Distance: 3.0 km (2.5 DOC hours) - Unmarked route, clear - Moderate-hard terrain
Altitude: 702m to 1480m. Gain: 778m. Loss: 5m . Gradient: 16 deg (Moderate-hard)
Skills: - Streams (2/6) Winter - Snow/ice underfoot (2/7)

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

minor (5/5)
A viable route, not widely used

Moderate-hard (difficulty: 4/5)
Continuous 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

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

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

Snow likely on tops, but once above the bushedge gradient is gentle and not exposed to falls.

I do not recommend the following route as it is very scrubby, if I were here again I'd try another spur. However, it is 'doable' and the geography isn't bad, so feel free to give it a go.

Head 50m downstream from Gold Creek Hut to the forks, and push through the scrub tot he base of the spur to the north of the confluence. The face is thick with tall fern, but can be climbed. Later a visible spur forms which can be followed, but the vegetation dos not improve much. Once on the gentler sloping tops, fern is replaced by a pepper-tree and stunted beech substory. Finally, 100m before the bushedge, letherleaf makes its appearance and 2 or 3 very dense sections must be crossed - crawl through dragging your pack sort of stuff. From the bushedge it's 100m or so to the ridgeline through knee high leatherleaf.

The broad Maropea highpoint is 500m to the north.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

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