Rees Dart Track, Cascade Saddle & Routeburn to Conical Hill

[forest]

Hi all.
Sorry this is a long winded one that's for sure. I'm just home from the best week ever in NZ, The weather was perfect, I have been so lucky with that.
I was typing track notes on my Kindle each day so there's quite a bit when it all adds up !!
Really hard to condense this trip down to 22 Pic's.....
In short AMAZING.
In looooong, Read below of you have the time.

Day 1, 1;10pm-Trains and planes all on time. Everything running to plan so far. I have been airborne for about 30 minutes now. Hopefully everything goes smoothly in Queenstown and I can get my hut passes from DOCs in time. Cutting things fine there, flight lands at 3:30pm and I have to get through customs, catch a bus and into DOCs before it closes at 5:30pm. If I get delayed due to any of my camping gear being inspected I might not get into QT on time.
7:12pm -No huge issues with DOCs, couldn’t get my actual Routeburn hut ticket off DOCs but I can use my confirmation email as a ticket. The DOCs lady said I needed to come back 2 days before my walk on the Routeburn to get this ticket... Duh, I’ll be on the Rees Dart for the next 5 days then going straight to the Routeburn. She said they need to issue a weather forcast and make sure I looked sound to do the walk ? Last I looked the Rees Dart was much harder and only about 10km’s from the Routeburn track anyway. I think I’ll have an idea on the weather and how I’m feeling. DOCs do some stupid things sometimes.
Had the best Fregburger in QT, Bambi burger, never had a better hamburger. The backpackers I’m in is brand new and very nice. Free international calls too which is great so I called Katrina and she is ok. Off to bed soon, it's been a big day........

