This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
Sue Higgine Saturday 10" January Sunday 11® January - I = 10-day Arthur’s Pass trip ended all too quickly for the nine participants. This trip proved to be too much for my old pack and I decided to buy a new one. A good trip was needed to try the new pack out. 1 have thought long and hard about doing an S-K trip and now that I’m just on the sliding side (50+) I felt that it should be done soon. During our Xmas trip, Bronnie and [ had discussed the possibility of doing an S-K. We felt that for Bronnie, this could be a good introduction to becoming a Tongue & Meat member. Friday 9° January The weather forecast was for cold southerlies but improving. The temperature was frigid with fresh snow on all the tops. Jonathan, Allen and Shane came with Bronnie and Sue to Roaring Stag Hut. Shane, the driver, planned to do some fishing on Saturday before heading out, but he gave that a miss in light of the weather. Jonathan was hoping to do all the 5,000 ft peaks and the S-K but he decided to stick to the lower track instead (this was attempted later in January).
There was just enough light without torches as we left Roaring Stag Hut at 5.30am and headed down the Ruamahanga River. Allen commented that the river was up a foot since his previous trip (Allen’s birthday weekend 31 October ’97 S-K trip). “Great! Above our crutch already and it’s only 5.45. What's ahead?” The conditions improved once we were on the track but it was still showery and very cold. We headed up Cleft Creek, over Cow Saddle, past Cow Creek Hut, down the Waingawa and over the hard shingle track to Mitre Flats. Then it was on to Atiwhakatu Saddle and up to Mountain House, arriving at 5.30 pm. Mountain House had been our aim for Saturday but with valuable daylight hours left, we decided to go on slowly for another two hours to about halfway down Totara Creek. Bronnie and I made it quite clear that _ we were not going to be walking when torches were needed.
“No, this is the girls’ trip,” said Allen. “But we'll get bored in Mountain House from 5.30,” said Jonathan.
We were up and away by 7.00 as a particularly early start was not required. I was a bit anxious about how stiff my legs might be but going over Cone Saddle seemed to loosen them up. Sunday was a lot warmer although still cloudy and we stopped each hour for a bite to eat and occasional photos. Bronnie and Jonathan decided to take a dip by Blue Slip, but waist-deep was quite cool enough. We stopped for another rest near Smith Creek then headed out to the roadend like horses heading for home and got out by 5.20 pm. Our taxi driver, Shane, timed his arrival perfectly at 5.27 pm. Instead of fishing Shane had gone home to make us a fruit cake, which no one had any hesitation eating. Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible, and the new pack went well.
Punters: Bronnie Wail, Jonathan Kennett, Allen and Sue Higgins, Shane Connolly (taxi driver).