Leatham Fatbike overnighter

Back to the bike trip. Due to issues with carrying gear on my bike I downsized my plans to a cheeky overnighter heading up the Leatham Valley in Marlborough to tick off a few more huts. I'd been up to Top Leatham and Bottom Gordon Huts on my Molesworth Loop a few years ago, but there were a handful of other 4WD accessible huts closer to the highway. My Subaru Outback doesn't have the clearance for true 4WDing but the fat bike should bridge the divide.

Day 1 Wednesday

After a wonderful hot shower, a big meal at the pub, half a pint of beer and a good sleep, I left Murchison at 10:30 am and headed north. I grabbed an overpriced sandwich at St Arnaud for lunch and drove down the Wairau Valley, turning up the Leatham Road. 

It was a good dirt road the whole way to a sign telling you that further travel should be with a four wheel drive. I probably could have taken the Subaru a bit further along but the whole purpose of this trip was cycling, so I parked off the road, packed the bike, and set off.

This was my first trip bike packing with the fat bike so getting the storage sorted is a work in progress. Having lifted the seat post an inch I now had just enough clearance for the saddle bag, but only if I'm careful to cinch it up as tight as possible. I've ordered a rear rack, because just having the saddle bag is too limiting.

On the front bar I have a roll bag in which all my sleeping gear plus most of my food is stored, but packing this so I have enough clearance is also a challenge. It wasn't long before I had to readjust the straps to stop it touching the front tyre.

The geometry of the fat bike means there little space for a frame bag, though I could get one custom made. My water bottles take up that space.

I wasn't travelling with a tent on this trip as I was pretty certain there would be no people in the valley mid week, though a vehicle did pass me whilst I was getting ready but I soon rode past it parked near the start of the Wye Creek route.

Over the roll bag I have a small handlebar bag, in which I can store electronics and other sundry gear. I also attached one feed bag for snacks, and wore a bumbag with personal items. With only enough food for an overnight trip it's enough storage space.

The first thing I noticed was how much more comfortable the ride was on my backside by having raised the seat. Obviously the previous owner had shorter legs than me. That's a win win!

The track was in very good condition, and aside from the river crossings would have been doable in my Subaru. In fact at these levels my car would have made it across most of them. Boulder Creek maybe not. 

I cycled across most of the small creek crossings, but I walked the bigger ones, including Boulder Creek.

A track heads off up the creek to 2 other huts, but that's for tomorrow. I was heading up the Leatham, first to Caves Hut, which required a long slog uphill past Caves Bluff. I walked that section, my fitness is yet to catch up to my ambition.

After the Bluff the track swooped down hill to an airstrip and Caves Hut sitting bathed in the sun. It looked very inviting, but I had another hut to visit a further 7 km upstream. I took a photo and kept going.

The track continued along the true right for another 6 km before heading across a number of braids on the Leatham to the other side. The first couple were fine, but the third one was a bit of a struggle getting the bike across the current and the fourth crossing was the deepest and fastest flowing of all of them.

I decided the risk of being washed over was too high, so I left the bike there and walked the 5-600m to Barber's Hut. It's another beauty, but was in the shade, and my bike wasn't with me, so I wrote in the book and retraced my steps back to the river crossing. It was the sort of crossing I'd normally feel absolutely fine with if tramping, using my poles for support. The middle section was above my knees and easily could throw you off balance, but it was only 50 cm wide at that depth so with careful foot placement you were out of the danger zone pretty quickly. Carrying the bike through this section, however, was beyond me...

I picked up the bike, got it over the next braid and then the rest I cycled through.

The ride back to Caves Hut was a gentle downhill most of the way, only taking me half an hour. The fat bike literally eats rocks for breakfast so what would have required a lot more care on my gravel bike, the big tyres just roll on over with little fuss at all. It's such a fun bike to ride!

The sun had left the valley by now but the hut was still warm inside, so I unpacked the bike and made myself at home. There was firewood ready to go, but I couldn't find either an axe or a saw to replace it. Never mind, most visitors have vehicles and maybe they have axes or chainsaws.

I got the fire going and put all my wet gear up on the rack to dry. It's a little potbelly stove and once I managed to get small enough logs into it and close the door, the heat really racked up. Not a lot of small enough logs though…

As usual, it's dark well before 6, so it was an early dinner and off to bed.

Distance 22.36km, just under 3 hours

Day 2 Thursday

I woke up to a very cold hut and a thick frost outside. With no wood small enough, as there was no axe, I couldn't even light the fire. It was pretty brutal.