Day 2, 7:01pm-Wow what a day, everything has been perfect. Pick up was on time and the weather has been perfect, if a little on the warm side. The scenery is like something out of a movie. Snow capped mountains and glaciers all around this huge beautiful valley. This morning was the first frost of the year and between wet grass, cattle bogs, creek crossings and throw in 2 river crossings my feet were nice and damp. Runners were great though and are now dry, same cannot be said for the other 7 people in the hut, they all have wonderfully drenched Gore-Tex boots and there are some epic blisters among them.
I was the first to the Shelter Rock hut in 5:13 and some people are only just getting here now nearly 5 hours after me. It was nice while it lasted for the 2 hours I had the huts to myself. The huts are great, 1 sleeping hut with two separate bunk rooms and another main hut with the kitchen, tables, fire and some more mattresses along the back wall that’s the one I’m staying in tonight. Once everyone goes to bed hopefully I'll be alone in here. I’m tired now after dinner but keen as for the alpine section tomorrow.
Hopefully Dart hut isn’t too full. Planning an early start tomorrow anyway so I’m first there. Sandflies are about if you venture outside but not that bad, only the odd one. They don’t do sunlight well so it was a pleasant afternoon lazing in the sun gazing at the mountains which surround Shelter Rock hut. Cannot get enough if the view. Awesome. Best days walking I have ever done and it’s only meant to get better from here.
Day 3, 4:10pm.
Words cannot describe today’s walk. The vista was absolutely mind boggling with huge mountains, valleys and glaciers everywhere. The track was also great and challenging in some steep places (I only had to come down the really hairy bits). I can clearly say that today’s walk would be by far the best I have ever done. Just stunning scenery and the weather couldn’t be better.
This morning I was the first out of bed and the first also out the door on the track. It was quite fresh with another decent frost around Shelter Rock Hut. The climb up to Rees Saddle was actually not that bad considering the 571m elevation gain. Only the last 150m gain was taxing and very steep, the rest was just a gradual climb along the river valley.
Had 15 very cheeky Keas dance around me at one stage. They are very brave and come right up to about half a meter away. Quite amusing for the easily amused.....
The view from Rees Saddle was stunning. Didn’t seem to matter which way you turned the vista was simply amazing. Really there were just 2 valleys but too look at it appeared there we three as snowy creek takes a hard bend below the saddle. I spend about an hour sitting in the sun just gazing at mountains up there. It was quite cold though with a very light but very chilly breeze.
I passed a few groups walking the opposite direction earlier today. The drop down from the saddle to Dart hut is definitely a lot more savage then the other side. The walk was really fun and the views just got better and better the further around the valley you went. Ended up at a point for lunch which viewed 13 different glaciers. Words or pictures will never describe that location, It was surreal. The main view was along the Dart River which looks amazing. Soo looking forward to the walk up there tomorrow to the Dart glacier and Cascade saddle. The view from Cascade saddle is reported as one of the best alpine views in NZ. This track just keeps getting better and better, I cannot fathom better views over today but considering the view today was of where I will walk tomorrow....... we shall see.
Dart hut is very flash with 4 different sleeping rooms. Its located in this huge glacial valley above the junction of Snowy creek and the Dart river. I just had a bath in Snowy creek and to say the least the water temp was well..... bracing !.
Right now I’m just enjoying the vista and sitting in the sunshine out on this lovely little deck thing they have built off the hut veranda.
Day 3, 6:15pm.
What to say ? Today was by far the best day yet. Again pictures will not even come close to what my eyes and ears have seen / heard today. I woke up this morning with quite a headache, gulped some pills and it was okay by the time we started walking at 8:20am. Today I set off with the French backpacking couple and a young English girl that is cycling around NZ.
I will say this; never discount the resilience, determination and sheer guts of the humble NZ foreign backpacker. The last few days have been a real eye opener to the lifestyle they thrive in. They will go to any length to save $0.50, Amy the English girl even walked in from Glenorchy to Shelter rock hut for the first night on the Rees track ( That’s a 46km walk) just to save $30 on track shuttle fees. There food is all bread, cheese, salami, no name pasta and tined tuna. Never would they buy the freeze dried stuff as its apparently way to expensive ($8.50 NZD) They are actually quite fit, several times I have been amazed to see someone right behind me on a step track still smiling away. I hope that’s not a sign of my age..... Some of the gear is so border line it’s not even funny but they all seem to have good boots and the right attitude to continue regardless of any obstacle in their path.
I say good on them !
Anyway back to the Cascade saddle day trip from Dart hut. The walk up the Dart river was enough in itself to fascinate me. There was very little vegetation other than this spongy alpine moss everywhere. All around this valley there are glaciers, mainly to the left side though. Slowly I came closer to being under the Marshal glacier which terminates about 250m above the valley floor. Next is the hanging Hesse glacier about 700m from the valley up. How that is attached to the mountain and stays there is beyond me, looking up it hangs out off a near vertical rock face. Quite daunting to walk up the valley looking up at that but the valley is at least a km wide so there is plenty of space for a wide birth.
Still further around the valley and into view comes this huge grey, gravelly mound... thing. This is actually the terminal of the Dart glacier. Lower down it’s quite dirty with a thick covering of rock but higher up and it’s the regular pristine blue\white glacier we all want to see.
After having morning tea about 50m above the terminal listening to the glacier creak and groan we set our sights on Cascade saddle, 400m above our location. Man that was one steep, rough track but in between gulps of oxygen the views of Dart glacier just got better and better. About half way up a huge avalanche occurred on the opposite face spewing large rocks all over the lower Dart glacier and into the river not far from where we dined for morning tea.
