It was another early start to head into some unexplored country for me. Today’s mission was Mt Harper (1829m) and Mt Barrosa (1364m) both located up the South Branch of the Ashburton River.
I have never been into this area so I was blown away at how stunning it was as I drove through Hakatere and towards the township of Lake Clearwater. Huge expanse of brown tussocks and a deep brownie-red dirt. In the morning light it looked amazing.
With fresh legs, I parked up at Lake Camp wanting to do Mt Harper first as I knew this was going to be a bit of grind. I kitted up and began my stroll towards the base of the mountain.
During the days prior, I had done some research and planned out my route up a steep ridge to the tops. From there, it left me with another couple of smaller climbs to get to the summit. It was tough going with it being relentlessly steep for the first hour and a half. I was very grateful for the low morning sun and passing clouds to break up the heat on the way up.
In a turn of events as I was going up this ridge I found a top quality iPhone 10 that had obviously been dropped. This thing was semi frozen still but I picked it up and took it home to dry. As it turned out, after a charge and a post on the tramping club Facebook page, I found the owner. He came to pick it and when asked he said he lost it up there just over 6 WEEKS AGO!?!? I was amazed that it still was working after 6 weeks of rain, sun and snow.
With my good deed done, the rest of the climb was a lot easier on the legs. Eventually I hit the snow line and began picking my way through the shallower parts. Along the way there was tussocks with great haw frosts on them and no wind. It was rather odd stopping and just listening to nothing. Silence. No birds, wind, hum of a city, water down a river. Nothing. It was very odd to say the least.
Made it to the top and had a quick break downing some food and taking some photos before heading back down to the ridge I ascended on. This was where the fun began.
Although the ridge has some vegetation on it there was still plenty of scree runs weaving their way down the hill. It was so much fun. Sliding and bouncing my way down the rocks, definitely stuff you probably shouldn’t show your mother.
Back at the car, it was time to air out my kit and get some food into me for the next one. With a short 10-15 minute drive I arrived at the base of Mt Barrosa. Again this track looked a bit demanding with no real let off, taking you from 550m to 1369m in little over 3km.
I put my head down and pushed up the track gaining some some good elevation quickly. The landscape was stunning again. Huge rock slabs layered from years of pressure jutting out from the hillside. Pockets of native bush and views over the Southern Alps. Epic.
Cresting the top it reminded me of many scenes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Stunning vistas of rolling tussock hillsides with random rock formations splattered over the hill. I found a comfy looking rock that had a natural sun lounger feel to it. So I parked up and enjoyed some food and water. I must have spent at least 30 minutes at the top. Of which I learnt was long enough for me to get sunburnt……Summer is coming.
I think I quite possibly could’ve fallen asleep on that rock. With the drive home in mind, I dragged myself off and began the descent back to the car.
#8 Mt Harper – 1829m, 12.17km, 4 Hours 2 Min
#9 Mt Barrosa – 1364m, 6.82km, 2 Hours 15 Min
Fingers crossed for some snow melt so I can venture closer to the alps and get a few more ticked off!
Till next time,
Cam