“A Mish a Day” #41 Woolshed Hill(1429m). Arthurs Pass National Park. 29.6.2016. Arthurs Pass National Park is relatively small compered to other National Parks in Aotearoa but it has so much to offer and a huge variety of landscapes. This was a quick mountain fix mission during a warm, snow-less 2016 in early winter and was less than 24 hours from Christchurch.
The start of this ‘Classic Kiwi Track’ is located at the Hawdon Valley Camp-site and my plan was an afternoon climb of Woolshed Hill then camp at the camp-site. As I crossed Mt White Bridge over the Waimakariri River and only had 10 meters visibility, due to a thick blanket of fog covering the Waimakariri Valley.
I headed off from the camp-site quickly, as I made my way up through the beech forest, then fog began to clear once above the treeline, and I had excellent views. I hiked the last section of the ridge up to the summit and could now see all the way up the Hawdon Valley towards the Main Divide, and in the east the mighty Waimakariri making its way through the foot-hills to the Canterbury Plains. As the sun disappeared behind the mountains in the west and the temperature dropped, I made my way back down the track to the Hawdon Valley Camp. As soon as I got back to my car I got my tent out and up, then quickly collected firewood as a light frost began to form in exposed places. I spent the night huddled by the fire in the cold air before retreating to the warmth of my sleeping bag. A clear night meant a heavy frost the next morning and the inside of the tent was as frozen as the outside! An early-ish start had me packing up the frozen tent, then driving carefully back to Christchurch very aware of the possibility of black ice on the frosty roads. Left Christchurch at 1pm and back by 10.30am the next day, the perfect ‘Quick Fix’