Once the saddle was actually achieved (There was a false skyline before the final assault) The view is amazing........
You’re perched up on this huge 1000m near vertical cliff and looking down the Matukituki Valley 1400m below looking at the distant Raspberry creek track head 17kms away. Mt Aspiring (3030m) is off on the opposite side of the valley turn back around an your about 400m above the Dart glacier and gazing at the mountains all around. Sadly there are just too many peaks to name each one. Keep turning and the Dart river winds its way until out of sight.
I had read online that the view from Cascade saddle was one of the best alpine vistas in NZ and I can only full heartedly agree !! I have no shortage of pictures but I can assure you they do this place no justice. It has to be seen to believe. I must have stayed up there for 2 hours watching the peaks slowly disappear in the clouds that rolled in. Chamois are also bouncing around the close hills daring us to challenge there mountain superiority. I was amazed at some obstacles they just walked and bounced down/up.
Eventually I wandered / climbed / fell my way back down the track to the Dart river valley. The descent was worse than the climb as it’s quite a loose, shaly path. For some reason about half way down I felt really ill in the stomach but it only lasted about 30min. The return walk along the Dart river valley was just as interesting as the walk up, as the view is of the mountains that were at your back in the morning.
This was the location of the trips major “fatality” As some of you know I have this little ultrapod camera tripod that I can strap to my walking pole for self portraits. When jamming my over extended walking pole into the ground and unseen rock jarred the pole and snapped it clean in two just above the top slide mechanism. Bugger. I wasn’t impressed as it was totally my fault and I’m quite attached to my two poles. It’s okay though as I’m now in Dart hut and have worked some bush magic repairs and the pole should see me out until the end of the tramp. I’m very tired now having just inhaled dinner and a hot chocolate. It’s been a huge day but the rewards were well worth the effort. Off to bed soon and really looking forward to that !!.
Day 4, 3:10pm.
I’m now in Daley’s hut in official sand fly territory. *&%$#! hell they are savage little things. I arrived about 2 hours ago and had a swim in the dart river and washed my clothes. The sand flies could have carried me off, it was an awful experience standing there in the nude flapping at them like a crazy person trying to get dressed again. The *&%$#! have even infiltrated the hut !!
The track here today was quite easy compared to the last few days. I have to chat to these kiwis though. There is about a 6km section of today’s track named Cattle Flats. I can confirm that the Kiwis don’t know what flat is as the Cattle Flats were anything but "Flat"...... Lovely scenery though.
One can only start to respect the watercourses in NZ when you see firsthand just how high and fast flowing they can be in high rain falls. Several tiny trickly steams are crossed throughout today. Looking at the gouged out terrain several meters above the current water level and huge exposed boulders gives you an indication of recent savagery. Huge logs also scatter the fringes of the water courses. This is one walk I wouldn’t want to be on when it’s raining hard that’s for sure.
The only other main feature today was the DOCs track improvement section. They had this very conflicting sign up about track blasting and stopping etc to all these horn blast sequences. I couldn’t make any sense from the stupid sign and just trudged off. They weren’t working anyway as its Sunday. All the others in the hut were also confused and weren’t sure if they were about to be blown up as well when they passed through. Sort of funny but not really, if you know what I mean ??
Not much else to report. The hut again is nice and in a great location with grand mountain vista views.
It’s a bit funny (well sort of funny anyway) My comments yesterday about the resilience of the backpackers might have been premature. The French couple that followed me yesterday where spending another day at Dart hut. Apparently I "Broke" them yesterday. They commented that never again will they try to follow me let alone another Aussie. The young English cyclist is also complaining about my pace and is very sore after trying to follow me yesterday.... LOL.
Apparently within our group walking the circuit I have a reputation as a bit of a walking machine, The older pommy couple recons they have a fire extinguisher in there pack to put out my shoes when they catch fire (That’s there excuse for being slower as they are lugging more stuff for my safety). The huts quite full tonight with 18 people and it has a 22 capacity. Very busy compared to what I have gotten used to.
Day 5, 4:50pm.
Big day this has been. Huge effort to walk the remainder of the Dart track then smash straight into the Routeburn and push through to the second hut. My transport arrived pretty much as I did at Chinaman’s Bluff (End/Start of Dart track) I’m really happy with all the transport so far. Makes life sooooo easy to get around the tracks. The final section of the Dart track was great too. Lots to see as the mighty Dart river slowly opens up underneath you. First signs of civilisation once the jet boats hit the Dart with roaring V8s.
Sandy Bluff was great to walk over/around with the shear 200m drops next to the track. Sure makes you hug the cliff as you work around that. Lower down the track passes through some lovely beech forest. Very peaceful and not a sound in there (Nearly freakingly so). Quite a strange experience as the past 5 days I have always been next to a river or stream that is gushing or burbling away.
It was great to be able to have a brief chat to Katrina when going between the tracks today. God I’m missing her and wish she was here. Hope she has been okay.
