Time: 2 hours and 50 minutes (car park to Trig M, 1 hour and 10 mins)
Distance: 11 km
Start: Small layby on the left, just past Porters Pass, West Coast Road, State Highway 73
Finish: Same place - it's there and back
Date: Friday 22 August 2025
At Porters Pass there was a small patch of fog at precisely the spot where we were intending to walk. Bummer dude. We parked in the layby a few hundred meters after the pass, extricated ourselves from the car and got quicky underway because it was alpine-cold (i.e. effing freezing). 
Distance: 11 km
Start: Small layby on the left, just past Porters Pass, West Coast Road, State Highway 73
Finish: Same place - it's there and back
Date: Friday 22 August 2025
A sterling turnout on a bluebird day. Seven of us, squished into the Toyota Wish, sharing Freaky Friday spooky stories and zipping across the Canterbuy Plains/Kā Pākihi-whakatekateka-a-Waitaha towards those pearly peaks Kā-Tiritiri-o-te-Moana.
The Trig M Route starts in Starvation Gully (the valley to the west of Porters Pass) and zig-zags its way up to the junction with the Coach Stream Route. This section was once part of the old Coach Road over to the West Coast. I was curious as to the name Starvation Gully - it sounds dramatic - but I couldn't find anything super reliable on Google (some AI Reddit banter speculating hungry horses). However, I did find a neat old photo of a Cobb & Co coach in the snow near Porters Pass.
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| Starvation Gully, https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/30859 |
The mist cleared as we puffed on up the farm track shedding layers. At the first zag, spectacular views unfolded to the north - the bluest of skies, with the cloud still settled in the valley below - giving it a ghostly lake-like appearance.
Despite being uphill all the way, I would describe this as one of the easier walks to the alpine tops. As we ascended, we began to bypass patches of snow originating from Tuesday's cold snap. The Kōwai Forest beech trees seemed like a discrete place for a quick pee, but the tussocks were hiding a multitude of taramea, causing squawks and quips about being pricked by a Spaniard.
There was a false summit at 1170 m, followed by a short descent past the turn-off to the Coach Stream Route (check out the blog post here), and then a final push to Trig M (1251 m) itself. The area is the Korowai-Toresse Tussockland Park, 21,000 ha of Canterbury High Country deliciousness.
After an hour and ten minutes of happy climbing, we were standing at Trig M (1251m), taking copious photos because it was simply so beautiful. We delved into our packs for snacks and Kim shared chocolate and assorted nuts. Munching away, we descended a bit further down the hill to get better views of Lake Lyndon.
All too soon it was time for the return. Below us, the lake caught the sun and sparkled like a gazillion cubic zirconia. Because the track is so wide we could walk in twos and threes abreast and chit chat about the latest politics (a daft government versus the benefits of bilingiuism) and delayed and pending travels (Morocco, Thailand, Wotherwam).
It was time for caffeine at the Taste of Kiwi Cafe in Springfield where we loudly relayed stories about X-rated birthday pressies and ate eggy frittatas. We listened to Enigma on the drive back to Crikers. Such a blast from the past. It reminded me of an old boyfriend who my Dad always describes as a lucky escape. Lol. He was right. A Civil Defence Tsunami Alert came and went. Expectations of evacuations and sirens changed to dinner and evening plans (Wotherwam). Today my cup was filled to the brim and overflowed. Bless.
