Leader: Andrea Cockerton
With the forecast changing daily and nine hopefuls, we decided to make tracks as planned and head up the pretty Fyfe River to Branch Creek Hut. The southern access to Mt Owen is mooted as more challenging than the popular route via Granity Pass. With DOC-marked tracks up the Fyfe – and leading to the bush line below Sunrise Peak from the Owen Valley East Road – we simply had to join the dots ... easy!
With hearty introductions and a bad sales pitch of the route, which turned out to be neither ‘dry’ nor ‘cruisey’, we were off up the delightfully-named Flying Pan Creek. After an hour the track veers north-east to join the Fyfe River. Thereafter, it pretty much follows the river and a trapline, in parts dwarfed by some steep bluffs. There are river crossings, sidles and careful footwork to avoid ongaonga. We saw a couple of blue ducks.
Ready for some snoozing, we arrived at Branch Creek Hut (920m) after some nine hours. There were several amended versions of the route description by this stage, all relatively polite; mutiny was not yet rife! Around the hut, the damp, long grass made for interesting tenting, although the site was flat enough.
The drizzle of Saturday stayed through the morning as we climbed up the grassy ridge to Point 1500m and onto Replica Hill, just 50m shy of the height of Mount Owen. The clouds shifted and parted creating a constantly changing vista and tantalising glimpses of the panorama. We were going to see it all, if only by piece meal.
Coming down the south-east side of Replica Hill to the saddle between Mt Owen, we parted company, albeit for a brief few hours. Bombermonk, Michele, Ian, Steve and myself took the route up to Mount Owen summit, easily attained after 40 minutes by picking up the well-cairned route from the northern approach. The rest of the team headed down to Poverty Basin to set up camp near a tarn.
The visibility continued to improve, so when we got down to the basin a couple of us took off again walking southwest along the ridge to Point 1732 with amazing views of the karst landforms of Sunrise Ridge and down to Bulmer Lake. It was pretty special and we arrived back a few hours later. Kate and Pat had also been scoping out potential route options on their ramble.
Ready to hunker down for the night, we were all temporarily tharwted due to rising winds. So, with great teamwork, we relocated all the tents deeper into the basin, then fell happily asleep.
We woke to the kind of rain reserved for the West Coast, where the folk are hardier. We were softer, staying in our nice tents. It didn’t last; the whistle went; the countdown began, and we were off. The next two hours were interesting indeed. We had to get over to Sunrise Ridge, but it was like a giant maze with poor visibility.
This was no fairytale, but like Mad Hatters, we scurried up and down. There was no tea party either, as we huddled under a rock biv for some solace. The Cheshire Cat would have be smiling indeed. With tenacity and technology (3 x GPS’s) we made our way, following cairns.
The next challenge was to exit off the ridge. With steep bluffs, plenty of spaniards, mud and rain, we took over a hour the reach the bushline, each of us, at some point, slipping and sliding our way down. It felt pretty damn good to hug a tree. We were safe; we were off the tops and going home; just a quick jaunt through the bush. However, the rain got heavier and some of the party got slower.
Fast forward a couple of hours, when five of the crew are now stuck on the north bank of the seriously flooding Owen River. Four got across earlier to the south bank. I later discovered the South-Siders were dining on chocolate pudding, relishing flat tent sites and nice views. While the North-Siders had sloping camp sites in the mud. Times were desperate, as I wondered who would make good eating.
Fast forward 36 more hours, when the flooded river finally dropped by the second morning. We were getting outta there! John walked gallantly into camp, loaded with food, and led us the short distance to the road-end. Chris Louth, Lawrie Halkett and John had been doing a sterling job liaising with SAR, loved ones and various employers. A big ‘thank you’ to them and everyone on the trip who worked together to keep everyone safe and sane.
North-Side campers were: Ian, Steve & Ben. South-Side campers were: Pat, Bombermonk (Michel from Belgium), Michele, Kate & Andrea (scribe).
