Distance: 4.8 km (3.0 DOC hours) - Marked route - Moderate terrain
Altitude: 592m to 925m. Gain: 389m. Loss: 70m . Gradient: 5 deg (Moderate)
Skills: - Occasional rivers (3/6) Winter - Snow/ice underfoot (2/7)

Marked route (6/9)
Uncut route, with markers normally within sight

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

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Low scrub in open or bush / river rocks

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

Occasional rivers (difficulty: 3/6)
Occasional rivers - impassible after heavy rain

Snow/ice underfoot (difficulty: 2/7)
Snow/ice likely on track

A rough marked route follows the western side of the Cromel upriver from Cromel Branch to Upper Cromel. This track is not cut so may be hard to follow. Windfall was an issue (2016).

Cross the river at Cromel Branch Hut and head up the western bank until you pick up DOC triangles on the bushedge near the end of the clearing. A brief track follows the western bank to an unsignposted junction where the cut track cuts back to the eastern bank. Do not cross the river; instead pick up markers up the western bank - the 'route' to Upper Cromel Hut.

The route sidles the western valleyside all the way - dropping occasionally to the valley floor. The 'track' shown on maps is not accurate. Valleysides are steep and windfall is a frequent problem. Swinging due west up a spur, before sidling again, the route takes the southern fork of the Cromel climbing steadily to the clearing below Upper Cromel Hut. The marked route ends at the bushedge 100m upstream of the start of the clearing. Push through scrub and over a small sidecreek, and follow flats 500m upriver. As the bushedge cuts back in from the west, old DOC markers mark the start of another track. Uncut and roughly marked through scrubby bush, the track leads a further 300m to Upper Cromel Hut.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

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