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DOC Land
Altitude: 234m to 309m. Gain: 294m. Loss: 317m . Gradient: 4 deg (Moderate)
Skills: Occasional scrambles (3/7) - Occasional rivers (3/6)
A tough sidle route follows the true right of the Karamea from Karamea Bend Hut to Roaring Lion. Note that DOC signs incorrectly show this route as 7km - it is in fact 7 miles (10km)
Cross the Leslie just above the confluence with the Karamea. This is knee-thigh deep in normal flows and quickly becomes impassable in rain.
Climb into the bush on the northern bank, picking up rough goat trails sidling 10-15m above the river. These can be followed downriver to the next flats reached after ~1km. After the flats, continue sidling 5-15m above the river on goat tracks on the true right until an island in the river is reached just above the forks with a major sidecreek on the northern side. If possible cross to the island and follow it downriver past bluffs on the river bank before recrossing to the northern valleyside beyond the bluffs.
If crossing is not possible it is necessary to make a steep exposed 40m climb up the spur downstream of the forks to pick up gentler faces (and more goat trails) that sidle back down to flats 1km downriver.
Downriver of the next flats a sharp spur must be crossed about 30-40m above the river before returning to the riverbank.
Sidle the long lefthand curve in the river on good goat trails generally 10-20m above the river.
A further steep section at and below the rapids marked on the map result in another climb to 30-40m above the river before returning to the 1km long straight flats shown on the map.
Look out for triangles marking the start of the cut/marked track to Roaring Lion Hut, 1.5km above the confluence and 100m before the downstream end of the long flats. The cut/marked track passes behind the unnumbered outlying low peak, crosses flats to near pt247 and then follows the base of the low N-S ridge on its western side to Roaring Lion Hut.
3.5-8hrs