“On a Mish” #5 Following Sir Ed (Part Three). Mt Taylor(2333m). Hakatere Conservation Park. 11.9.2015. Mt Taylor is a mountain that should be on most people’s list of things to climb. Although it is the biggest in the Canterbury Foothills it isn’t very difficult. It does involve a lot of uphill travel though, with effort to match, but with that effort comes the reward of so much to look at. Following in the footsteps of Sir Ed might make you as obsessed with adventures as him (and me!)…
I enjoyed an epic lunch with an epic view and, so far, the day had been nothing but epic! Unfortunately, what goes up must come down, and then return to civilization, so I reluctantly began the voyage back down the mountain to my camp in the Swin Valley.
To speed up the descent I surfed scree down into a small valley north of Mt Taylor(2333m), and then followed this back to the Swin River. Not too good for the boots, but a fun way to lose altitude and get to lower ground. I did my best to control my slide however I did still come away from the scree with a few scrapes and scratches.
I got back to camp just in time to be joined by my old man Jeremy. We had planned a catch-up mish and while I climbed Mt Taylor he hiked up to my campsite from Lake Heron. Not one for heights, he was happy with just a night out camping in an awesome place. After he got himself set up, we cooked up some food and as we enjoyed a meal around the campfire, I told him about the climb. It was great to relive what was an outstanding day out so soon after finishing.
We were up early-ish the next day as we knew a weather change was on the cards, and we were greeted by Cirrus clouds, informing us that rain was on the way. It was time to head back to the real world.
No problems putting wet socks on when you know you’re going to hike through multiple river crossings. After crisscrossing the river many times, we got to Double Hut, the place Sir Ed climbed Mt Taylor from, and from there it was an easy downward stroll.
After getting back onto the familiar rolling plains of Castle Ridge Station I looked back at the peak I had looked at so many times when visiting the area. Finally for the first time I could say ‘I’ve climbed that’, and not only was it a prominent Canterbury Peak but it was also one that Sir Ed climbed many years ago. To follow in the footsteps of Sir Ed is very special and it added to what is already an awesome day out. If you’re in Canterbury with a couple of spare days and some energy to use up, then I recommend you follow in the footsteps of the man on the $5 note…
