Cathedral Rock - Wellington Falls circuit by night

[klaashartmann]

I've started hiking a bit at night time, as I have three young children this is the main time opportunity arises at the moment. I have enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, to me many tracks seem far more interesting at night. It's particularly beautiful when there's snow on the ground -- on a good night you can walk by moonlight alone.

Last night after putting the kids to bed and having a cuppa, I decided to give the Cathedral Rock - Mt Wellington Falls circuit a spin. I haven't been in that part of the park before and was a little apprehensive about a night time walk as there are few reports here of folks getting lost or finding navigation challenging in daylight.

With info from ben.h and Chapman's Day Walks book I set off around 9pm. A beautiful clear moonlit night with nice views of the sparkling city lights. Navigation was all pretty straightforward. I was very appreciative of the big cairn marking the turn-off to Mt Wellington falls, that track is a bit vague at the start. All up there were only a couple of occasions were I had to spend a minute or two hunting around for the next bit of track.

I got back around 12:30, the last bit of track seemed much longer than on the way in!

My gps track is here:
http://www.strava.com/activities/177044272

I thought I'd post to encourage others to try some night time adventures (maybe the new craze for bushwalkers with parenting responsibilities?). I've found it a great way to inject some new fun into tracks I've done often, create some new navigational challenges and be able to get out at all.

Other night walks I've enjoyed lately have been around the Wellington Park. One of my favourites is Fern Glade Track - Radford's track - Springs - Ice House Track - Wellington summit - Zig Zag track - Pinnacle Track - Radford's Track - Fern Glade track. A bit under three hours at night, anything longer effects my ability to wake up and get to work the following day.

As a disclaimer (most of you are more experienced than I, but I feel I should say this anyway), if you haven't hiked at night before, pick an easy well established track that you've done before and avoid rainy/stormy days. I feel quite comfortable walking off track at night (I've done a fair bit of night time mountaineering, cycling and off track hiking). Also make sure to carry a spare torch/batteries and suitable gear to get you out of a pickle if you become immobile due to injury...

[ben.h]

Great work Klaas. Nice speed too!
I've lost count of the number of times I've done that circuit... It's my default "can't think of anywhere else right now" walk.
Mt Montague would only take you another 30 or so minutes to add if you're keen!

[Minty]

Night walks are great. I recently did Mt Field West as an all-nighter. We had a big pub meal and a pint at the National Park Hotel and started walking at about 7:00PM. We didn't get back until 3:30AM, mainly due to cairn following difficulties. It's certainly a unique experience though. I want to try Mt Anne next, on a clear night with a full moon it would be magic.

[klaashartmann]

Sounds like a nice walk Minty! Having a pint & pub meal before going for a walk sounds very civilised

Mt Anne sounds interesting too, I haven't been up Mt Anne but I imagine the final climb could be a little interesting by torch light!