This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
Written by Alistair Young The summer was coming to an end so I signed up for a fit trip in the Ruahines for march 31 led by David with myself Eva and Andrew as Punters. The route was changed from a leisurely Kawhatau - Triplex crossing to circular trip which included crossing a deep unmarked saddle between Rongotea and Rangi Saddle. We discussed the wisdom of the proposed route - the possibility of Leatherwood in the saddle was good, the route was long, the days short, but wisdom and fitness are poor companions so we decided to take the plunge. Saturday was perfect - clear skies no wind, the only issue to be settled was the division of the gear - I took the large fly but refused the extra burden of the pegs, they were to be carried by Eva - small change for a veteran of two SK's. A latish start took us from Kawhatau base up onto Colenso and from there to the Mokai Patea Range - where we took a break with views of Ruapehu and Taranaki. We also had a glimpse of the ominous saddle ahead beyond Rongotea - what challenges did it conceal. We moved rapidly across the broad beautiful Mokai Patea Range and took an early lunch by the tam at Rongotea before heading along the ridge to Rangi Saddle. The travel towards Rangi was steady while we remained above the bush line. It was with the decent below the bush line that our fortunes changed - we encountered Leatherwood and the further we went the thicker it got. Several hours later we emerged from the Leatherwood jungle short of skin, tears and sweat cursing our decision to tramp that weekend. The Ruahines can be so tough. We reached Waterfall hut in the dark after almost twelve hours and shared the hut with four friendly if boozy hunters, the brew and food were well earned that day. Sunday gave us more good weather and we decided to leave the shorter way via Trig Creek and Hikaurangi with a brief backtrack to Mangaweka to stand on the highpoint. The day was uneventful and we arrived at the car about seven hours later as the weather started to fail. My last surprise came when I unpacked my pack - lying at the bottom were the Fly Pegs stealthily put there when I tumed my back, and by a veteran of two SK's, I had been carrying other peoples gear all weekend - no wonder it had been so tough.