South Marlborough, second time around
In March 2022 I ventured into the Clarence River valley, heading upstream.
Gloomy weather, together with plenty of rain left my objectives underachieved. That’s rare, but in the conditions, not unexpected after the particularly wet summer/autumn.
I wrote about that trip here.
This time around I was more subdued in my aspirations. The weather wasn’t.
Snow started falling as I trudged over Blind Saddle. It remained on the ground outside Warden Hut the next morning. The snow was significantly deeper as I made my way towards Palmer Hut.
My itinerary changed to take in Alfred Hut, and then I waited at Palmer Hut for a break in the showers to visit Palmer Bivvy on a day walk.
Then plodded out over the following 2.5 days.
Can’t say I have any enthusiasm for another night at Willows Hut, one of my coldest ever.
Mission accomplished, but after staggering over Blind Saddle six times in the past five years, up 1200 m from near sea level, perhaps I’ll avoid this area for a while.
Read about this expedition here.