“On a Mish” #49 Back for More Mish – Part One. Double Hut & Peak 1115m. Taylor Range. Hakatere Conservation Park. 16.7.2013. Most of my missions have been solo. I have no problem with heading out into the wild by myself, however A little company is always welcome. On so many outings I have witnessed stunning sights and been the only one there to enjoy it. It gives me a small feeling of being selfish, as sometimes the views are so good I feel a little greedy. When I can take someone with me on a mish I will with the aim of blowing their mind with natural beauty…
Double Hut, tucked into the base of the Taylors Range in Hakatere Conservation Park is an absolute gem, and during my time exploring I have spent more than 12 nights at the cosy little hut. With it being only a couple of hours or so to walk to and with direct access to the Taylors Range, I have used the hut as a base for climbs in the range. I have also visited the hut many times with friends and whanau. The relatively flat walk to the hut over the picturesque high country plains make the comfortable shelter accessible to most and visually appealing to all. My Canadian friend Cameron Rodimus was in Aotearoa and even though it was the middle of winter we were keen to get into the mountains. Living in one of the coldest places on the planet (Winnipeg) meant he probably wouldn’t be bothered by the cold. Due to the huge amount of water between myself and Mr Rodimus, anytime we get together we make the most of it, and this round wasn’t going to be any different. For some reason Cam only seems to visit Aotearoa during the winter, and this would make a future adventure together (in the Cameron Valley of all places) very interesting… There had been a big dump of snow a couple of days before our trip, However it looked like the worst of the storm was behind us and we had a small weather window for our adventure into Hakatere.
A plan was made over a couple of beers back in Christchurch to spend two nights at Double hut, and go for a scramble up behind the hut into the Taylors Range on the free middle day. We sorted out all of the gear that we would need to keep us warm in the subzero temperatures, then headed inland to the snowy mountains around Lake Heron. We took in the cool fresh air and incredible scenery as boots were tightened and packs adjusted at the Lake Heron car park. Now battle ready, we began our hike into the stunning mid-winter environment towards our goal of Double Hut, and the snow white frozen mountain mass behind it…
