Time: 4.5 hours (1:05 car park to Trig M, 1:10 Trig M to Rabbit Hill)
Distance: 12.7 km
Start: Layby on State Highway 73 just past Porters Pass
Finish: Same place (it's there and back)
Date: Friday 24th May 2024
Warning: After Trig M, the poles disappear and so does the path in places.
Snow on the distant mountains and better than expected weather. This development resulted in a last minute change of plan as we drove across the Canterbury Plains. We were now going to head west to Porters Pass and climb Rabbit Hill. We parked in the layby just after the pass and set off up the old farm track through Starvation Gully. There was needle ice about and the ground made a hollow booming sound when you tapped it with your walking poles - frozen solid. Pretty fresh, so we donned puffers, hats, snoods and gloves.
After about an hour walking entirely uphill along the Trig M Route, we arrived, warm as toast, at Trig M itself (1251 m). Fabulous views stretched in all directions - Foggy Peak, Porters Ski Field and Lake Lyndon. Trig M can also be gained via the Coach Stream Route, although the Trig M Route is probably the easiest way to gain the tops in the area. Just next to the trig is Department of Conservation (DOC) signage saying "You shall not pass!" (or something along those lines). Naturally we had every intention of passing - this was our way to Rabbit Hill.
From Trig M, we headed slightly to the left (south) down the hill and immediately picked up a clear trail. This is a well trodden, popular route albeit unpoled and not maintained by DOC. It pretty much follows the ridges all the way to Rabbit Hill which is lovely because sub-alpine ridge travel happens to be my favourite. The alpine vegetation is a colourful garden of mosses and lichens. The trail ran alongside Kōwai Forest - a copse of beech trees - which could easily be mistaken for Fangorn Forest and you wouldn't be too surprised if Gandalf the Wizard came galloping past on his horse Shadowfax. Definitely Middle Earth country. A massive rock lay, all on its own, to one side of the path. We wondered how it got there - perhaps thrown out of a volcano a gazillion years ago, or possibly a
glacial erratic.
The path disappeared and reappeared haphazardly as we descended down to the swampy saddle. We crossed at the narrowest point where a muddy track could be seen. During the final climb up to the top of Rabbit Hill, the trail disappeared completely but we could make our way easily between the shrubs - dracophylum and taramea (Spaniard grass). At the summit, Nicole kindly handed me an OSM (one square meal) bar. Kā Tiritiri o Te Moana (the Southern Alps) looked majestic in the distance, but we watched the clouds swirling up the Rakaia Valley with apprehension. From a navigational point of view, it wouldn't be so great to be up here in a fog. We hastily packed up our things and set about the return trip.
We did linger a bit though, halfway down Rabbit Hill, trying to find the macro settings on our phone cameras for some close-up shots of rabbit droppings (seemed appropriate) and the colourful alpine garden plants.
The sun was shining from the north, but the couds were closing in from the south. As we approached Trig M, a smattering of snow flakes fell around us. The sun was still shining and the effect was rather unexpected and magical. That lasted for a few minutes until the clouds swirled overhead and blocked the sun. The smattering became more of a flurry and we donned puffers, hats, snoods and gloves again.
It didn't last long. The snow stopped and the sun reemerged as we descended to State Highway 73 and the car. We got to the
Taste of Kiwi Cafe in Springfield with only 10 minutes to spare before closing time (4pm). They were vaccuming and all the chairs were up, so understandably the atmosphere was a little frosty at first. I can kind of relate to this because I worked in the retail sector in my youth. But the caffeine addiction was overriding all other sypathies. I must say that they warmed when they realised we weren't planning to linger and we all chatted away like old mates. We got takeaway coffees and cakes and drove to Crikers in the rain. I'm planning to binge watch LOTR tonight with my hoa rangatira.
