My tramping plan for spring/summer/autumn of 2019/2020
I am in the process of planning my 2019/2020 tramping season, this is a task I do every year to give me something to aspire to. It is a real mix: day walks, overnight trips, Te Araroa Trail sections and Great Walks.
These are the specific tracks I will be visiting in Arthur's Pass over the coming season.
These are the specific tracks I will be visiting in Arthur's Pass over the coming season.
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| Waimakiriri River Valley....eastern border of Arthur's Pass National Park |
Obviously this is all tentative as the weather will determine if these trips go ahead. I'm hoping for the best, cracking sunny skies and not miserable rainy ex tropical storms...I look forward to this being a stonking tramping season.
My 2019/2020 tramping plan...
September 2019:Hawdon Hut, 20-21st September 2020 (I did a trip up to Hawdon Hut in memory of my father who passed away recently)
November 2019:
Arthurs Pass NP, Bealey Spur or Woolshed Hill, 2/3 Nov, day trip/overnight (rained out...)
December 2019:
Arthurs Pass NP, Christmas Break: Base Camp: A selection of: Otira Valley/Bealey Valley/JC's and Morts Tracks/, late December over the Christmas break, day trips (completed trips to various points in Arthur's Pass NP)
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| Karen heading up the Otira Valley Track... |
February 2020:
Arthur's Pass NP, 2020 Waimakiriri River Romp, Crow Hut/Waimakiriri Falls Hut/Barker Hut, over the 2020 Coast to Coast weekend, 6-8 Feb, multiday trip...an annual event (rained out by a 1-100 year storm in the Southern Alps...I walked part of the Te Ara Pataka Track instead before rained forced me to bail out of that as well... )
Lake Summer FP, Harpers Pass Track-mid February, TA Section, multiday trip (The eastern side of the Taramakau Valley is in Arthur's Pass NP so I will write a blog post about the trip...) (rescheduled for early 2021 due to Covid 19)
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| Major rain led to a cancellation of my annual Waimakiriri River Romp... |
Covid-19 struck New Zealand in late February and we were in lock-down for six weeks over the best tramping weather of the year. I did not manage to get back up to Arthur's Pass until late May when Karen and I stopped at the Cockayne Track on the way to Punakaiki on the West Coast...
March 2020: (Possible trips TBC)
Arthurs Pass NP, Coral Track/Cons Track (one of these), late March, day trip (Cancelled-Covid-19)
April 2020: (Possible trips TBC)
Arthurs Pass NP, Sudden Valley Track, overnight trip staying near the bivy (Cancelled-Covid-19)
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| I walked the lovely Cockayne Nature Walk in May 2020 |
Rain events and bloody Covid-19 had a massive impact on my plans this last year...I have put some of these trips on my plan for the 2020/2021 season.
