Crosbies Hut: mud, rain & contentment

Steady and consistent rain had been falling in the Coromandel Ranges prior to our tramp to Crosbies Hut.  This left me thinking that mud and wet feet could be a constant companion on this tramp!

This hut had been on my radar for many months.  Finally, the chance to visit it was presented to me via the Monday Tramping Group.  An opportunity not to miss.

A group of 10 intrepid trampers meet at the end of Waiotahi Road, Thames for an estimated 5.30 – 6 hr hike.

As people sorted out their gear you could tell they were trying to decide, “do I wear a raincoat now, or wait until it starts raining?” Only time will tell whether they had made the right decision.

The Track

Once we were through the large wooden track entrance there was lots of chatter amongst the group. Catching up on gossip, latest adventures, family news etc.

The track was easy to follow without having to look for those comforting orange track markers.  We crossed a couple little streams without getting our feet wet and majority of time we were sheltered by the bush.  Because of the low cloud and drizzling rain there were no views.

We had a couple of short stops to refuel, eat lunch (which always tastes yummy) and eventually put on our raincoats if we hadn’t already done so.  And did it rain?  For the last couple of hours hike up to the hut it poured down.  No longer trying to dodge the mud and pools of water – instead just walking right through them.  It’s bizarre how I try and keep my feet dry and mud free when all around me water is gushing down the track.  And there was that internal driving force to keep moving and get to the hut ASAP.

And, like all hikes the view of the hut is such a welcome sight.  It was rewarding and very satisfying to take off our wet shoes, socks and clothing and be replaced with dry clothing.

The Hut

I have learnt from unfortunate experiences to always take dry kindling and small strips of bike tyre inner tube to start a fire – it never fails.  Once the fire was going it was time for that well deserved hot cup of soup – that never fails to bring personal satisfaction and contentment – “oh, life is good!!”

Crosbies Hut is comfortable and reasonably modern.  It was built in 2010. It had an outside sheltered area to hang and store coats, boots etc. In another covered and sheltered corner of the veranda was an outside stainless steel kitchen sink with running water.  Inside was a large corner stainless steel bench for cooking etc.  A large wooden dining table with long wooden seats was set in another corner under windows that offered the “panoramic views”.  It wasn’t until later that night we finally saw the twinkling lights of Mercury Bay in the distance.

There were 10 bunks in total – five up and five down.  Plus, one of those old fashion wooden drying racks as you can see in the image below – always a bonus.

The wood and coal sheds and toilet were about 50 m down from the hut and about 50 meters above the tent site area.   I was surprised to see so many bags of tidily stacked coal in the shed.  Guess it saved using so much wood which wasn’t exactly plentiful, dry or chopped to a useable size.  Never mind the coal soon had a fire producing some welcome warmth and ever so slowly drying our wet clothes.

In the early evening we were visited by a group of Auckland schoolgirls who were wet and cold.  They had just erected their tents in the rain and in need of some warmth, food, and a hot drink.  I did feel sorry for them as I could relate to how they were feeling, but learnt it was part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award.  It was an interesting period of time watching, listening and chatting to them as they warmed up by the fire, and cooked their food.  No doubt by the time they returned home they would have learnt so much from their two nights in the bush in tents.

Our evening was filled with eating, playing cards and general chatter.  One of the more humorous topics of conversation was about the antics of people’s cats and photo sharing before everyone climbed into their sleeping bags.

Morning dawned with reasonably clear skies, good views, no rain but a chilly wind was blowing.

Memorial to Heidi and Urban

Before I left the hut, I check out the memorial to Heidi Paakkonen and Urban Hoglin.  It was a reminder of what happened back in 1989 to these two unfortunate Swedish tourists.

Walk back

The walk back to the cars was a chance to reflect on the sad and unfortunate demise of Heide and Urban.  To wonder what really happened to them.  It makes you wonder what makes people harm others.

As my shoes and socks had dried overnight, I did my best to avoid getting my feet wet and dirty again.  This required constant navigation around the muddy sections – sometimes lucky sometimes not so lucky.  I did wonder, why do I bother??

It was an enjoyable walk back down to the cars getting the occasional view of the Firth of Thames in the distance.

To finish our adventure off we meet at Cafe Melbourne for a well-deserved coffee and lunch before everyone went their separate ways.  It was an enjoyable 36 hrs away in the company of other passionate outdoor individuals.

Highly recommend this hike.  There are seven tracks to Crosbies Hut to choose from.  Which track you take may depend on your fitness level and whether you have children within the group.  It is all uphill to the hut whatever track you choose but downhill on the way out.

If you have hiked any of the tracks to Crosbies Hut I would love to hear about your experiences.  That is it until the next adventure – GoldCard Gal 🙂

Additional scenes