The weekend had come around and it was time to head to the hills!
I had been keeping an eye on the weather forecasts and was tossing up between heading to Hanmer or into Porters Pass. The way the weather was moving my window of opportunity was to head to Hanmer on Monday then Porters on Tuesday.
Another early start had me climbing up Mt Isobel at 8:30 am. With me I brought my best buddy, Charlie! The weather had played in my favour with some high clouds but the wind was strong. We pushed up along the ridge line making for some great time although it was a rude awakening for the legs with no warm up before the steep stuff!
We hit the main ridge and damn was it windy! The rope I had Charlie on was out 4 metres and was being pushed horizontally. At the top I attempted to take the mandatory summit photo but when you throw in the mix a dog who doesn’t like his photo taken, things get rather difficult!
After a quick bite I put Charlies booties on. The ridge was exceptionally rocky so I put them on in order to save his paws from cuts on the descent. Just after I had done the last paw a hunter made it to the top. Shaun was on a 2 week hunting trip from the North Island making his way to Wanaka. He had been out early on the other side of the valley scoping out for some Chamois, to no avail unfortunately.
We parted ways and powered back down to the car.
Arriving at the car Charlie and I had a solid 50 – 60 minute break refueling and resting the legs readying ourselves to tackle Mt Dumblane.
Dumblane is that flat tabletop like peak to the left of Mt Isobel if you were looking from Hanmer Springs township. I had had friends head up it both on bike and foot so I was keen to venture into what was unknown terrain for me.
The walk up was beautiful! You passed through patches of beech forest to then Mars like sparse landscapes with stunning rock pinnacles. The final push to the ridge line was a bit unrelenting but once you had reached the ridge you were greeted with stunning 360 degree views of the Hurunui district.
Our time spent at the summit was short based on the nasty looking clouds lingering over the upper Waiau River catchments. My decision was a good one as we kept getting sprinkled by rain carried on the winds.
Going down was nice and easy although Charlie started to fade a little halfway down and opted to walk behind me rather than his usual out in front style. We got back to the car and he was buggered! I took his harness off and replaced it for his winters night jacket in which he fell asleep before I could take my boots off.
Another big day with two peaks in the bag. and timed to perfection with the rain settling in once I hit Hanmer township.
#3 Mt Isobel – 1,319m, 6.21km, 1 Hour 50 Min
#4 Mt Dumblane – 1,303m, 6.50km, 2 Hours
Time to sleep and get ready for tomorrow!
Cam.