Richmond Saddle & Mt Fell huts Crossover | Labour W
eekend
Celebrate the public holiday in the mountains with a cros
sover between Richmond Saddle & Mt Fell huts.
Debbie Hogan w
ill lead a group up the standard 4-hour route from Jubilee Flat in Top Vall
ey Road, up to Richmond Saddle Hut for the night. (8 bunks). As there may b
e other people in the hut, bring a tent/mattress. On Sunday, climb to the t
op of Mt Richmond (1760m). Above the bushline, the poled route traverses un
stable, rocky slopes which require good balance and confident footwork. Loo
k out for the rare penwiper, vegetable sheep Raoulia eximia, the e
ndemic daisy Celmisia macmahonii, and creamy white gentians.
Read about Ray's trip in a Wilderness magazine article here: Route Guide over Mt Fell &
amp; Mt Richmond: https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/trip/mt-ric
hmond-mt-fell-circuit-mt-richmond-forest-park/
Read about
finding the aircraft wreck on Wilderness magazine here: https://
www.wildernessmag.co.nz/trip/johnston-peak-mt-richmond-forest-park/
We will meet up with Ray's group along the way down to Mt Fell Hut
. We will visit the wreckage of the fated ‘Kereru’ which crashed o
n the slopes of Johnston Peak (1647m), during WW2*.
We wills overnight
at Mt Fell Hut** (6 bunks) We may need to use tents. A sharp track descend
s 1000 metres down to the car by Timms Creek.
Ray Salisbury will
lead the reverse trip, so we can swap cars. If his party rise early enough
, they may climb Mt Fell*** (1602m) first. And maybe even scramble from the
Devils Armchair up Johnston Peak, before tackling Mt Richmond.
* A Lockheed Electra disappeared in May 1942 on a commercial flight, with t
he loss of five lives. Johnston Peak was named after the pilot Keith Johnst
on, while Mt Fell was named after one of the passengers, Pamela Fell, a kee
n tramper from Nelson. Wreckage is located approx. 300m southeast of Pt 161
3. Items such as pedals, propellers and fuselage are strewn on the slopes.
Grid Ref: E16 342.11; N54 087.68.
** Mt Fell Hut was built in 1964, an
d renovated by our club in 2016-7.
*** The Scottish word for Fell mean
s ‘mountain or hill’. Thus, Mt Fell literally means ‘Mount Mountain.’ Duh!<
br />
Times:
Top Valley Rd – Richmond Saddle Hut
(8 bunks): 3–4 hrs / 6km
Richmond Saddle Hut – Mt Fell Hut (6 bunks):
4–5 hrs / 4km
Mt Fell Hut – Timms Valley: 5–6 hrs / 12km