This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 88, no 4, May 2016
“Pinnacle Stream”
9 March 2016
The track to Pinnacle from Holdsworth Lodge, with a return S from .846, makes a good round trip known to many. Colin’s idea was to see what it was like going up the unnamed stream – “Pinnacle Stream” perhaps – in between the two long spurs. After a dry spell followed by a night of light rain, all the rocks in the stream bed were dangerously slippery. So it’s a trip best kept for a dry day. It’s a stony stream with enough rocky passages for a good workout, but no real problems in the 2½ hours to the top forks where three small streams meet. After lunch we chose the N spur up through scrubby undergrowth, and joined the track back over Pinnacle. Colin had hoped to get to the carpark via .535, an off track route, and we found the right spot to leave the track (not at all obvious). But not long into the descent, serious wasp attacks forced a retreat back up to the main track where we thought greater speed might reduce the severity of any further attacks. So it’s a trip best not done in the autumn. JT
- Party members
- Joan Basher, Colin Cook (leader),Tricia French, Gerald Leather, David Ogilvie, Marilyn Richards, John Thomson (scribe), Bill Wheeler