Distance: 7.3 km (3.5 DOC hours) - Unmaintained track - Easy-moderate terrain
Altitude: 118m to 869m. Gain: 969m. Loss: 218m . Gradient: 9 deg (Moderate)
Skills: - Streams (2/6)

Unmaintained track (5/9)
Former track, overgrown - markers / ground trail still followable

Secondary, unmapped (4/5)
Route not on maps, an alternative recognised access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

Easy-moderate (difficulty: 2/5)
Tussock / river-gravel / open bush / cut track

None (difficulty: 1/7)
No alpine skills required

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

None (difficulty: 1/7)
No alpine skills required

From the end of the formed road, a mud 4WD track drops to the river which it crosses on a rickety bridge. A well defined muddy roadbed follows the northern bank upstream for about 1km, before it starts to climb out of the valley. About 20m above the valley floor, a junction is reached with the well-formed road climbing out of the valley, and a grassy poorly defined old roadbed continuing upriver.

take the grassy roadbed upriver. This continues, very muddy at times, crossing the river twice until it reaches the next major forks 1.5km upstream. The old roadbed crosses the sidestream entering from the north. On the eastern bank, the swings briefly upriver and climbs steeply, zigzagging up the narrow spur east of the forks. Topomaps incorrectly show this track on the next spur east. They are wrong.

A good old roadbed continues thus until about the 600m contour, where it ends. From there, follow the well defined spur uphill through open mature bush until you reach the ridgeline.

On the ridge, swing south and follow it for 1.5km. It starts off good open going, but become scrubby as it approached Mick Highpoint. Occasional markers are present, and the junction on Mick was well marked with tape (2013).

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

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