It’s a bit of a culture shock hitting the Routeburn track. The scenery is just as breath taking but my gosh there are some noobs on these great walks. Lots of flash gear and plenty of tough talk going on at the trail head. I must have overtaken 35 people on the way up to falls hut. People flagged out everywhere on the brief climb (compared to what the Rees Dart is like) up to the hut. Moaning and grunting, even the odd scream echoes through the hills. It’s almost awkward sitting here in the hut after the great bunch of troopers I spent the last 5 days with. I met the warden on the way into the hut and he asked where I had come from. When I said the Dart Track..... Yep left there at 1pm... He just gave me this appraising look and asked how long it took me to get up to the hut. When I told him 2 hours I received another appraising look and he said he'd be back later to have a chat. Over his shoulder he yells out "finally a man worthy of the mountains today". I can only feel proud ..... if a little sore. My packs getting pretty lite now though as I’m down to my last days worth of tucker and fuel.
Routeburn falls hut is in an amazing location. Its perched up on the edge of a cliff at 1000m elevation. The views are straight down the Routeburn valley and onto the flats. Snow capped mountains enclose everything as per usual !
I do have to comment through that the track wasn’t as cruisy as the Divide side we walked last year. It’s all up to the hut but as most great walks there is no actual climbing etc. All the streams are bridged which is a nice change. Finally might retain dry shoes for more than 5 minutes, that’s the one thing that gets old on the Rees Dart track, Constantly wet shoes. I am glad I wore my runners though, all the people with boots just had wet boots all week and shrivelled feet as once the water got in it stayed in. At least the runners let the water back out quickly enough.
I’m planning an early night tonight. My plan (call it mental) is to get up at 5am and walk up to Harris saddle to watch the sun rise over the mountains. Might be tough in the dark but I think it will be fun.
Day 6, 6:53pm.
Wow what a big day this has been. I did start at 5am and walked up to Harris saddle then onto Conical hill in the dark. It’s marked as a 2.5-3hr walk but I managed it in 1:40 in the dark. I wasn’t poking along that’s for sure. Fun in the dark and the track up over the alpine section was extremely rocky, I have sore feet tonight from that pointy pounding on my runners. Made it to the top with about 20min to spare before actual sunrise. The colours were amazing and something I will always be glad of the effort I put in to do it. Frustratingly I had only taken about 6 photos and some video and my *&%$#! camera went flat. I was so pissed. Luckily I did take my phone up there on the odd chance I had reception (which I didn’t). At least I could revert to the camera on my phone, not sure how great the pictures will look on a larger screen but they look good on the small phone screen ?
Interestingly out popped this dude in a red jacket from the rocks..... He had stayed up there with just his sleeping bag all night taking pictures with his big DSLR set-up. It was so cold up there I have no idea how he did it with no shelter of ground mat. The DOC warden told me later it was 2°C at dawn down at falls hut. Conical hill is about 600m higher and there was ice all up the higher sections of track. The wind was really whipping over the top too at what I’d guess about 30-40kmh. I know I had my merino shirt, 100wt Fleece jumper, Puffy down jacket, eVent jacket (hood up and tight), blackrock down beanie, possum merino gloves, eVent rain mitts, merino long johns, shorts, long gaiters and Montane wind pants over that. I was still cold and couldn’t feel my feet after about 20 minutes. How this guy spent the night up there is beyond me..... He did comment he had all his clothes on and was still freezing in his sleeping bag.
Luckily I fed him some chocolate and he has promised to send me his best pictures. He looked pretty keen on his photography so I can only assume they will be good.
Once the sun did pop up all this fast moving wispy mist started blasting periodically over the peak. It was beautiful and just then the local keas started homing in on us. It was a treat seeing those mountain parrots do their thing flying, gliding and hovering head on into the gusty weather.
I ended up spending about 2.5hrs up there just watching Fiordland and Mt Aspiring National Parks light up, an amazing sight. You could see clear as a bell the breakers in the Tasman Sea out at the head of the Hollyford valley, 58kms away. I have no idea how far I could see around me but it was a lot further than that.
I have been purely blessed with the weather for the past 7 days. Perfect clear days and nights, around 15-20°C days, down to 0-5°C at night. Great walking weather and even once it warmed up through the days there was always a nice chilly breeze blowing of the snow capped hills to make it perfect.
After watching the morning lights I then had to high tail it back to falls hut and then back down to the Routeburn shelter for pickup at 2pm. It was funny passing all the guided groups and hiking noobs puffing away on their way up to Harris saddle asking "are we nearly there yet". I didn’t see one other person/group that wanted to make the effort to go up Conical hill, what a shame as it was the best viewpoint on the entire Routeburn track. The *&%$#! snobby people on the guided walks got up my goat (some were friendly but were in the minority). I was lucky to have them move over on the path for us to pass one another let alone the snobs that wouldn’t even respond to my chirpy G’days or Good morning’s. Nothing pisses me off more than an individual that has clearly heard you say a courteous greeting and cannot even do the civil thing and respond. Sadly within the guided walks people this seemed all too common this morning. The actual guides were a great bunch and very friendly.
The rest of the walk down was great and I could have a proper look at the track I had raced up in the dark earlier. Had another great chat with the Falls hut warden and of course he just had to see my pictures and thought It was great Id gone to the effort going up in the dark for sunrise. He did say he would normally discourage this type of behaviour but he thought I looked like the type that would be fine and knew what I was tackling the night before when we talked and I asked him some questions.
Nothing much else to report really. I’m sitting in my room now just about ready for an early night. Again the track pickups were on time and I had a great chat to the driver about his old deer culling days in the 60s & 70s.
I love NZ and will surely be back for more "Tramping". The playgrounds available over here are amazing. Add a proactive government body in charge of it all and its a recipe for success.