The sun didn't reach the hut until 9:30. It was hard to get ready as my fingers wouldn't work they were so cold. I at last managed to do up all the straps and head off just before 10.

I noticed that some of the cable ties holding my brake and gear cables together had snapped, perhaps due to pressure from the handle bar roll. I'll have to remedy that, but for the time being just had to make sure the cables didn't catch on anything. I re-secured them with a spare strap, but I may need to change out the cables to different lengths to accommodate the bar roll.

The ride back to Boulder Stream required climbing up to the Bluff. I pedalled a fair way before giving up and walking. With time my bike fitness will improve, I just need to be more persistent.

It took a little over half an hour back to Boulder Stream where I turned up the track to Boulder Forks. This track wasn't in quite as good condition as the main track and was a lot more muddy. It had quite a few uphill sections so I did a fair amount of hike a bike but soon enough I arrived at the Forks.

There was a river crossing, quite shallow, and then more uphill to the huts, so I decided to leave the bike at the river and walk up to the huts sans bike.

There's an old hut, no longer used, with a dirt floor and open fireplace, which I suspect hasn't been removed because Ed Hillary once stayed there and wrote on the wall.

The new hut is pretty ugly, but looks comfortable enough.

There were two 4WDs parked by the huts, but no sign of their owners.

I signed the hut book and walked back to my bike. It was lunchtime and a weak sun was shining so I had a hot cup of tea with my cheese, salami and crackers. Then it was back down the track to the Leatham.

As expected the return down stream took considerably shorter and I was soon back on the main track and just had to cross Boulder Creek and cycle the final few kilometres back to the car.

The whole route could certainly be done in a day, but a night in a hut, and 2 half days was definitely more achievable for me.

After washing down the bike and luggage, and changing clothes, I returned to civilisation.

Distance 18.6 km, 3 hours 15 minutes

Hundreds and Thousands of Acres

I'd picked up my bike from the Kayak School at Murchison, and had spent the day packing the bike for a trip up some valleys in South Marlborough. This had been quite difficult, because I planned to go tramping as well, and I was struggling to fit everything onto the bike. A major issue I have with bike storage is that my bikes are all tiny frames, meaning modern saddle bags rarely have enough clearance. I'd ordered a rear bike rack, but that wasn't going to help me in the short term, so I was planning to wear my backpack for the ride up valley to where I would start the tramp.

However, first thing in the morning I did a pivot. 

The mist was low on the river, but the day was looking clear, so I quickly checked the weather forecast and immediately changed my plans. For years I've wanted to explore the vast plateau above the Matiri Valley, but each time the weather has not obliged, or I've arrived at the carpark to find 10 cars already there. The largest hut only sleeps 4 people and that time I wasn't in the mood for a crowd, so I went elsewhere. I wanted clear skies for the awesome views, and it now looked like I would get that for at least the next 2 days.

I drove in to the carpark at the end of the road to find 3 other vehicles. I'd definitely be packing the tent, but figured I had a fair chance of nabbing a bed, especially as it was a weekend and I planned to take 3-4 days.

I had to repack my bag and remove all the extra food, but I was off just after 10am. Since last time I had been up the Matiri Valley there has been a hydro scheme installed, so there's now a decent road in, with the DoC carpark now being just before the confluence with the West Matiri branch of the river. This crossing used to be impassable after rain, now there's a bridge!

The road makes for easy walking, following the river until the walking track veers off to the left and crosses a couple of small streams. The forest is lush with lots of birds calling and is so nice to walk in.

After my aborted AAWT trip this year I'd lost a lot of confidence in my fitness and energy for tough tramps, but today I'm feeling my mojo returning.

There was one big tree fall to negotiate, but otherwise it's an easy walk in to Lake Matiri Hut, taking about an hour. Aside from filling in the hut book, filling up my water bladder and taking a leak, I wasted little time and continued on.

The track descends down to near the lake, crossing a small stream and then soon you arrive at the start of the climb up to the 1000 Acre Plateau.

It starts steep, with roots to hold onto as you make your ascent. It then gets slightly less steep but it's a continuous upward grind through spectacular beech forest, then Totara, Dracophyllum and other species as you get higher. There are mushrooms everywhere, and there are blue ones!! I'm loving this track.

