3158 Mountain Madness

Sometime between Saturday 14th {to Monday 30th} December 2024

This is a spontaneous sort of day out - if the weather packs in we will give it away.

The plan is to see how many of the Waikato mountains we can climb in one day - the longest day of the year.

Previous years we have done Pirongia, Maungatautari and Te Aroha, and found this sequence was manageable (provided you eat and drink enough to keep you going). We are back to climbing Maungatautari from the north and you can do the loop (Quad bike track and old tramping track) if you wish.

 

Mike Peck is organising this year's event so book in in the normal way and Mike will be in touch.

 

Leader:	Mike Peck	Phone:	021 369256
Grade:	Flipping Fit	Email:	This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Transport:	private arrangements

 

Trip Report:

Leaving Corcoran Rd carpark at 7:15, 8 of us started up Pirongia, the first peak to complete for Mountain Madness. The track was the usual mud and swamp in places and as we approached the summit, the blue sky had disappeared and it was surprisingly claggy considering how good  the weather forecast was. We had a 5 minus stop at the viewing platform and headed back down. First peak completed in 3:30 hours. The drive to Maungatautari had an ice cream stop near Lake Karipiro and then onwards to the carpark at the northern entrance. By this stage the weather was back to the predicted forecast, sun with little wind. We made good time on the climb to the peak and after the photo op when headed back down, total time 3 hours. The drive to Te Aroha had another cold drink and snack stop and we started up Te Aroha at 5:00pm with the temperature at 27 degrees. We reached the top at 6:30 with glorious views and a long rest. Annika shared out some home baking and we relaxed for nearly 30min enjoying the achievement. We headed down and arrived back at the cars 8:15pm. 7 of us completed the 3 peaks and 1 completed 2.
Those on MM, Kat Rowe, Mike Harris , Kegan Lim, Jeanette Dodson, Annika Wing, Kieran, Rhianna and Mike Peck.