Day 67 – Mt Rintoul Hut to Slaty Hut

From Rintoul Hut the track goes straight up a steep gut onto Mt. Rintoul.  Climbing, it felt like the mountain was eroding under my feet, because this gut was filled with fine red gravel lying right at its angle of repose.  With every step I set loose a small cascade of rocks and lost almost as much ground as I gained.  Finally I wised up and got off the main path and onto the rocks nearby, and things got much easier.

As I skirted the top of the mountain, thick clouds charged in under a heavy wind.  At times I couldn’t see the next marker, so I waited until a gust cleared the path enough to take another bearing.  At one point I sheltered under a rock on the lee side of the mountain and considered whether to go back, since it looked like a storm was percolating.  Under my rock it was nice and calm and relatively warm, and I had a splendid view between two ridges where a banner of cloud would stream in, and down, and around into a spiral before completely filling the gap and then dissipating.  It was extremely hypnotic, and I nearly convinced myself to stay where I was.  But realistically the best place for me in a storm would be a hut, not a tiny rock overhang.  So I pressed on towards Old Man Hut.

By the turnoff for Old Man Hut I was out of the clouds.  There was still a dark scud on the western horizon but it looked like I could make it the rest of the way to Slaty Hut, maybe even before the rain hit.

Up on Old Man Mountain itself, the rocky tops were replaced by a thriving alpine meadow.  Here were the typical lamb’s ear, gentian, and occasional speargrass.  There was also a thick blanket of a thick green grass I was unfamiliar with.  It looked as soft and green as a golf course, but on further investigation I noticed that each strand pointed *into* the prevailing wind.  Reaching down I found the grass was quite stiff and unmoving.  Conclusion: facing into the wind must be an adaptation of this alpine species to better harvest moisture from the wind rushing across the tops.

I traversed down to Ada Flat on a skinny little spine of rock, and crossed some more of that lovely meadow.  I crossed one more peak just as the sun peeked below the clouds for its final hurrah before setting.  At the same time, the wind picked up, going from “biting” to “bludgeoning,” and frequently pushed me off the track for a couple steps before I regained control.  It was around then that I realized – the Richmond Range, with its endless ridge walks, has been the hardest segment of my trip, but it’s also been the most beautiful, and the most rewarding.  In general, I would say these mountains are easily the most superlative part of Te Araroa in every respect.

I was in a good mood generally but the wind kept growing stronger and colder.  After an hour crossing sideways to the wind, I was just starting to get chilled when the trail turned off the ridge to sidle in the lee of Mt Slaty.  Immediately the wind stopped.  Just to see if I was crazy I walked back a couple steps onto the ridge.  Sure enough, the wind was still howling away.  Having a little shelter made my last two kilometers much more pleasant, as I regained some warmth before reaching the hut for a hot dinner and a cozy bed.