2842 Cascade Hut, 31st August - 1 September 2019

After a stop Tirau at "The Baker" Cafe for a cuppa/treat, seven of us arrived at the Clements Mill Rd carpark at about 11am, keen to see what the Hinemaiaia track in the Kaimanawa Ranges had to show.  The 12km track to Cascade Hut climbs from 750m to 1250m. It followed (and crossed) the Hinemaiaia River and climbed relatively gradually to the summit before descending steeply to the Tauranga-Taupo River. The forest was glorious - huge beach trees with gnarled trunks, lush moss and fern growth, the occasional lone purple mushroom still hanging on to impress us and at the summit, snow clad mountains such as Mt Ngauruhoe were visible.

Once down at the T-T river, it was a short walk to the hut, unfortunately punctuated by crossing the Cascade Stream only a few hundred metres before the hut. Yes, this did mean we had to suffer in the morning putting on cold, wet socks and boots only to get them colder and wetter early in the walk out.  In hindsight we agreed that simply removing our socks/boots before the river would be the way to go in winter ... next time.  Including stops, it took about 5 and a half hours to get to the hut.

Situated at 780m in a sheltered area, Cascade Hut has 6 bunks. There were four already staying, two of them with four legs and perhaps more excited to see us than the Sika deer they were brought in to sniff out. The hunter's dogs were very friendly, full of energy and slept on the mattresses with their owners. Mike, John and Les had brought their tents so there was no problem finding a place to sleep. climb to the summit and sun occasionally peeking through the canopy.

At this stage most discovered they had forgotten to bring something... sticks improvised successfully as tent pegs, John wore his delightful soft slipper imitations of clogs in place of hut shoes, etc.

Dinner was a wonderful advertisement for Radix Nutrition freeze-dried meals - a wide variety were pulled from packs and enjoyed. At a mere 8:30pm, darkness, cold night air and tired muscles pulled us to our sleeping bags for a chilly night (close to freezing) dozing off to the sound of the river, moreporks and John snoring . On Sunday we hiked out via the same route in, feeling the frosty landscapes early on by the river, but warming up quickly thanks to the steep climb to the summit and sun occasionally peeking through the canopy.

P. S. from Jacqui: Things we (collectively) forgot to take on the tramp were Hut shoes. Spare socks (I had wet ones on all weekend!), tent, Merlyn forgot: her earrings and even tent pegs (Mike improvised and used sticks).

More of Jacqui Dick's superb photos here