Field and Penn Creek memorial hike (Tramps Week)

The outdoors community recently lost an amazing tramper who did an amazing amount of hut and track maintenance work across the Tararua Range and beyond. To commemorate this tramper, I'll be heading to Field and Penn Creek huts to do some maintenance work and have an all around good time in the mountains.

Just like Eder's Tramps Week trip, I will buy you a pie (and a milkshake) if you drive on this trip!

Field Hut info

Penn Creek Hut info

Route:

NOTE: This trip is medium difficulty. Day 1 involves 900m ascent to Field, then 230m ascent and 830m descent to Penn Creek (which has 6 bunks).

Day 1 (Sat 17 Oct) - Meet at Kelburn campus at 9am. It's a 1hr 15min drive to Ōtaki Forks carpark. We'll bag Parawai Lodge at the road end. Then it's a heart pumping 3hr (6km) uphill walk to Field hut, and then the opposite of 3hr (4.6km) downhill to our overnight stay Penn Creek.

Day 2 (Sun 18 Oct) - I will cook pancakes for breakfast! We'll leave the hut by 9-10am and take a chill pace. Day 2 is the same track back to the carpark, so we'll return home by 6pm or so.

Gear:

Please bring overnight tramping gear. Key things are a tramping pack, warm clothing, a windproof raincoat, tramping boots or trail runners, a sleeping bag, a bowl/cutlery, a headtorch, a big water bottle, and a first aid kit/personal medication. Bring a pot/cooker if you have them.

You can borrow club gear (eg packs, sleeping bags), but please ask in advance :)

Full gear list here.

Food:

Please bring 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner, snacks, drinks (NO glass please!), and at least 1 day's emergency food in case we get delayed.

Cost:

- Roughly $10 fuel per person

- Blue DOC hut ticket (you can use also DOC hut pass or camp for free)