The climb is pretty relentless, but there are some sections that are relatively flat, and there are also a few dodgy rock scrambles as well. I stopped for a snack looking over the valley below then continued climbing. Despite the scenery I'm over it by the time I at last reach the top. 3 hours it took me!

The vista opens up into a vast tussock clad plateau, renowned for being muddy underfoot as well as having numerous sink holes. I could see The Needle and Haystack in the distance, and 100 acre plateau off to the left, and across the fields not too far away is the roof of Poor Pete's Bivy. I didn't have enough time to make it to Larrikin Creek Hut before dark, and by the time I had made it across to the Bivy the clouds had descended to cloak all the peaks.

Rob from Belgium was at the Bivy and he told me 2 couples had continued on to Larrikin Creek. Rob didn't have a tent, so he had decided to stay at Poor Pete's despite arriving at 1 pm. There are only 4 bunks at the next hut.

So the decision to stay wasn't hard to make. There was a good campsite for a tent just above the hut, but since all cars in the carpark were now accounted for, and I figured anyone behind me would have caught up with me by now, I took the second bunk in the Bivy.

Both of us read and chatted and it was a fairly pleasant afternoon and evening.

It had been a clear night, so we woke to a frost but it wasn't brutally cold. With the two of us in the Bivy we'd been quite warm, though there was a lot of condensation!

Although I got up before 7 I managed to faff around and didn't get going until after 8:30, which was pretty slack. Especially as today was the best weather day for going up to The Needle.

The track is boggy, and you have to keep your eyes down watching where you are placing your feet. Looking around at the magnificent views whilst moving is a recipe for disaster. Hidden deep holes, mud holes a lot deeper than they looked, numerous slippery slidy moments, it had it all. Wet up to the knees with mud on both sides was basically inevitable but the risk of rolling an ankle was very real. I fell over numerous times, but no injuries.

From Poor Pete's the track climbs quite steeply through some forest and then on tussock up to a high point, where you can see all the surrounding peaks and the Buller Valley in the distance. I shouted down to Rob to urge him to come up for the view, then continued on.

From the high point the track slowly descends as it traverses the plateau. There are numerous sink holes and a few pretty limestone creeks to cross. There are many tarns, and on a clear sunny day with no wind it's glorious tramping at its best.

The views across to The Needle and Haystack are eclipsed by the sheer ramparts of the 100 acre plateau, also known as The Devil's Dining Table.

I met the two women who had walked in yesterday ahead of me, powering their way out as if in training for an adventure race. They hadn't climbed up to the Needle as they hadn't time. At least 40 minutes later I met the other couple of fellows who were also on their way back out, albeit at a much more leisurely pace. They'd left Larrikin Creek Hut only 20 minutes behind the girls and were steadily losing time on them. Not that they cared.

One of the guys said I didn't have too far to go and that once I hit the tree line it was only another 20 minutes to the hut. I didn't believe him on either count!!

The track got progressively muddier. There were more missteps and more keeling over, but it didn't matter as it was such pleasant weather.

I checked the time when I reached the treeline. It ended up taking me nearly an hour to negotiate what was possibly some of the most treacherous terrain of the day, with slippery rocks and roots and a maze of ups and downs to make the lower terrace on which the hut is situated. There was a spectacular creek to cross with a series of cascades. At last I hit the final tussock clearing and the hut came into view. I arrived just before 12, so all up, it took me 3.5 hours.

I had lunch then considered my options. I sent off a weather check on the Inreach and tomorrow looked to be fine although with some clouds. Since I had the time and the food, I decided to just chill and head up to the Needle first thing tomorrow. This was turning into a very leisurely trip!

The sun was out so I dried all my tramping clothes, washed my socks, and attempted to dry my boots. Wishful thinking.... I also collected some firewood for the hut.

I put out the solar panel and charged my phone and Inreach, getting both batteries up to near capacity before the clouds obscured the sun around 2:30. A similar thing had happened yesterday, and one reason for not doing the exploring in the afternoon.

It also gave me time to read up on the route, with some good advice and mud maps in the hut. There's no marked track, just a rough route.

Once the sun went behind clouds it got a little chilly so I retired to the hut and changed into my hut clothes. Aside from socks and shoes, everything else was nice and dry for tomorrow's mission. The hut wasn't that warm, so I lit the fire around 4:30, which made a big difference to take the chill and damp out of the place, if not to necessarily warm it up a lot.

I had an early dinner and headed to bed once it got dark. As expected, no company arrived.

