Distance: 6.4 km (7.0 DOC hours) - Tramping track - Moderate-hard terrain
Altitude: 471m to 1360m. Gain: 491m. Loss: 892m . Gradient: 13 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: Alpine weather (2/7) - Streams (2/6)

Tramping track (4/9)
Cut, marked tramping track: natural, rough ground surface

Primary, mapped (1/5)
Formal route, on maps, principal access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate-hard (difficulty: 4/5)
Continuous moderate climbs

Moderate-hard (difficulty: 4/5)
Tall, walkable scrub / large rocks, occasional waterfalls or gorges in rivers

Alpine weather (difficulty: 2/7)
Tramp on open tops, exposed to alpine weather

Streams (difficulty: 2/6)
Small streams, danger only in extreme weather

Unknown (difficulty: 0/7)
Not specified

No description

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

Note: The Upper Caples Hut was given/sold to the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association in mid 2014. It is now a private, locked hut. All track markers and signs between the Caples Track and the Caples swing bridge, which used to pass by the hut, have been re located several hundred metres up valley.

The turnoff to Steele Creek on the Caples is clearly signposted. Follow the good quality track which climbs relentlessly to bush line. Above the bush line follow a good ground trail through light scrub and snow grass to Steel Creek Saddle (Point 1359 on the map). There is limited camping here. Follow markers down into Steele Creek. You quickly encounter very thick scrub. You can see marker poles heading down valley but the track is mostly overgrown by the scrub and its a slow scrub bash down valley. The markers enter the bush just below the 1000m contour on the true right side. I lost them very quickly and spent a bit of time looking on the true left side, where the (2009) map shows the track, but never saw anything resembling them on the true left. I ran into markers again further down stream on the true right. I think the track veers high above the true right of the stream, not what the 2009 map says. Follow the track down to cross the western branch of Steele Creek.