Distance: 8.0 km (4.0 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate-hard terrain
Altitude: 780m to 972m. Gain: 928m. Loss: 741m . Gradient: 12 deg (Moderate)
Skills: - Prolonged rivers (4/6)

Unmarked route, clear (7/9)
Unmarked route, follows obvious geography (river, spur, trail, etc)

Primary, unmapped (2/5)
Route not on maps, but is principal access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

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

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

Prolonged rivers (difficulty: 4/6)
Frequent river travel - impassible after rain, risk of getting trapped

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

Above Leon Kinvig travel up the valley becomes easier - the valley is wide and the river narrow. Crossings are less frequent and easy in normal flows. Vegetation changes from slips to sparse trees with tall toetoe, pepperleaf and tussock in between.

2km below Top Gorge hut the valley narrows and Top Gorge begins. Valleysides are steep and sheer, an deep pools are frequent. 2 pools, connected by a waterfall, are impassible. An old sidle track bypasses them on the true right - starting halfway u the lower pool and exiting 50m above the upper pool. The start and end of the track are not marked, but are the only viable exit points on that bank. Once on it markers are intermittent, but followable.Both ends are steep scrambles out of / into the creek.

Top Gorge Hut is invisible from the river, obscured in bush 30m from the river on the true left - but the track is marked by cairns, and the start of the Ngamoko Rage track opposite clearly marked with a triangle.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

Below Top Gorge the hut is initially open, then begins to narrow into a gorge. Travel is relatively straight forward, with deepest parts being mid-thigh deep in normal flows. After 1.8km a log jam waterfall is reached, but as of Jan 2018, was easy enough to lower yourself down on the true right. The pool at the bottom was nearly waist deep, but posed no problems. Climbing up may be more difficult? The old bypass track was not easily spotted.

Travel below this resumes to easier walking. At 4km the river takes a sweeping bend and a chest deep pool must be crossed, an alternative up and over (unmarked) exists upstream on the true left (a foot track can be seen zigzagging up a loose face, descent on the other side is more straight forward).

The remaining 4km is again straightforward with knee deep crossings in normal flows. Leon Kinvig Hut is on the true left opposite the waterfall. Track on true right up to Ngamoko Range is marked by orange triangles high in on the bank.