I got up early the next morning and managed to get away about 7:45. The sun was nowhere near coming over the top of the Haystack so the valley was well and truly in the grip of a frost. But the skies were completely clear.

The track heads off from in front of the hut, crosses the creek and then follows a ridge up. It's steep and very muddy and requires a little gymnastics, but you gain height quickly and within 20 minutes you are out of the forest and climbing the ridge through tussock. Enough people come up here that the track is easy to follow, but there are also a few permolat markers in the forest and cairns higher up.

The track takes you across to some tarns where there are apparently a few different options for climbing The Needle. I took what looked to be the easiest route, following some cairns across another creek and then climbing a steep ridge to a small saddle between The Needle and a small rocky outcrop on 100 acre plateau. It was far from easy, the track wasn't that well defined and it was a matter of hauling oneself up through the tussock and speargrass. About half way up I at last emerged into sunshine.

Just before the saddle I took a shortcut up some scree. It wasn't loose, but it was a bit exposed so I felt a little jittery. I gained the ridge and followed that up to the summit of The Needle along a reasonably well defined foot trail. It was quite windy near the summit but not that cold.

The views in all directions were simply stunning. You could see Mt Arthur and Kakapo Peak, as well as the entire Southern Alps in the other far distance. To the west was the Mohikinui with the Tasman Sea beyond. The Old Ghost Road region was to the south west.

In front was the 100 acre plateau, also called The Devils Dining Table. This is the highest of the plateaus and probably the most spectacular as it has sheer cliffs along its sides.

I didn't go wandering over the plateau to Mt Misery, deciding to return down the ridge to the saddle then pick up a trail back down to the tarns. My descent path was somewhat easier than my climb had been.

The sun was now in the valley with the tarns, but there was still a bit of frost about and some of the tarns were still frozen. I headed back the way I had come, back down the ridge, through the steep slippery muddy forest descent, and back to the hut. I got back about 11:15 so 3.5 hours in total.

The sun was yet to reach Larrikin Creek Hut. With the day being so stellar and me feeling fine, I had an early lunch, repacked my bags and headed off back over the swamp to Poor Pete's Hut.

The boys yesterday hadn't been completely incorrect, because it did take 20 minutes to reach the first tussock clearing, but that was nowhere near the end of the forest walking. The valley in which Larrikin Creek sits is lower than the 1000 acres so it's a muddy old climb back out. I made it to the treeline maybe 5 minutes faster than my descent yesterday.

Then came the trudge across the swamp. Dealing with mud is a bit of a mind game and once you embrace it you use less mental and physical energy trying to avoid it. You still needed to make sure you didn't twist an ankle, and there's a big difference between walking through mud and sucking your foot mud!! I had a few mishaps but probably a bit less than yesterday.

I arrived at Poor Pete's at 3:20. The sun had just left it, but it was warm inside. Since there were no other occupants I took the opportunity to spread out and have a mini wash before changing into my hut clothes. I had an early dinner, did the 6:30 eye drops and went to bed!

There was rain overnight but more drizzle than raindrops. I got up to have a pee a bit after 6 and there was a light drizzle, but I went right back to bed and didn't get up properly until well after 7. It had stopped raining by then but it was still overcast. Despite a late sleep in and taking my time packing up, I still managed a reasonable setting off time of 9:10. And the sun even made an appearance! Briefly…

It was only 20 minutes to the edge of the trees and farewell to the spectacular plateaus of the last few days. The track followed a ridge, climbing, until the start of the descent. And it was just as tough going down as it had been going up.

At almost exactly 2 hours after leaving the hut I was on the descent, and had stopped at the viewpoint over Lake Matiri for a fuel break. Another spectacular view.

Then it was onto the steeper part of the descent, with pretty mushrooms to enjoy, if not ease the difficulty. Even so, my time back down the hill was considerably shorter than my climb had been. In another short 15 minutes I was at Lake Matiri Hut and it was time for lunch.

After lunch I made fairly short work of the walk back to the car, though I met 3 boys on their way in hoping to get to Poor Pete's Hut. I wonder whether it's because it is free. I warned them that the climb was long and hard, and there was mud to negotiate, and they'd need to be quick to make it before dark given it was already after 1 pm. At least they won't have competition for a bed as there's no one else on the track. And there's a spare mattress in the hut. Good on them anyway.

Back at the car I changed out of my tramping gear and then drove back to Murchison. The easiest option being to get a cabin for the night, do my laundry and check the weather forecast for my next adventure. Oh, and go to the pub for dinner!!