The lead-in was notable for a wildly changing forecast from fine to stormy and back again. In other words, a nightmare for yours truly the organiser. However, it was alright on the day which dawned calm after a night of torrential rain. The route is good for not crossing a single creek that might have posed a water hazard.
An hour from Richmond saw us heading out from the trailhead at Inwood Lookout and it felt as if we owned the mountain with no others in sight. The sub-alpine area was very colourful against the backdrop of cotton wool cloud that occasionally cleared to show us the swollen Motueka River glinting in the wintry sun. Good progress was made to our morning tea stop somewhere near pt 1365.
From then on, we were consistently uphill and more layers of clothing were thrown on as we emerged from the bush and onto the tussock flecked with small patches of snow. We reached Gordon’s Knob at 12.15 and had a cold lunch sheltering from the wind in the lee of the summit.
A brisk pace back down the hill got us back to the car-park at 3pm. It wasn’t a walk in the park, my Strava record says 12.3km, 1,116m of climbing in 4 hours plus stops. But it was, by common consent, a great destination for a winter’s day. Helped of course by a large turnout of like-minded trampers with a vast repertoire of conversation topics.
Many thanks to those that trusted in the weather forecast: Kath, Kathy, Petra, Gion, Heidi, Wayne, Harry, Linda, Rosie-Anne, Chris, Era, Jo, Sarah and Ash
Scribe and trip leader – David L