[forest]

More Pic's

[forest]

Still more pic's

[forest]

And more

[forest]

Last one... Promise MODs.

[wayno]

looks like you had an absolutely terrible trip.......

[Tony]

Hi forest,

Thanks for a great report and some excellent photos, it brought back some memories, I did the Rees-Dart last November and I have to agree that it is a great walk, we had a a bit of rain and snow and lots of trees down over the track, we only saw 3 other walkers, a DOC contracted stoat trapper and two DOC's goat shooters and the Dart Hut warden in the five days. We did the Dart Glacier side trip but did not make it up to the Cascade Saddle, that will have to wait for another time.

I have figured out when you role up to the DOC's office you need to be wearing an old torn shirt and shorts and some very worn boots then they might be more helpful with information.

After the walk, we were at our motel cleaning our gear, a private walk snob walked past and asked us where we had just been, when we told her the Rees-Dart she told us she did not know that walk, she then told she had just done the Routeburn with a private group and she then lifted her nose up and called us some name that I cannot recall and walked off.

Tony

[wayno]

yeah, agree about presenting yourself to DOC, don't be dressed like a generic tourist.... thy are used to dealing with a LOT of people who don't have a clue... and they are likely to see you as one of those if tey dont see something that tells them you've spent some time in the mountains....

yeah the private walkers are forking out $400 a day to walk the track, staying at bush hotels.... having other people wait on them hand and foot... freedom walkers can be seen as peasants.

[Schmeed]

Is the Cascade Saddle day trip from Dart hut hard? Cause i do hear that the route can be very difficult and navigation is hard etc

[wayno]

i think its about 16k round trip..
its not a particularly well defined track, but its not that hard to find, if its dry you can walk up the river bed to the end of the glacier, and just look on the right and you'll see where the track goesup. thres the odd cairn.
its a 700m climb to the saddle. another three hundred to the pylon. the climb is on scree packed down a bit by people walking on it...
its steeper and dangerous in wet weather from the matukituki side.
depending on how much it rains, the dart side becomes dangerous from rising side streams and flash flooding. plus the footing gets looser on the climb and descent.
i'd say go to the glacier for a look if its not raining too much, its worth a look, take a look at the climb or have a bit of a go and see how you feel about it...
i'm not aware of injuries or deaths from the ascent decent on the dart side of the climb
allow eight hours for the trip.... the hut warden can give updates on the weather. he should get an update around 8 30 in the morning, unless theres already a glowing weather forecast from the day before...

[wayno]

map of cascade saddle

http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz20 ... ddle/Otago

[wayno]

the vast majority of it is in the open , no vegetation to obscure your view.... so if you loose the track just use your eyes and you'll find it easy enough. theres the odd false trail on the scree that goes off onto steeper sections, just keep your eyes open and look around for the best path...

[wayno]

this shows a bit of the climb to the saddle. and its not all as nice as this, a lot of looser stuff under foot, but not overly steep or dangerous
just a steepish walk on scree
https://picasaweb.google.com/1079507089 ... 4613222850

this looks up towards the saddle but the track up is mainly to the right out of shot until further up the slope i dont think you can make it out where it goes into the photo

https://picasaweb.google.com/1079507089 ... 6051712066

this and the next two photos are of the climb to the saddle

https://picasaweb.google.com/1079507089 ... 1185411474

[forest]

If the weather permits I couldn't recommend the cascade saddle trip enough. Its a highlight of the rees dart track. Heed waynos advice though about rain. You'll see if you hit the track in short time how far the creeks and tiny trickles raise to torents. I've some pics at home of the climb up to the saddle and the dart glacier walk. Once im home I'll post some up.
Can't express enough how stunning the scenery is on the whole walk. One of my all time favourites and honestly id be happy to do it again.

[wayno]

pay attention to the forecasts, high winds can also make the ridge tops impassable..
weather can be severe any day of the year.

http://metservice.com/mountain/fiordland-national-park

http://metservice.com/mountain/mt-aspir ... ional-park

http://metservice.com/mountain/southern-lakes