This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
On Friday night, 12th June, a group of 13 members and intending members Grove from Shannon into the Tararuas for.an enjoyable . weekend's tramp around the Mangahao Dam area, A group of nine of us mere mortals, ably led by Chris Garton, were to do a medium tramp to Burn Hut and back. Four fitness fanatics led by Greg Aimer were going to do a round trip of Horn's Creek, West Peak, Ngapuketurua. It won't be mentioned that the fitness— ites spent most of the weekend in Harris Creek Hut, a short walk from the road end, watching the rain fall. ;
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The track to Burn Hut was basically a roughish sidie track Gown from No.2 dam, then a climb up the ridge, along the tops, then a short steep drop down to the hut. Once we had managed to get Chris out of the pit Saturday morning {too used to the easy life at Pipiriki!), it took about 4 hours tramping, excluding food stops for Andrew Trembath, to reach the deerstalkers hut.
The hut was in quite reasonable condition, until Andrew sampled one of the canvas based bunks. I'm sure the rip which appeared full lengthways in the canvas, with the application of his posterior, was merely coincidental. Chris fired up the stove, and most of the smoke went into the hut anGg@ a little went up the chimney. Visibility was much improved after Chris climbed onto the roof and gave the Ghitiiey-a° €ume up. All the smoke went into the hut then, and none up the chimney. About lunch time Sunday we managed to rouse Chris out of his pit, and headed off in the incessant rain;’ via a-'short' cut up behind the hut, onto the tops. Unfortunately; oncé on the tops the short -cut: éonsisted of a couple of hours of bashing through leatherwood. It varied in height from knee scraping, to.neck scratching, to being completely submerged in the masochist's delight. At about 4'ish we rendezvoused with ‘the fitness droun, after, their strenuous . stroll, back at the dam. rs ; = oak fires We arrived back in Wellington with enough time in hand to have been able to go to the Sunday. night flicks. All in all, a trip to Burn Hut hasn't got *much*going-for it, except for a tramp somewhere different, or the possibility of having an unda gturbed . dirty weekend. ; a ae oe eh Wes 6% ~ sin ou. Reporter - Hot: Rod -