill (1,394m), located on the West Coast side of Otira.
In classic Southern Alps fashion, things got steep straight off the bat.
The valley was covered in a blanket of low cloud but it wasn’t long until I was above it. Breaking out of the trees exposed a stunning rock face sprinkled with a dusting of unseasonably snow.
From here a sidle round to West tool me across some steep scree slopes and deeper into the snow. As I rounded a ridge I sensed movement ahead of me and stopped in my tracks. Just over 100m away was a young Chamois!
Such cool animals to see making the rugged terrain look effortless. He had seen me but couldn’t figure out what I was so spent some time looking back to me as he clambered around the spur.
After that cool experience it was up a steep gut and onto the main ridgeline.
The views were epic but the walking was not!
Between me and the summit was over a kilometer of boulders and jagged rocks. It was hard to get into a rhythm and there were definitely rocks which shouldn’t have moved, that did move!
I was making good time and reached the summit just after 10am.
The views were too good not to stop and have a break to take photos and eat.
The way down was just as steep but uneventful. I made it back to the car in good time and proceeded to take off my boots and air out my clothes. For lunch, I had leftover, homemade curry which went down a treat. At this stage the body was feeling good but I could tell my legs had already been working for over 4 hours.
After lunch I packed up the car and headed towards the west coast! I was looking for a small shingle road off the side of the highway. I was thankful that I didn’t have any cars behind me as I tried to seek out this road.
The time was now 1pm and I knew I had to put on the after burners in order to make it back to town by 5:30pm.
What initially shook me was the complete and utter opposite the vegetation was compared with what I was in 3 hours ago. Within 20km from the morning walk to what I was in now couldn’t have been any further apart. I was now in true West Coast bush. Dense, humid, with a lush green undergrowth and tall trees with large canopies.
It was almost beautiful enough to distract me from how incredibly steep the track was. I know I go on about how each walk is steep and they are in their own right. However, I think this was the first time where I was clambering on all fours, grasping at tree roots more than once.
However, time kept ticking on and progress was made. Breaking the bushline and see Carroll Hut was a good sight as I knew I was almost there. Only thing that stood between me and the summit was 1.5km of bush bashing and whether my mental game was up for the challenge.
I was at this point buggered
My legs were sore, stomach was grumbling, I was lacking energy and I just wanted to get to the top.
I had to dig deep to carry on through the waist high tussocks and rocky ridges that had to be traveled through.
Finally, after 45 minutes of hurting and being in a dark place, I could see my 29th peak.
Atop Kelly’s Hill, I lay down, had the last of my food and a well deserved drink.
It had taken me 2 hours to go from car to peak. Traveling 4km with over 1000 meters of climbing. I was sore.
Thankfully, mumma didn’t raise no quiter. It was all (nearly all) downhill from here back to the car! And I had more food and water waiting for me.
Walking down is always easier despite the forces put through your knees. Good time was made on the descent and those clambering sections of trail were just as tricky as they were coming up!
Just 50 meters from the car there is a moderate stream you have to cross. I can confirm it is a great way to wash the sweat off your face and cool yourself down.
Back at the car it was a quick transition. The time was 4pm and ideally I needed to be back in town by 5:30pm. Let’s hope I don’t get held up by any traffic!
Another 2 major peaks ticked off with some good lessons learnt around personal limits.
Time to recover then do it all over again!
#28 Mt Cassidy – 1,850m, 7.66km, 4 hours 37 minutes
#29 Kellys Hill – 1,394m, 8.25km, 3 hours 22 minutes
Till next time
Cam.